Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing has written to retailers in the UK to address the issue of higher delivery charges for customers residing in the rural areas.

He said that the government wants to ensure that the customers in remote parts of Scotland will not suffer excessive delivery charges form UK retailers. He asked retailers to describe how they will follow guidelines that state that the customers in rural parts of the UK are not discriminated against. The Parcel Delivery Working Group, which was established by the Consumer Futures and the Scottish Government, has developed the code to address the issue.

The group urges businesses to avoid charging disproportionate delivery costs and offers wide scale delivery network. The code has been agreed upon by the industry, trading standards and consumer groups.

Mr Ewing said, "Although the principles are voluntary, we believe they will help to support businesses and reduce the number of customers who abandon purchases at the last minute because they find out the cost of delivery. It is not acceptable to hear reports of customers in the Highlands and Islands experiencing excessive charges, being refused delivery and being misled by the term 'free delivery'."

Source: Top News