Parliamentary Scottish Affairs Committee looks at parcel delivery charges
The UK Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee held a meeting on Tuesday (27 February) to investigate the issues surrounding parcel deliveries to areas such as the Scottish Highlands.
Witnesses at the meeting included: Lesley Smith, Director of Public Policy, UK & Ireland, Amazon; Laurence Garnett, Head of Home Delivery, Argos; Mike Pitt, Director of UK Shipping and Logistics, eBay; Robert Gordon, Director, JBT; Fraser Maclean, General Manager, Menzies Distribution; and Tim Jones, Director of Marketing, DPD.
As previously reported, there are concerns that people living in the less accessible parts of Scotland are paying a “postcode penalty” because they are often asked to pay additional charges to have goods delivered. Consumer Advice Scotland has been leading a campaign to find ways to overcome the problem of “parcel surcharging”.
The witnesses at the Monday’s meeting were invited to discuss their charging policies. Click here to access a video recording of the session.
Surcharging and Northern Ireland
“Surcharging” is also a hot topic in Northern Ireland – so Post&Parcel readers may be interested to know that Triangle is currently working on behalf of the Consumer Council Northern Ireland (CCNI), looking at reasons why some online retailers surcharge deliveries to Northern Ireland, and others don’t.
If companies or individuals (particularly retailers) would like to offer their perspectives on surcharging on Northern Ireland deliveries, do contact the Triangle research department at [email protected].
