Poste Italiane fined over 20 million by the Antitrust for an abuse of its dominant position in the market for the delivery of multiple items of ordinary mail.
These are items that large business customers (banks, insurance companies, telephone companies) send to their customers (account statements, expiry notices, bills).
The Antitrust, according to a note, has ascertained an anti-competitive strategy of Poste Italiane which consisted in offering its end customers economic and technical conditions that cannot be replicated by at least equally efficient competitors, who necessarily have to resort to the services of Poste Italiane for the delivery in rural and less densely populated areas of the country. The strategy has been adopted since 2014, after the liberalization of postal services.
The reply from Poste is ready, preparing to appeal the TAR. According to sources close to the company, Poste Italiane's position is "definitely critical" of the Authority's provision.
The company believes "that it has always implemented conduct that is absolutely compliant with regulatory guidelines and market logic, in a highly competitive context to protect the quality of the service". For these reasons, Poste Italiane "intends to appeal to the Lazio Regional Administrative Court, deeming the fine imposed in a proceeding that began in June 2016 and lasted for almost two years of investigation to be inadequate and in conflict with the relevant legislation, during which the company has provided in an exhaustive and complete manner every contribution and every explanation requested by the Authority's offices".
