Operators delivering to B&Q and Screwfix DCs are being called to account by customers as a result of fines.

Jayne Masters, sales director at Miniclipper Logistics, told Motortransport.co.uk fines of £500 to £1,000 an order were being applied by the two retailers to suppliers for deliveries falling 30 minutes either side of a scheduled delivery time.

This has been occurring even when early deliveries are accepted, or deliveries were only late because the DC kept the truck waiting.

Masters said B&Q and Screwfix (both owned by Kingfisher) also applied multiple fines to trucks carrying multiple separate orders. She added that the fines were also being applied inconsistently.

While truck operators can phone ahead about untimely deliveries, finding the right number for each DC and getting someone to pick up is not always easy, said Masters. “I can understand them fining, but it’s some of the practices that go with it that are a bit of a scandal,” she added.

Miniclipper has begun using GPS information to prove its arrival times at the sites to its customers.

A second vehicle operator Motortransport.co.uk spoke to confirmed Masters’ statement, adding that one supplier it knows has paid out more than £70,000 in such fines in the past year.

Some suppliers now have staff working full time on countering these fines, and at least one is now considering ceasing to supply to one of the two retailers, it added.

Jointly, Miniclipper and the unnamed operator deliver to B&Q DCs including Runcorn, Radlett, Doncaster and Glasgow, as well as Screwfix sites in Stoke and Stafford. These are operated by either DHL or Wincanton.

DHL and Wincanton told Motortransport.co.uk they were “not aware” of commercial arrangements between the two retailers and their suppliers, and did not impose any penalties for early or late deliveries at the sites.

B&Q has so far declined to specify the number or value of fines levied and said its arrangements with suppliers were “private and confidential”.

Screwfix told Motortransport.co.uk it had more than 10,000 deliveries a week, with 99.5% “either on time or accommodated within our schedule”. There's more from Screwfix on this subject on The Hub.

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