French consumer group targets mobile phone companies

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2005

PARIS (AFP) — French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir said it had launched legal action against leading French mobile phone operators after they were fined last week for manipulating the market for mobile phones and increasing costs for consumers.

On Thursday, the French Competition Council applied a record total fine of 534 million euros (630 million dollars) on phone groups SFR, Bouygues Telecom and France Telecom subsidiary Orange for "particularly serious" collusion.

The legal director of UFC-Que Choisir, Gaelle Patetta, said that her organisation had served writs on the three companies and had notified three relevant local courts of the litigation.

UFC-Que Choisir (meaning in English "which product to choose") believes that about 30 million subscribers...