Bundeskartellamt issues warning to Deutsche Post AG

After intensive investigations the Bundeskartellamt has concluded that Deutsche Post AG is hindering and discriminating against competing providers of postal services in the sector of “mail preparation services”. The authority intends to prohibit such conduct. The mail preparation services concerned include in particular the pre-sorting of mail items weighing less than 100 g and the feeding of them into Deutsche Post AG’s sorting centres.

Deutsche Post AG’s current practice is to grant large firms discounts from 3 to 21 per cent on bulk mailings which are pre-sorted by destination and fed into its sorting centres. It refuses to grant these price advantages to competing providers of postal services if the letters fed in do not originate exclusively from one single sender. This particularly affects the so-called consolidators who bundle and sort mail items from small and medium-sized companies and feed them into the sorting centres.

In the current view of the Bundeskartellamt Deutsche Post AG is thus blocking the market entry of competing providers of postal services. At the same time it discriminates against postal service providers which do not act on behalf of major customers.

The President of the Bundeskartellamt, Dr Böge, stated: “As a result Deutsche Post AG also puts small and medium-sized companies with lower mail volumes at a competitive disadvantage because they are unable to reduce their postage costs which would be possible by allowing competing postal service providers for mail preparation services.”

With its conduct the dominant Deutsche Post AG violates the ban of abusive practices under German and European competition law. In the Bundeskartellamt’s view Deutsche Post AG cannot invoke the exclusive licence it has been granted under the Postal Act. This applies particularly with regard to the provisions under European law. According to a decision issued by the European Commission in proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Postal Act violates European law insofar as it reserves mail preparation services for letters under 100 g exclusively for Deutsche Post AG. The obstruction or discrimination of other companies cannot be justified by invoking an illegal national provision.

The Bundeskartellamt has informed Deutsche Post AG of these concerns in a warning letter. Before a final decision is issued the company has an opportunity to comment on this in the due process of law.