Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Richard Lochhead calls for pick up and drop off points to cut delivery charges

Moray MSP Richard Lochhead
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead

Richard Lochhead has said delivery firms should explore setting up pick-up and drop-off points in a bid to cut delivery charges to the north.

The Moray MSP, who has been campaigning against “rip-off” fees for deliveries to remote areas, backed the suggestion after meeting with courier company DPD, which transports thousands of parcels each day to the Highlands and Islands.

The meeting in the Scottish Parliament was a chance for Mr Lochhead to make his concerns about the surcharges known to Steve Kington, Scottish Regional Manager for the company.

DPD is owned by the French Post Office and delivers 4,000 parcels per night into the Highlands and Islands. The company employs 1,000 people across Scotland.

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has calculated additional parcel delivery surcharges cost Scotland an extra £38 million a year compared to the rest of the UK.

According to the SNP MSP, Mr Kington confirmed DPD charge different rate for Highland and Island deliveries, but these are agreed beforehand with the retailers they work for.

“DPD have suggested that local parcel pick-up and drop-off facilities, that can be shared by multiple parcel carriers, could be a way to lower delivery costs,” Mr Lochhead said.

“This would require industry wide cooperation but it remains a possibility we should continue to explore and I have asked DPD to do so.

“We had a useful discussion around the key issues and it is clear that we must continue to focus on persuading retailers not to pass on ridiculous surcharges to customers in the north of Scotland.”

Mr Lochhead added: “While the UK Government refuses to intervene to end these discriminatory practices. I will continue to put pressure on retailers and couriers to review their policies and to ensure that they are treating customers in Moray and across the north of Scotland fairly.”

The MSP’s campaign has received cross-party support in the Scottish Parliament and has been backed by online retailers such as eBay.

The Advertising Standards Authority has also investigated two dossiers, containing details of over 200 companies referred by Mr Lochhead for “unfair” surcharges.

A DPD spokesman said: “Retailers and carriers face higher costs for delivery to the Highlands and Islands, including increased fuel and the use of third-party local contractors to make the final delivery.

“We are, however, committed to working with our retailers and other stakeholders, to help consumers know what delivery costs they may face, as early as possible in the online ordering process.”