According to figures released by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), residents across Cunninghame North have been charged a total of £525,000 on top of standard delivery charges in 2021, just to have packages sent to their homes.
A number of staggering examples show the shocking parcel delivery surcharges faced by many communities across Scotland during 2021, when a significant number of people relied on home delivery rather than shopping in-person.
As consumer issues are reserved, the SNP has been calling on the UK Government for years to put a stop to the practice but Tory Ministers have so far refused to review the legislation and end these surcharges.
The annual costs incurred by Scottish adults in areas commonly impacted by parcel delivery surcharges totalled a staggering £44.8 million.
Kenneth Gibson MSP said:
“It’s extremely frustrating to see how much that some of our households, especially on Arran and Cumbrae, have to pay for the basic ability to shop online during a pandemic.
“This is £525,000 that could have been spent in the North Ayrshire economy if residents weren’t being forced to pay these extortionate surcharges.
“Tory Ministers continue to do nothing about it and one wonders if they might have taken the matter more seriously if this was happening within their own constituencies. They should sort it out or devolve the powers to do so to the Scottish Parliament.
“As with so many other matters, having them in charge simply doesn’t work for people in Scotland.”
ENDS
