French telecommunications operator SFR has been ordered to pay a €10 million fine for misleading advertisements promoting its “Red by SFR” mobile plans. The Paris Criminal Court delivered the verdict on March 19, with half of the penalty suspended.
Court Rules “Fixed Price” Claims Were Misleading
The court found SFR guilty of “misleading commercial practices” related to marketing campaigns run between 2017 and 2020. Advertisements for the Red by SFR brand claimed plans were offered at a fixed price “without time limit,” “without prices doubling after one year,” and “guaranteed for life.”
According to the judgment, these “allegations of permanence” were deemed “false or likely to mislead” customers. The consumer association UFC-Que Choisir, which filed the initial complaint, stated the operator unilaterally imposed price increases on these plans as early as 2019, in total contradiction to its advertised promises.
Consumer Group Hails “Strong Signal” for Transparency
UFC-Que Choisir, which took legal action in 2021 following consumer complaints, hailed the ruling as a “strong signal in favor of transparency in commercial practices within the telecommunications sector.” The court also ordered SFR to pay the association €50,000 in damages.
The group detailed that it had filed a complaint with the Paris prosecutor in 2021 and later before an investigating judge in 2022. When contacted for comment by AFP, SFR declined to issue a statement.
