TPG loses monopoly. Court case
Competitors are permitted to break TPG’s monopoly for postal deliveries of up to 50 grams by making ordinary letters heavier. The district court in The Hague yesterday rejected a case brought by TPG against postal company Sandd.
The case hinged on bills delivered by Sandd for mail-order company Otto. Sandd delivered these in an envelope along with a catalogue, pushing the total weight above 50 grams. Sandd was thereby evading the law, TPG argued. But the judge rejected this.
TPG Post, a subsidiary of bourse-listed TNT, has a monopoly in the Netherlands on the delivery of letters weighing less than 50 grams. Sandd added a catalogue with the sole aim of evading this monopoly, according to the company.
The court however ruled that the weight of the entire delivery is decisive, and not that of the letter in the envelope. This mean that Otto’s package does not come under TPG’s monopoly. In addition, Otto rather than Sandd was responsible for the composition of the contents of the envelope.
A ban on Otto’s deliveries would founder on “great practical objections,” according to the judge. It would mean that every postal company would have to check every package weighing over 50 grams for the possible presence of letters. This would amount to violation of letter privacy, the judge concluded.
TPG Post commercial director Herna Verhagen said customers have followed the court case closely. More companies will opt to pad out letters with catalogues, for example, and send them via competitors of TPG, she predicted. Verhagen could not yet say whether TPG will appeal against the decision.
