Many French mobile phone bills set to rise again
‘Rising costs’ blamed for increased telephone contracts to be introduced in next few weeks
The cost of being connected
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French phone companies are set to increase their rates due to inflation and rising operating costs.
The prices of many packages for new users, as well as for those who already have a mobile and/or internet subscription, will change in the next few months, reports the consumer association, UFC-Que choisir.
Already over the past year the price of phone packages on contracts of more than 10GB (gigabytes) have increased by 20%, rising on average from €16 to €19.17.
The predicted 2023 increases will range from a few dozen cents to several euros depending on your operator and chosen tariff.
Whatever your tariff, your providers must inform you in advance of any increase and the advice is to check your bills (and emails) so you can keep an eye out for this.
Bouygues have already told customers that an increase is on its way for many contracts. The low-cost B&You package is going up by €1 and the Bbox package at €41.99 will be €43.99 – in other words, €2 more.
At SFR, the increase will be between €0.69 and €0.99 per month from February, depending on the deal. However, the operator placed just an insert at the bottom of the January bill to announce the news, without a reminder by email or SMS, although it is duty bound to inform customers, according to UFC-Que Choisir and La Dépêche.
What about Orange and Free?
Orange will also opt for increases of €1 and €2 on most of its mobile and fixed-line packages but with a small delay: March or April, depending on the subscription.
However, the main subscription with social discount should not increase and the preferential rate reserved for people with a family monthly income less than, or equal to €700, should even decrease.
Unlike other operators, Free will not change the price of its €2 and €19.99 subscriptions in accordance with the rules the group has set itself.
You cannot normally contest these price changes, which are permitted by L. 224-33 of the French Consumer Code, except for certain specific contracts (check the conditions specified in your contract).
However, you have four months to terminate your contract without charge: if the increase does not suit you, you can try to find a more affordable subscription.
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