Fixed and mobile packages are also victims of inflation! Orange, SFR and Bouygues are increasing their prices again from January 2023. An increase intended to compensate for the increase in energy costs, and which only Free refuses.
Prices never stop rising with inflation, regardless of the sector! Heating, electricity, transport, communication, electronic components, streaming subscriptions… Suffice to say that, put together, all these increases end up weighing down the wallet! And it’s not the fixed and mobile packages that will rebalance the scale, given that their prices are also soaring! While users have had the unpleasant surprise for some time of seeing the prices of their subscriptions increase – whether without being warned or via sneaky techniques (see our article) – the Government is adding a layer of it by trying to impose a tax on all Internet and mobile packages. But that’s without counting on the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy price hikes! The operators warned us at the end of the year and are now taking action. As the UFC-Que Choisir alert, the new plans will apply from the beginning of the year, for new and old customers, and on almost all plans. For Bouygues Telecom and SFR, it will be from January and February 2023, while Orange gives its customers two months of respite before following suit. Only Free is committed to maintaining its prices… for now.
Orange, Bouygues, SFR: subscribers pay for soaring energy
The first to increase the prices of its subscriptions is Bouygues Telecom, which has already started sending emails entitled “Our rates are changing” to its subscribers in order to announce the good news, which will take effect at the end of January 2023. The amount of this increase is €1 to €2 depending on the packages. For the B&You 40 GB, the increase will be €1, while the 80 GB packages will increase by €2. For its part, the Bbox Fit subscription should increase by 2 € per month. However, it seems that these increases may be higher than what is announced, since a customer reported to the association that her bill for an offer combining box and mobile had gone from €65.89 to €69.89 ( i.e. an increase of €4) last October already…
SFR is also increasing its prices, even if it is much less significantly: between €0.69 and €0.99 per month depending on the SFR and Red by SFR plans, and this from February 2023. The operator s was justified in December by “the general increase in the costs that make up the price of your service (electronic components, raw materials, logistics)”. What poses a problem is that the operator is subject to a duty to inform its customers. However, SFR did not send either email or SMS, and simply contented itself with an insert at the bottom of the January invoice. Suffice to say that many customers may not understand what is happening to them next month!
For its part, Orange had justified toAlloforfait its decision to increase its rates by the fact that it faces “to a significant increase in [ses] operating costs, particularly of the energy that powers [ses] mobile networks and the Internet”. It was therefore “forced” to pass on the rise in energy prices to its subscribers. Don’t panic though since, in his immense kindness, he made sure that they only had to pay 1 to 2 € per month. The €1 increases concern Orange mobile offers (mobile plan and mobile plan for Open customers), Orange Internet fibre, Sosh mobile and Sosh Internet. The €2 increases concern Open and Orange Internet ADSL customers. They will be effective in March 2023 for 3 million customers, and in April 2023 for 12.5 million others – subscribers therefore have the right to a little respite. On the other hand, the main subscription with social reduction will not change, and the Coup de Pouce offer, intended for people with a family quotient of less than or equal to €700, should be reduced so that they can continue to connect to the Internet. at her’s.
Increase in packages: only Free does not increase its prices
Finally, only Free remains true to himself, which could also motivate some customers to come to him. A spokesperson for the group said at the Parisian that“we have made a commitment not to touch the price of these packages for the next five years and we are the only operator not to increase the price of our packages”. It remains to be seen whether he will keep his promise or whether the macroeconomic context will get the better of his good will.
If all its increases are carried out within a legal framework and it is impossible to oppose it, remember that subscribers have the right to ask to change their offer – to take another less expensive one – or to cancel their subscription. current free of charge and without taking into account the commitment period within four months of receipt of the email, in accordance with article L224-33 of the Consumer Code. All customers must be informed at least one month before the application of the new prices. So stay vigilant during this period to avoid any unpleasant surprises…