Carriage Chages

lucy03

Krackerjack wrote: »

I'm not even claiming that any Ts &Cs have been breached, I have just asked a polite question of the company in question and been met with nothing but rudeness and wished of course to share an experience with people who are out to try and save some money, I understand this to by the underlying principle of this site.

To be fair though to a company they might just not want to send to Scotland if they don't do much trade there and find that they use different couriers who charge different prices and that this is an additional cost of business to them, so they just charge a block rate to any Scottish address. It might also be a limitation in their on-line ordering software.

Speaking just for myself, I think personally I would have limited myself to asking if they could check the cost manually, and if they said no to offering a lower postage rate, then I'd have just assumed they didn't want my custom. You did mention that you asked the company for an explanation of their delivery charges and to be fair again to a company, they might just not believe they need to explain themselves. They are under no obligation to, they can charge whatever delivery charges they want.

For various reasons I once had to arrange deliveries to Northern Ireland - and the amount of retailers that didn't bother to even send there (let alone those that added a surcharge) was relatively high. But that is their right, and although I note you say in your opening post you're giving them chance to rectify the situation, they might just not want to.

Chickabiddybex

I completely understand that many areas in Scotland are busy with high population etc etc. But many companies (including mine) charge extra to deliver there not because they are desolate places but because they are further away from the dispatcher and thus costs more petrol. Some companies have free delivery in for example a 20 mile radius (as they can use their own transport) and charge more the further away they have to deliver. This is simply because delivery companies charge more the greater the distance is. Petrol is expensive!
As for anywhere there is a ferry involved (Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight, etc) the price goes up further because the retailer has to pay for this too. Sometimes they won't even deliver there because it would be so expensive they're priced out of the competition.

Techhead_2

HalfPint wrote: »

Hi,

I think the op is being fairly reasonable is asking for an explanation of the differing charge. After all, Gretna is not exactly the Highlands and Islands!

If it were me as the business owner, I would be waiving the extra 6 quid as goodwill considering how close it is to the border. In my old job there was a similar issue. we delivered large items using a pallet company, the charge almost doubled when you crossed a certain postcode region (this is in England btw). If our customer was very close to the postcode border, a quick call to our delivery agent usually confirms they can do the delivery at the lower rate, (as they are only just outside the area) and we pass this saving onto our customer. It's good business sense and keeps customers coming back.

Having said all that. I agree that the op agreed to pay the price when the order was confirmed and in reality it is ultimately down to the company's sense of goodwill and customer service as to whether they will refund this.

HP x

The thing is; the OP has had an explanation of why the charge is higher ( Because the courier charges more).

The OP doesn't believe this explanation and has set out to rectify the situation. If the OP has spare time to do this then fair enough. I suspect most people would either accept the explanation or take their business elsewhere. As their time is worth more than £6

junkmayle

Going off-topic slightly, this is a shining example of why we will miss Royal Mail when it has gone, unless we fight tooth and nail to retain it.

Its bad news for both buyers and sellers and I fail to see peoples enthusiasm considering the mess made by private companies in the utilities, trains and buses.

custardy

junkmayle wrote: »

Going off-topic slightly, this is a shining example of why we will miss Royal Mail when it has gone, unless we fight tooth and nail to retain it.

Its bad news for both buyers and sellers and I fail to see peoples enthusiasm considering the mess made by private companies in the utilities, trains and buses.

That ship has sailed