WHITEHALL has promised to take action against rip-off delivery charges being unfairly slapped on customers living in rural Scotland.

Moray MSP Richard Lochhead, who has been campaigning on the issue for years – and who this month raised at First Minister’s Questions the case of a constituent being charged £50 delivery for a pair of £5.99 hand towels from Halfords – welcomed the move.

But one of Scotland’s new Tory MPs claimed it was he and his colleagues, and not Lochhead, who had managed to secure the concession from UK ministers.

Announcing plans for a review into the exorbitant postage fees, Tory consumers minister Margot James told a newspaper: “It is legal for delivery companies to make differential charges, but they have a duty to consider the fairness of their pricing structures and a legal obligation to ensure delivery charges and conditions are clear to consumers before they place an order.

“Ofcom has completed a two-year study of the issue and I will work with the Consumer Protection Partnership to establish a review of the evidence collected so far to see what can be done to protect Scottish consumers from excessive charging.”

That Ofcom study confirmed higher delivery prices were not just being charged in the Highlands and Islands but in Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth too. Central Belt towns including Falkirk, Paisley and Kilmarnock were also affected.

Moray Tory MP Douglas Ross, who raised the practice at Prime Minister’s Questions last week, took credit for the government’s response.

He said: “There must be innovative and collaborative solutions to this problem. In 2017, I find it unbelievable that delivery companies cannot find a way around it. Moray and the north-east of Scotland is not some unreachable mystery land, it is part of our United Kingdom and the whole region must be able to move at a 21st-century pace.”

Lochhead launched his Fair Delivery Charges campaign website last month and has already had more than 2,000 submissions from members of the public who are miffed at the exorbitant charges.

He said: “My national campaign for Fair Delivery Charges has shone a bright light on the eye-watering delivery surcharges that Scottish consumers and businesses are often expected to pay because of where they live.

“I’m delighted that the UK Government has finally agreed to review these rip-off charges, but this review must lead to concrete action for the long-suffering families and businesses in Scotland.

“While rural and island communities are the worst affected, it’s quite unbelievable that people in towns served by major trunk roads in the north of Scotland are also being told by delivery companies that they don’t qualify for ‘mainland UK’ delivery rates. It’s ridiculous and it needs to stop.”

An SNP spokesman tweeted: “The Scottish Tories really are the worst sort of political parasites. @theSNP does all the legwork and they swoop in and try to claim credit. On delivery charges, oil & gas tax, police & fire VAT, broadband ... it’s pathetic.”