A Sutherland community champion was astonished to receive a delivery surcharge bill for £20 for defibrillator parts- because the suppliers thought his village is in Orkney.
David Hodge looks after the Melvich defibrillator in Sinclair Court, and decided it would be prudent to get a new battery and pads for it as the meter level had dropped slightly.
Mr Hodge, a commercial fisherman, is vice chairman of Melvich community council and a well-known community campaigner and volunteer.
He founded and chairs Portskerra Harbours Association, and drove the campaign to get a defibrillator in the village some four years ago.
The money for the defibrillator came from SSEN community resilience funds, and with permissions sourced from NHS Highland and the Highland Council, the life-saving machine is now mounted on the wall of Melvich’s community care home in Sinclair Court.
When the battery levels dropped Mr Hodge turned to the Defibshop, an online outlet supplying defibrillators and accessories.
He said: “I’m a creature of habit and always go back to places I’m happy with.
“They’d supplied us before with no problem.”
This time the company told him there would be a delivery surcharge of £20.
Mr Hodge said: “That got my hackles up, especially as I was told I live in Kirkwall.”
Melvich and Orkney share the KW postcode.
Mr Hodge said: “An elderly person might just have paid it, but the way I look at it, especially with the economy slowing down, people can’t be paying £20 for every article sent to the north of Scotland.”
He went on to switch suppliers and found a different outlet which supplied the battery and pads without charging for delivery.
Local councillor Linda Munro said: “In my experience Davey Hodge is the kind of guy who would pay this from his own pocket.
“He felt it was a rip-off and that that jarred him.
“Even in the midst of COVID -19 people have heart attacks and regrettably even in the midst of COVID – 19 some businesses are less than they ought to be.”
The Defibshop has been contacted for comment.