Royal Mail fails to halt record £50m Ofcom fine

Royal Mail has failed to have a record £50m fine from Ofcom overturned.

The fine, announced in August 2018, related to its actions in 2014 when Whistl, then known as TNT, was trying to become its first competitor in wholesale mail delivery.

Ofcom’s investigation followed a complaint by Whistl that Royal Mail had abused its dominant market position.

Royal Mail challenged the fine, but on Tuesday, the Competition Appeal Tribunal dismissed its application.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We found that Royal Mail pursued a deliberate strategy of pricing discrimination against Whistl, which was its only major competitor for delivering business mail.

“Royal Mail had a special responsibility to ensure its behaviour was not anti-competitive.

• Royal Mail fined record £50m by Ofcom

“We hope that our fine, which has been upheld in full by the Tribunal, will ensure that Royal Mail and other powerful companies take their legal duties very seriously.”

Ofcom’s investigation had found that Royal Mail price rises in 2014 meant any wholesale customers, such as Whistl, which wanted to compete with it would have to pay higher prices in the remaining areas where it used Royal Mail for delivery.

Royal Mail did not immediately comment on Tuesday’s decision, but at the time, it said it had raised prices to protect the Universal Service, which means post is charged at the same rate, regardless of where it is sent across the UK.

Unlike its competitors, it is required to continue providing such pricing.