Royal Mail has been fined a record £50m ($4.6bnm) by UK communications regulator Ofcom, for breaching competition law. The fine relates to the company’s actions in 2014 when Whistl, then called TNT, attempted to become Royal Mail’s first competitor in wholesale mail delivery. Royal Mail’s price rises in that year meant that competitors had higher costs in areas where they used Royal Mail services. Ofcom found that Royal Mail’s behaviour equated to "anti-competitive discrimination against customers, such as Whistl, who sought to deliver bulk mail". Whistl is seeking damages, while Royal Mail intends to appeal against the penalty.
Royal Mail has been fined a record £50m ($64m) by UK communications regulator Ofcom, for breaching competition law. The fine relates to the company’s actions in 2014 when Whistl, then called TNT, attempted to become Royal Mail’s first competitor in wholesale mail delivery. Royal Mail’s price rises in that year meant that competitors had higher costs in areas where they used Royal Mail services. Ofcom found that Royal Mail’s behaviour equated to "anti-competitive discrimination against customers, such as Whistl, who sought to deliver bulk mail". Whistl is seeking damages, while Royal Mail intends to appeal against the penalty.