CONSUMER campaigners have warned a voluntary pricing code on deliveries is inadequate after it emerged one company was imposing a near-100 per cent surcharge for sending parcels to nearly half of Scotland.
As well as the Highlands and Islands, those ordering from Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and much of Angus all have to pay an £6 on top of the standard delivery charge of £6.99 for certain items ordered from DealMonster, an online deals platform that claims shoppers can find local deals with savings of up to 70 per cent.
Just last month online retailers and delivery firms were urged by ministers to work to guidelines giving people in rural areas fair delivery charges.
The Statement of Principles for Parcel Deliveries was developed by a working group set up by Consumer Futures, now part of Citizens Advice Scotland, and the Scottish Government.
The UK Government also set out best practice, based on the Scottish principles.
But Colin Scott, a retired crofter and contractor on Lewis, was "shocked" when he tried to order plants from Dealmonster. "It is not just one company. There are many companies in the south at it. But this was one of the worst.
"It was almost doubling the delivery charges for huge areas of Scotland, which is ridiculous."
Independent MSP for the Highlands and Islands Jean Urquhart said it showed a voluntary code is "far too little, far too late". "This is one of the worst examples we have seen," she added.
Kate Morrison, from Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), said the DealMonster was "an extreme example" but by no means unique, with thousands of examples of companies charging hugely inflated prices reported to CAS.
"We have presented all our evidence to ministers in both UK and Scottish Government and worked alongside government representatives, online retailers, parcel delivery operators and consumer organisations to produce a UK-wide statement of principles for parcel deliveries."
Requests for comment from Edinburgh-based DealMonster met no response.
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