Gigantic fine for Vodafone in Hungary

The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) wanted to fine Vodafone in 2019 for more than HUF 1.2 billion (EUR 3.12 million), but the company brought the case to court. The procedure finished yesterday. Based on Kúria’s verdict, Vodafone will have to pay almost HUF 1 billion (EUR 2.6 million) because they misled customers between 2015 and 2016.

Gigantic fine for Vodafone in Hungary

According to index.hu, the procedure lasted more than 6.5 years since it started in 2016. Kúria, Hungary’s Supreme Court, delivered its verdict last year, but the Hungarian Competition Authority had to recalculate the fine. The new sum is HUF 932.4 million (EUR 2.42 million), a gigantic one in Hungary.

Based on the statement of the authority, Vodafone had two promotion campaigns in 2015 and 2016, which misled its customers. The company stated then that it had the biggest 4G partner network and network in Europe. In the procedure, Vodafone could not prove that their system reached more territories in Europe than their competitors’ service. Therefore, their claims having the greatest 4G service in that regard was unfounded and exhausted unfair commercial practices, the GVH said.

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In December 2019, the company was fined almost HUF 1.2 billion with special respect to the fact that in the previous 12 years, it committed such acts 12 times. Among those, there were multiple unfounded claims utilised to promote their service and increase the number of their customers.

State loan and management rights

However, Vodafone did not accept the verdict then and turned to the court. The court of first instance determined the violation of the law in 2021 but called the GVH to recalculate the fine. Kúria upheld that sentence in January 2022. After that, the GVH filed a constitutional complaint which the Constitutional Court rejected in December 2022. The recalculation of the fine took more than three months for the authority, during which they considered Vodafone’s refrain from seeking remedies at law, and the time passed. That is why they decreased the amount of money Vodafone needs to pay.

This January, a Hungarian company, 4iG, bought Vodafone Hungary with a considerable (HUF 170 billion) state loan. 4iG got 51 percent and acquired management rights, while the Hungarian state got 49 percent of the shares. The comopany’s enterprise value was HUF 660 billion (EUR 1.7 billion) then.

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Source: index.hu