The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is imposing a fine of almost 6.9 million euros on PostNL for slow mail delivery in 2023. The postal deliverer is appealing and calls the fine disproportionate. “This fine is not only incomprehensible, but also irresponsible. The fine ignores reality and is counterproductive,” director Pim Berendsen responds.
In 2023, PostNL had delivered 89.48 percent of the letterbox mail on time with a five-day delivery obligation. That is below the legal requirement of at least 95 percent.
ACM board member Manon Leijten says that PostNL is obliged to deliver mail on time. “It is the legal operator of the Universal Postal Service. Then you have a duty and responsibility to ensure that mail is delivered on time. People and companies who post something must be able to count on getting what they paid for.”
Force majeur
PostNL speaks of force majeure and relies, among other things, on labor shortages. The ACM concludes that there was no force majeure, because PostNL could have responded to the tightness on the labor market in 2023. It is up to the company itself to offer a sufficiently attractive offer to recruit and retain employees.
‘Incomprehensible and irresponsible’
Pim Berendsen, director of PostNL, says that since 2023, delivering mail has cost more money than it generates. “This fine is not only incomprehensible, but also irresponsible. The fine ignores this reality and is counterproductive. Instead of contributing to ensuring reliable mail delivery, it undermines the financial position of the postal company and thus puts further pressure on reliable mail delivery.”
The Universal Postal Service
PostNL has been appointed by the government to implement the so-called Universal Postal Service (UPD). The UPD includes loose pieces of mail, also known as single piece mail. These are letters, cards and packages that consumers send.
The UPD does not include mail from large business parties, such as governments, banks and insurers. Strict requirements have been established for on-time delivery. The ACM supervises this. The percentage of letters delivered on time has been declining since 2014.
The government has already introduced relaxation
To accommodate PostNL, the cabinet decided last year that the company should be given more time for its deliveries. As of July 1, 2026, the postal company may deliver cards and letters within two days, a year later this will even be within three days.
“I cannot ask a company to carry out a government instruction at a loss. That is why the regulations must keep up with the times and I am expanding the rules slightly in order to guarantee reliable postal delivery,” Minister Vincent Karremans said.
Insufficient perspective
PostNL now calls this decision ‘a step in the right direction, but still insufficient’. “That makes it all the more incomprehensible that the ACM imposes such a high fine for this,” says Berendsen.
“Insufficient prospects are offered for a structural solution for future-proof postal services. Losses continue to rise and continuity is increasingly under pressure. Even with the announced relaxations, we continue to make a loss.”
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