French holidaymaker hit with phone bill of nearly €38,000 after Morocco visit

A French customer of mobile operator Orange received a bill of €37,737 when he returned from a week-long holiday in Morocco. 

Dominique Lefèvre, a tobacconist in Maule, Yvelines, received a text message in early May 2025 warning him that his mobile phone bill had reached €30,000. The amount later rose to €37,737, according to Franceinfo.

“Throughout the night, between 3:00 and 6:00, I was being charged €250 every two minutes. I could work for several years to earn that amount. It is unbelievable,” he told Franceinfo.

Mr Lefèvre said he had barely used his phone during the holiday and had taken steps to adjust his mobile plan before travelling.

Orange said that the customer had exceeded his mobile plan allowance when he was in Morocco. The operator sent him text messages when he reached 80% and 100% of his allowance, followed by a block on his mobile data.

Mr Lefèvre later agreed to allow further data use, with the operator claiming to have sent him a further 16 text messages warning of additional charges.

Mr Lefèvre said he had not authorised this extra usage, although he admitted he had received a message mentioning an excess charge of €2,500, which he had not paid much attention to. 

He said the other messages arrived during the night while he was asleep. He added that he had repeatedly tried to contact Orange to resolve the dispute, but that his phone line was eventually suspended and disconnected.

This caused problems for his tobacconist business, as he could no longer use his phone, internet connection or electronic payment terminal.

Later reports indicate that Orange agreed to lower the bill to €500.

How to avoid a large mobile phone bill when travelling abroad

When travelling outside the European Economic Area (EEA), phone charges can be much higher as the EU’s roaming rules do not apply. Morocco is one of the countries not covered by these rules.

When travelling abroad, the customer’s phone uses the resources of a mobile operator in the country they are visiting, with the foreign operator's network charging the customer's original French operator for network usage. 

Arcep, France’s telecoms regulator, advises checking roaming charges before travelling. There are also several steps travellers can take to avoid unexpected bills.

First of all, travellers should check their mobile plan before leaving to see if their destination is covered, how much data is included and what happens if the limit is exceeded. 

Buying a local SIM card in the country one is travelling to can often be a lot cheaper and safer.

For travellers who do not want to do this, turning off data roaming can be one way to prevent your phone from automatically using mobile data on a foreign network while still allowing you to connect to Wi-Fi.

It is also important to monitor data usage while abroad through the operator’s app or set a data limit on your phone if possible.

Travellers should also read warning messages carefully. This is because operators must warn customers when they reach 80% of the limit and again when they reach it, so monitoring these messages can help avoid unexpected bills. 

Additionally, operators must apply a default €60 limit to mobile data roaming, unless a different limit has been agreed with the customer. Before agreeing to the usage of additional data, it is important to check the operator’s costs. 

Finally, calls and text messages are not covered by this data-spending limit, and satellite connections on ships and aircraft are not subject to the same European roaming protections, so attention is still needed when abroad.