Postcomm guidance on Royal Mail participation in competitive tendering

Postcomm has today published guidance on Royal Mail’s participation in competitive tendering, following a consultation on the subject last year.

Competitive tendering – which was non-existent in the former mail monopoly market – has become accepted practice now the market is fully competitive.

Postcomm does not wish to preclude Royal Mail from winning or retaining business awarded by competitive tenders, but it is important that the market has confidence that it is not acting anti-competitively or taking unfair advantage of its size and dominance of the market to gain business.

Royal Mail’s licence requires it to:

* publish its prices after it has won a contract
* refrain from anti-competitive practices
* offer prices which are within the limits of its 2006/10 price control.

The guidance sets out the detail of these arrangements so that other operators in the market can ensure Royal Mail is complying with its licence.

Postcomm’s guidance is available – together with the decision document – from the anti-competitive behaviour page of Postcomm’s website, at www.psc.gov.uk.