Postcomm asks Royal Mail to work with Postwatch to improve communications with Mailsort customers
On 11 November Postcomm asked Royal Mail to communicate more effectively with customers of its Mailsort business service and to work with Postwatch, the consumer body, to settle grievances.
The recommendations follow an investigation by Postcomm after the Office of Fair Trading referred a super-complaint from Postwatch to it. Postwatch was concerned that Royal Mail may have been abusing its dominant position in the Mailsort market, significantly harming the interests of consumers.
Postcomm gathered evidence to see whether or not there were sufficient grounds to investigate a potential licence breach. However, Postcomm’s investigation did not find sufficient evidence to give it reasonable grounds to suspect an infringement of Royal Mail’s licence or to warrant further investigation under the Competition Act 1998.
But Postcomm did find that there was room for improvement in Royal Mail’s communications with its Mailsort customers and its handling of their complaints, and has recommended that Royal Mail work with Postwatch to improve this part of its operation.
Postcomm has now closed the case. However if further evidence comes to light it would be able to open a fresh investigation.
Notes
Mailsort is a set of services Royal Mail provides for senders of bulk business mail. In exchange for pre-sorting mail and complying with a number of requirements, Royal Mail offers these companies a discount on the usual postal rates.
