BERLIN (Reuters) – It’s a no-go! Germany’s watchful federal network regulator, a real stickler for the rules, has given a big, fat ‘no’ to Deutsche Post’s plea for an uptick in postage stamp prices. The firm wanted to offset some escalating costs, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be, the regulator announced on a bright Monday.
Klaus Mueller, the head honcho at Bundesnetzagentur, nodded at the choppy waters the postal service was sailing in. “The letter and parcel game ain’t an easy one, we get that,” he said. “But the figures we’re seeing show the current prices cover the costs for each piece of mail.”
Earlier in the year, May to be precise, Deutsche Post had gone knocking on the regulator’s door, seeking an end to the price cap hanging over them till the close of 2024. Their dream? To make postage stamp prices a wee bit steeper next year.
Defending their stance, Deutsche Post threw in the fact that a stamp in Germany will set you back only 0.85 euros (or $0.9331 for the dollar-savvy) for a standard letter. They pointed out that, given the fat paychecks here, this was less than the European average. What’s more, they made the case that the pricing models, which were last updated in 2021, were as outdated as a floppy disk.
Despite all the sound and fury, the regulator remained unmoved. “Deutsche Post couldn’t show us that dwindling mail volumes were pushing up the costs per letter. If anything, the average cost per item is even a smidge below our forecast for 2021,” the regulator noted in a statement, clear as a bell.
($1 equals 0.9109 euros)
