On May 11, 2021, the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir announced that it had filed a complaint with the Paris Judicial Court against the company SFR for deceptive business practices. In January 2018 and December 2019, SFR, in its bid to conquer the mobile phone market, offered "no-commitment, no-time-limited" plans.
In its quest for consumer trust, SFR promoted "RED by SFR. It's green. It's clear.", "for 1 year and after too", "without any time limit".
SFR also wanted to distinguish itself from competitors, particularly with the announced price stability, using a humorous tone: "When something seems too good to be true, there's bound to be something wrong!".
Finally, the operator did not hesitate to use the expression "guaranteed for life" on Twitter to certify that the initial price of the subscribed packages would be maintained.
However, between September and December 2020, SFR increased the price of RED by SFR plans from 30% to 75% of the initial price.
Customers quickly denounced these practices through online petitions, Facebook groups, and testimonies to the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir.
According to UFC-Choisir, SFR knowingly misled consumers by using the maintenance of the initial price over time as the argument to convince consumers.
The complaint filed with the public prosecutor in Paris has the dual objective of securing a conviction against SFR and enabling the affected subscribers to be compensated.
