Ofcom has agreed to resolve a dispute between Royal Mail and its wholesale customers regarding increases the company is planning to make to its wholesale prices.
Under the Postal Services Act 2011, Ofcom can handle disputes between postal operators that commercial negotiations have failed, or are otherwise unable, to resolve. Such disputes do not constitute formal enforcement action against an operator.
Royal Mail’s wholesale price increases
Royal Mail’s wholesale customers are postal companies that collect and sort ‘bulk mail’ – the letters sent by large organisations such as banks, government departments and the NHS – before handing it over to Royal Mail for delivery. These postal companies are known as access operators.
Under Ofcom’s rules, Royal Mail must offer access to its postal network for bulk mail. The terms, conditions and charges for this access are set by Royal Mail, but they must be fair and reasonable.
On 23 July 2026, Royal Mail notified its wholesale customers of price increases for its access services, due to come into effect on 5 October 2026. Where access operators pass on price increases to their customers – the large organisations – they usually given them 30 days’ notice.
The dispute
Members of the Mail Competition Forum, which represents several of the UK’s access operators, have brought a dispute to Ofcom regarding the level of Royal Mail’s latest wholesale price increases.
Specifically, we will be determining whether Royal Mail’s wholesale price rises constitute fair and reasonable terms, conditions and charges in accordance with our rules.
Next steps
In accordance with our guidelines, we intend to issue our decision on this dispute within four months. Under the terms of Royal Mail’s contracts, its wholesale price increases will be suspended pending our decision.
Ofcom’s guidelines for the handling of regulatory disputes can be found on our website.
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