Moray MSP Richard Lochhead has called for a crack down on what he says are exploitative delivery companies fleecing customers in the run-up to Christmas.
Mr Lochhead has highlighted constituents being charged exorbitant rural delivery fees, including one charged £50 for a product worth only £5.99 and another given a £50 delivery price tag for a product advertised as coming with free delivery.
The MSP held a round table discussion with companies including Royal Mail, the Scottish Retail Consortium and the Federation of Small Businesses at Holyrood to push back against unscrupulous companies.
He said: “This is a huge issue, especially in the run-up to Christmas where, without any rhyme or reason, many delivery companies will be preparing to fleece customers in Moray and rural Scotland.
“The retailers will be making a mint over the festive period and we need them to crack down on on delivery companies to ensure they are abiding by the voluntary code of practice.
“Far too many companies are getting off Scot free and costing rural Scotland millions of pounds.”
The representatives involved discussed what progress had been made since the Statement of Principles for Parcel Deliveries was published in 2014 and what more could be done to tackle the ongoing issue.
Mr Lochhead said there was growing support for the Scottish Government to bring in legislation.
He said: “It was an excellent meeting and many of the participants took the view there is no justification whatsoever for some of the higher delivery surcharges being applied to rural customers.
“The voluntary approach is clearly not working, whether that is due to a lack of enforcement or the principles agreed for online sales.
“I do feel we should start to consider the regulatory route to bring companies not playing by the book to heel.”
A Holyrood debate is expected to be held on the issue in the next month.
