Royal Mail Fined £50 Million for Abusing Dominant Position Against Whistl
Company: Royal Mail Group Limited
Summary
In 2018, Ofcom fined Royal Mail £50 million after finding that the company abused its dominant position in the market for bulk mail delivery. The case followed a complaint from Whistl, Royal Mail's main competitor in end-to-end bulk mail delivery. Ofcom found that Royal Mail introduced discriminatory wholesale pricing changes in 2014 that would have made it more difficult for competing delivery operators to expand. Ofcom concluded that Royal Mail did not have a legitimate justification for the price differential and that internal documents indicated the changes formed part of a deliberate strategic response to the competitive threat from Whistl. The Competition Appeal Tribunal later upheld Ofcom's decision. Sources: Ofcom — economic analysis of the Royal Mail/Whistl case https://www.ofcom.org.uk/post/royal-mail/economic-insights-2019-royal-mail-competition-case UK concurrency report summarising the infringement https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811431/ACR_PV2406.pdf