PostNL fined €2 million for late deliveries

The Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) fined PostNL 2 million euros because it delivered too much mail late in 2019. In that year, PostNL delivered 94.34 percent of all letterbox mail on the next delivery day, just missing the statutory minimum of 95 percent of letters delivered on time

According to PostNL, this was a situation out of its control because problems arose on its network after the takeover of competitor Sandd. PostNL, therefore, decided to deliver part of the Sandd mail itself but could not do so within the time limit.

But ACM does not consider this force Majeure. PostNL did not sufficiently prepare for possible problems at Sandd. Postal delivery was also under pressure before the Sandd acquisition. The percentage of letters delivered on time has been falling since 2014, the regulator said.

PostNL said it would object to the fine and reiterated its position of force Majeure. Before the Sandd acquisition, PostNL was unable to obtain much information about how Sandd worked because of legal restrictions on the exchange of information, the company said. According to PostNL, ACM should have taken this into account.