SFR sold plans 'guaranteed for life' — then raised the prices. €10M fine

Between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2020, SFR marketed its no-contract RED by SFR plans with promises of price permanence: 'sans condition de durée' (no duration condition), 'sans prix qui doublent au bout d'un an' (no prices doubling after a year), 'garanti à vie' (guaranteed for life). The campaign sold stability as the product — unlike rivals, the pitch went, this price would not move. From 2019, SFR imposed unilateral price increases on those same plans.

Consumer association UFC-Que Choisir filed its complaint in 2021 after receiving consumer complaints. On 19 March 2026 the Paris criminal court (tribunal correctionnel de Paris) found SFR guilty of misleading commercial practices, ruling the permanence claims 'false or likely to mislead'. The fine was €10 million — €5 million firm, €5 million suspended — plus €50,000 damages to UFC-Que Choisir. The campaign, the association said, had attracted thousands of consumers.

SFR chose not to appeal. On 13 April 2026 it posted an excerpt of the judgment on X through its RED by SFR account and declined to comment; UFC-Que Choisir called the ruling 'a strong signal in favour of transparency of commercial practices' in the telecoms sector. A criminal conviction is the sharp end of French consumer law: misleading commercial practices can be punished there, not only by injunctions.

The court fined SFR €10 million for misleading permanence claims, ruling that 'for life' promises become false the moment prices rise.

'For life' is an absolute promise: the moment prices rise, the claim itself is false — the court ruled the permanence claims misleading.

The fine was criminal, not administrative: a correctionnel court, €5 million firm on top of damages — the escalation is the message.

The association carried the case: UFC-Que Choisir's 2021 complaint became a 2026 conviction — consumer litigation outlasted the campaign.

If you advertise a price 'garanti à vie', don't raise it: SFR promised stability for life, then hiked prices anyway — a Paris criminal court fined it €10 million.

SFR chose not to appeal the 19 March 2026 judgment, posting an excerpt on 13 April 2026 through its RED by SFR account. The misleading claims ran from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2020; unilateral price rises began in 2019. UFC-Que Choisir had filed its complaint in 2021.