The Austrian Post is threatened with problems. The Competition Authority (BWB) is demanding that the partially state-owned company be punished with an “appropriate fine” for a case that occurred several years ago.
Background: Five years ago, several intermediaries – service providers who prepare advertising mail for large customers – turned to the competition authority because they felt wronged by the post office, which itself also provides the service. They were partly right, after which the postal service adjusted its approach in early 2022.
Reimbursement for Info.Mail delivery
According to the BWB, the antitrust court made it clear at the time that the postal service could not give sender customers higher annual bonuses or discounts than the intermediaries when paying for Info.Mail deliveries. The post office subsequently proved cooperative and stopped the violation. The fine request that has now been submitted is now the follow-up to the procedure.
“The application was specifically based on the abuse of market power legally established in the individual proceedings by the discriminatory discount practice of the Österreichische Post AG for the Info.Mail area,” the authority said in a statement.
Post is currently in discussions with the authorities
The listed Post said on Friday: “We are currently in discussions with the authorities to reach an agreement, a so-called settlement. We are confident that we can achieve a fair result.” In this case they acted in good faith based on similar practices in other European countries.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
