For Bouygues Telecom, it’s a snub that will probably be expensive. This Thursday, the operator indicated that he was probably going to have to pay a large check to his great rival Free in a dispute concerning old “bundled” offers, consisting of staggering the price of a smartphone in exchange for subscription to a long-term subscription. In a statement it did not send to the press, Bouygues Telecom warned of a ” high risk “ to have to pay some 308 million euros in damages to Xavier Niel’s group.
On February 9, theoperator of the Bouygues group was condemned by the Paris commercial court for having marketed, from 2014 to 2021, its “Sensation” bundled offers. Free felt aggrieved. He considered these offers to be anti-competitive, “misleading” and similar to “consumer loans”. Bouygues immediately challenged this judgment “with the greatest vigor”, considering that its bundled offers were completely legal. He appealed, then appealed to suspend the execution of the judgment – and therefore of this huge payment of 308 million euros. But this last request was swept away, this Wednesday, by the Paris Court of Appeal. This one has “dismissed Bouygues Telecom of its request to stop the provisional execution”laments the operator in his statement, adding that he will probably be forced to checkout.
“Although Bouygues Telecom is still contesting the validity of this provisional execution, Free Mobile has indicated its intention to enforce the judgment, he adds. The risk for Bouygues Telecom of having to disburse the above-mentioned amount in the short term is therefore high. »
If he does not pay quickly, the slate will quickly climb, since the operator will be imposed higher and higher interest.
A showdown far from over
This showdown between Bouygues Telecom and Free is far from over. It will take a long time – perhaps several years – for the case to be heard on appeal. If Bouygues Telecom loses again, it will always be able to appeal in cassation.
Free does not wish to officially comment on this case. But there is no doubt that this first victory against Bouygues Telecom must satisfy his staff. Xavier Niel, the founder and owner of Free, has been fighting for years against the bundled offers of his rivals. These now represent only a small quarter of the market. But they generally concern the most data-rich offers, and therefore the most expensive. Xavier Niel considers that these practices “illegal and opaque” allow its rivals to sell terminals more expensive than what they really cost, while preventing part of their customers from slipping away to the competition.
Judicial guerrilla
The leader of Free also judges the anti-ecological bundled offers. “The subsidization model encourages the renewal of terminals because the operator wants you to be committedhe explained during a press conference in July 2021. So as soon as you approach 24 months, he will advise you to take a new terminal. » Arcep, the telecoms regulator, however published a study two years ago, defending the opposite. Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom argue, for their part, that bundled offers allow customers to afford increasingly expensive smartphones.
Read also: Free: Xavier Niel goes to war against the subsidized smartphones of his rivals
Be that as it may, Xavier Niel has embarked on a veritable judicial guerrilla war against this commercial practice. In 2012, Free filed a complaint for unfair competition against SFR and its “Carré” offers. This finally led, in 2018, to a decision of the Court of Cassation which considered that the subsidy of a mobile coupled with a plan at a higher price, with a more or less long commitment, was akin to Consumer credit. A year later, the Paris Court of Appeal, which retried the case, went in the same direction. An expert was then appointed to determine the amount of damages. At the same time, Free initiated litigation with regard to certain bundled offers from Orange.