PostNL has to pay €2 million fine due to late mail delivery in 2019

Dutch postal company PostNL has to pay a fine of two million euros, the court in Rotterdam ruled. The company failed to deliver enough mail on time in 2019, but claimed this was due to force majeure because it had taken over industry colleague Sandd that same year.

However, the court found that the takeover was a "commercial choice" by PostNL. The company ultimately "put itself in the situation" where it was unable to deliver the mail on time.

The fine was imposed on PostNL earlier this year by the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). The regulating authority found that PostNL was not adequately prepared for potential problems at Sandd and that mail delivery had been under pressure for some time.

Finally, in the year of the acquisition, PostNL delivered 94,34 percent of its letterbox mail the next day. However, according to the regulations, it should be 95 percent.

The court ruling can still be appealed to the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (CBb). The postal company said it will review the ruling before deciding whether to appeal.