Spring Global Mail Statement on the Belgian Post Discriminatory Contract Practices
An open letter to all customers who mail in Belgium.
Spring Global Mail have, for the last 18 months, been fighting in the name of fair competition and on behalf of customers, to make the Belgian Post comply with the principles of the European Postal Directive 97/67.
We have been told by de Post-La Poste that Spring Global Mail cannot access contract discount rates by consolidating all of our mail volumes despite such commercial discounts being available to regular customers. We believe that this is in contravention with the non discrimination principle of the European Directive 97/67.
The Belgian Postal Regulator (Belgian Institute for Postal services and Telecommunications or BIPT) has decided to ask the “market” for their opinion. They have written to License Holders and Associations within the Postal industry and asked for the completion of a specific questionnaire. They have not written specifically to customers! However, the questionnaire has been posted on their website so anyone can submit their view. The deadline for submission is 4th December 2009 – click here for the website link and here for the questionnaire.
We urge all customers who post mail in Belgium or indeed post mail from abroad into Belgium, to complete the questionnaire before the deadline. Together we must influence and expand the choices and prices that customers can access.
Some key facts that will help you complete the questionnaire:
- Article 11 of the 97/67 Postal Directive states “The EC shall adopt such harmonisation measures as are necessary to ensure that users and the universal service providers have access to the public postal network under conditions which are transparent and non-discriminatory”.
- BIPT states that “in their opinion consolidators and regular customers should not be distinguished since the transparency and non discrimination principles have been implemented into the Belgian Postal Law”
- The European Court of Justice has already ruled that “this must apply to businesses which consolidate, on a commercial basis and in their own name, postal items from various senders the special tariffs which the national universal postal service provider grants”.
Lou Laforet
Vice President Europe and Canada
Spring Global Mail
