SFR, Orange, Free, Bouygues Outage: How to Claim Your Compensation!

Every year, subscribers of various French ISPs have to deal with significant service outages. However, what users may not realize is that they are entitled to compensation under certain conditions. Here’s an explanation of those conditions.

The fixed and mobile networks of major French operators like Orange, Bouygues Telecom, SFR, and Free, are not without their faults. Annually, users face these outages, which vary in severity.

Recently, and you might already be aware, SFR was in the spotlight due to a national outage. On Monday, June 16, millions of subscribers were unable to send messages, make calls, or browse the internet for most of the day. According to the operator with the red logo, the issue was caused by a significant software problem in its network core, leading to spontaneous outages and random disconnections on both mobile and fiber networks. Earlier in the year, there were also disturbances in the networks of Bouygues, Free, and SFR, though none as severe as yesterday’s outage.

Indeed, the disruptions on the SFR network lasted about 12 hours in total. Understandably, many dissatisfied customers, both individual and professional, are determined to seek financial compensation. But what exactly does French law say about this?

Operators’ Obligation to Deliver Results

According to the website services-publiques.fr, every operator is bound by certain obligations when fulfilling contracts with their clients:

• to provide a service that meets the technical and quality specifications agreed upon in the contract
• to ensure continuous and quality service, except in cases of force majeure or previously announced maintenance
• to respond swiftly to restore service in the event of an outage or malfunction

In other words, if an operator fails to meet its obligations, whether in terms of bandwidth or service availability, it can be held accountable. However, note that this is not the case if the disruptions are caused by force majeure events such as storms or floods.

Except for this, a prolonged disruption is considered a fault, and customers are thus entitled to request a refund or financial compensation. It should be noted that the duration of the interruption will determine whether or not you are eligible for compensation.

What Compensation Can You Request?

If your internet connection or mobile network is disrupted for several days, you can request:

• a prorated refund for the duration of the outage
• a reduction on your monthly bill
• significant financial compensation in cases of severe damage (especially for professionals whose business operations were hindered)
• some goodwill gestures (temporary increase in bandwidth or data volume, free access to additional services/options)

Additionally, since November 2024, a European regulation allows consumers affected by an outage to demand compensation, provided the outage lasted at least 8 hours.

However, before you get too excited, know that the compensation offered might not be very enticing: only 1 € after 8 hours of outage. Subsequently, each additional day without service will earn you an additional 1.5 €. In the case of the SFR outage, this would amount to roughly 1.25 € for a 12-hour interruption.

How to Request Compensation After an Outage?

Unless operators automatically offer compensation following a significant outage, as SFR did by giving 100 GB of data to recently affected customers, they will not necessarily offer anything. You must explicitly make a request.

Here’s what you should do to improve your chances:

• Report the outage promptly by contacting your operator’s customer service by phone or email
• Record the date and time of the report and keep the case number provided by the operator
• Then prove the impact of the outage using screenshots (such as speed tests) or bills if you had to pay for other services to stay online (like using more 4G data during a fiber outage)
• Submit your request via registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt, detailing the outage, including proof, and specifying the desired compensation

Once done, your operator has 1 month to respond favorably or not to your request. If no action is taken by the end of this period, it is possible to alert the ARCEP (French Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications) and approach the mediator for electronic communications. The mediator will intervene free of charge to attempt to resolve your dispute amicably (without resorting to a judge). The goal is to reestablish a constructive dialogue between the parties to reach an agreement.

Do Not Forget the Services Offered by Operators During an Outage

Before resorting to such measures, be aware that most operators offer solutions to their subscribers to stay connected during an outage. For instance, with Orange, you can enjoy 200 GB of shared connection on your Sosh or Orange mobile, or borrow an AirBox (also with 200 GB).

Through the “Internet Guaranteed” commitment, Bouygues Telecom customers can have a 4G key or an additional 100 GB of data on their mobile plan. Similarly, SFR customers can request a loan of a Webtrotter, a 4G key with 100 GB that works with a SIM card. Lastly, at Free, there’s the Backup Freebox, an optional device that maintains internet access and TV services via OQEE Free in the event of a home connection loss or outage.