Deutsche Post under investigation for misconduct

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The German telecommunication watchdog the Federal Network Agency Monday said it has initiated a probe to determine whether a unit of Deutsche Post AG has engaged in misconduct, following complaints from competitors.

The agency is investigating if Deutsche Post's InHaus Services GmbH gives preferential treatment to Compador Dienstleistungen GmbH, in which Deutsche Post owns a 26% stake.

"We are examining if any discrimination has taken place," the agency's spokeswoman said.

InHaus Services offers a range of mail-related services to companies including Compador, a Deutsche Post spokesman said.

The agency is checking if InHaus gives better delivery time slots to Compador, the agency spokeswoman said. The time slots could affect the quality of the service a firm can offer to its customers, and how attractive that service is.

A spokesman for Deutsche Post said another InHaus customer is competitor TNT Deutschland unit PostCon. He said Compador does indeed receive different time slots from PostCon, but InHaus hasn't committed misconduct. The only reason why PostCon received different time slots is because it has a greater number of deliveries, which take more time to handle, he said.

"We doubt that any misconduct will be identified," he added.

TNT Deutschland is part of Dutch PostNL . A TNT Post spokeswoman declined to comment on the phone, saying she could only provide a written statement Tuesday.