News In Focus
18 December 2006
MPs call for ban on high delivery charges
MPs from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland are demanding a ban on internet and mail order companies imposing inflated delivery charges to those ordering in their areas.
The MPs say the charges are excessive and discriminatory, and that the festive season has brought the issue to the fore once again.
A Commons motion signed by the five notes that the practice has grown since the deregulation of the parcel post in the 1990s, and calls on the government to prohibit businesses from refusing to deliver to certain parts of the UK, and to require them to use the most affordable delivery method when requested by customers.
Orkney and Shetland Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael belives that allowing private companies to target urban deliveries threatens the Royal Mail's ability to provide a universal service.
The MPs, who between them represent the Highlands from Argyll to Caithness and the Northern Isles, suggest that if, as proposed, the government allows post offices to handle other companies' parcels, they would have no excuse for not delivering to rural areas.
Their call for change comes at a time when one in five rural post offices are under threat of closure following a government announcement intended to stem losses in the post office service.