Regulator fines PostNL €7 million for late mail deliveries in 2023

The Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) has imposed a fine of €6,923,000 on PostNL for failing to meet the standard for timely mail delivery in 2023. In that year, PostNL only delivered 89.48% of mailbox mail on time, while the legal standard is at least 95 percent. PostNL will object to the fine, calling it “ineffective and disproportionate.”

“As the statutory provider of the Universal Postal Service (UPS), it is PostNL’s duty and responsibility to ensure that mail is delivered on time,” ACM board member Manon Leijten said on Tuesday. “People and businesses sending something by mail must be able to count on receiving what they paid for.”

PostNL blamed force majuere and the tight labor market for its late deliveries in 2023. The ACM concluded that there was no force majeure because the Netherlands had been struggling with a tight labor market for years, and PostNL could have anticipated the issue in 2023. “It is up to the company itself to offer a sufficiently attractive package to recruit and retain employees,” the ACM said. “The choices PostNL has made in this regard are its own responsibility.”

PostNL will object to the fine. According to the company, the fine only “further jeopardizes the continuity of postal services.” PostNL has been struggling with declining mail volumes and increasing costs for years.

PostNL CEO Pim Berendsen agrees that people in the Netherlands must be able to rely on the mail. “However, the conditions under which we must deliver UPS mail were already unfeasible in 2023. Since then, the situation has only deteriorated further, and delivery mail, despite very efficient operations, costs more than it yields.“

“Against this background, this fine is not only incomprehensible, but also irresponsible,” Berendsen said. “Instead of contributing to safeguarding reliable mail delivery, it undermines the financial position of the postal company and thereby puts reliable mail delivery under further pressure.”

Last year, the government gave PostNL permission to increase its delivery time from 24 to 48 hours for mailbox mail. The company will start using the two-day delivery standard in July. Priority mail, like funeral cards, can still be delivered within a day, but at an extra cost.