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For the Guarantor, Poste’s behavior causes harm not only to consumers, but also to the country’s justice system
For the Guarantor, Poste’s behavior causes harm not only to consumers, but also to the country’s justice system
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Fine of 5 million euros to the Poste Italiane group, accused of misleading conduct in the management of the service. The Competition Defense Authority has imposed the maximum penalty allowed by law, although not dissuasive in relation to the group’s turnover, equal to 3,492 million euros in 2019, “for having adopted an unfair commercial practice in violation of the Consumer Code, consisting of promotion, misleading, due to the characteristics of the certified delivery service and the digital withdrawal service for certified mail “. The Authority communicated it in a note. For the Guarantor, Poste’s behavior causes harm not only to consumers, but also to the country’s justice system.
In particular, the Authority found that the attempted delivery of certified letters is not always carried out at the time and with the certainty emphasized in the advertising messages, being, moreover, frequently carried out in ways other than those prescribed by law. In fact, Poste Italiane sometimes uses the stock deposit notice registered letter in the mailbox even when it would have been possible to deliver it to the addressee. In this regard, there are many complaints from consumers who denounced the failed attempt to deliver certified mail, even when they were certain that they were present at their home (think, for example, of people forced to stay home due to disability or health emergency during the confinement).
The consequence of these behaviors in relation to which Poste Italiane has not adopted the necessary control and corrective measures – informs the Competition Defense Authority in a note – causes a unacceptable burden for consumers forced to waste time and money to collect certified letters that are not delivered diligently.
The Authority also verified the existence of information omissions also in advertising messages that promote the digital collection service for certified mail, since it is not clarified that this service can only be used for shipments of digital origin. The behaviors described also cause serious damage to the country’s justice system due to delays due to incorrect notifications in conducting trials, especially criminal ones, which lead to the prescription of numerous crimes, as stated repeatedly in the Annual Reports on the state of justice cited. in provision.
Given the extreme severity and frequency of the practice and the very considerable harm caused to consumers, the sanction was imposed in maximum size. However, the same is not dissuasive in relation to the specific turnover generated by Poste Italiane only in the year 2019, equal to 3,492 million euros. In this sense, the European Directive 2019/2161 has not yet been transposed into national legislation, which establishes the maximum legal penalty that can be imposed at 4% of annual turnover.
