Postcomm demands information on Royal Mail discounts and transparency
26 November 2003
Postcomm has received information which suggests that Royal Mail is offering substantial discounts to attract catalogue mail. These discounts have not been notified by Royal Mail to Postcomm or published in accordance with Condition 7 of its licence. They were also subject to confidentiality agreements.
Postcomm accordingly yesterday served a provisional enforcement order on Royal Mail requiring it to provide detailed information about the alleged discounts, to maintain all documents and records, and to refrain from departing from its published tariffs without proper notice to Postcomm and publication.
Royal Mail today notified Postcomm that it will comply with the order.
Postcomm will now continue its investigations into the compatibility of these discounts with Royal Mail’s licence.
Notes to editors
Section 23 of the Postal Services Act 2000 allows Postcomm to issue a Provisional Order with immediate effect if it appears to the Commission that a licence holder such as Royal Mail is contravening any condition of its licence or is likely to contravene any such condition and that such an order is needed.
A Provisional Order has effect for up to three months from the date of issue subject to earlier revocation. If Postcomm is satisfied that the licence holder is contravening any licence condition or is likely to contravene any such condition and following representations considers that confirmation of the order is needed for the purpose of securing compliance with the condition, it may confirm the Provisional Order with or without modifications.
Royal Mail’s alleged behaviour could in principle be investigated by both the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Postcomm. Under the Memorandum of Understanding between the two bodies, OFT has agreed that Postcomm will for the moment take the lead.
