Ross welcomes action on unfair delivery charge
Moray MP Douglas Ross has welcomed Amazon UK’s action after an excessive delivery charge was due to be levied against a local constituent. While in this case the fee was ultimately not charged, Amazon have taken action against the third-party seller.
Douglas said: “I was pleased that Amazon UK agreed to investigate all cases of excessive delivery charges during the recent Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry into this issue.
“I sat though the evidence session where Amazon explained the actions they would take and knew I had received cases involving practices that Amazon claimed should not be happening.
“Immediately after the Scottish Affairs Committee I spoke to representatives from Amazon and later passed on a case where a constituent was going to be charged extra delivery because of their Moray address, despite being advertised with free UK delivery. When this was challenged the seller backed down, but they should not have been trying to impose this excessive charge in the first place.
“This case was investigated as third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace are required to charge all UK customers the same delivery charge and not impose additional charges other than those stated at the point of sale.
“The seller in this case clearly breached Amazon’s policy and I welcome the fact that the buyer in Moray received compensation from the seller but also that Amazon confirmed that a breach of their rules have taken place and action was taken against the seller.
“Only by standing up to people who would treat Moray and much of the North of Scotland with such disrespect will we finally end these rip-off charges. This is just one case but it hopefully highlights what can be achieved if we challenge sellers over their dodgy practices.”
In December, Douglas led the first debate on excessive delivery charges for people in Moray and the north of Scotland at Westminster during this Parliamentary term, and the Scottish Affairs Committee agreed to hold its inquiry after a formal request from the Moray MP.