Whistl is taking a £600m claim against Royal Mail to the High Court accusing Royal Mail of having abused its monopoly position to force it out of the market.
Whistl, then TNT UK, had mounted trials around a decade ago in selected UK cities, of its own last-mile postal service which it planned to roll out to some 42 per cent of UK homes, using Royal Mail for the balance. Royal Mail then increased its downstream pricing which made the Whistl plan unviable and forced the suspension of Whistl’s service as well as the loss of 2000 jobs.
Whistl made a formal complaint to Ofcom that Royal Mail had engaged in anti-competitive practices. Royal Mail was fined £50 million which it responded to by commencing with a lengthy appeals process. This culminated in July 2022 when The Supreme Court backed Ofcom.
Whistl’s lawyers are pressing for a preliminary hearing in 2024.
Share