Royal Mail fights back over zonal pricing plan
Royal Mail has mounted an aggressive defence of its proposed zonal pricing scheme, claiming Postcomm’s rejection of its original plan was ‘fundamentally flawed’.
The 44-page response comes five months after Postcomm threw out the first proposal (precisionmarketing.co.uk) but includes only a few minor amendments. Royal Mail is sticking to its guns – the main tenet of its argument is that increased competition in the postal market is allowing private operators to cherry-pick areas where it is cheaper, and therefore more profitable, to deliver mail.
It has put forward a strong legal argument, claiming Postcomm has not “undertaken a competition economics assessment of the application” and that its stance is “inconsistent with EU and UK competition law on discriminatory behaviour”. It continues: “This is a fundamental flaw in Postcomm’s consultation proposal which Royal Mail believes is legally incorrect.”
Under zonal pricing, brand-owners will pay more for deliveries of items in many rural and some urban areas. Royal Mail maintains that the move is in line with its aim to make its services ‘cost-reflective’.
