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Marrakech – A French business owner received a shocking phone bill of €37,737 following a one-week vacation in Morocco. The 63-year-old bar and tobacco shop owner from Maule, in the Yvelines region of France, is now fighting the charge from telecom giant Orange.
According to French news outlet Le Parisien, Dominique, who owns a bar-tabac in Maule, spent a week in Marrakech from April 28 to May 5 this year. Upon his return, he discovered that Orange had charged him over €37,000 for mobile data usage during his stay.
The businessman claims he barely used his phone during the trip. “It’s not possible. I didn’t touch my phone. Either I was hacked or I made a mistake,” he told Le Parisien.
Before traveling to Morocco, Dominique had increased his data plan to 5 GB, which was supposed to cover his usage in Morocco. Despite this precaution, the charges accumulated rapidly.
Orange states they sent multiple warning messages to the customer. The company claims they first notified him when he reached 80% of his data allowance, then again at 100% when his data was blocked.
According to the telecom provider, Dominique authorized additional data usage on May 2 at 6:14 p.m. After this authorization, Orange says they sent 16 text messages alerting him about excess consumption.
Read also: French Tourists Crown Morocco as Ultimate Summer 2025 Haven
Dominique disputes this account. He acknowledges receiving a message about exceeding €2,500 while dining with friends, but admits he didn’t pay attention to it. He claims he never received any message at 6:14 p.m. and didn’t authorize the additional charges.
“At 3 a.m., I was sleeping. I didn’t see these messages,” Dominique explained. He noted that during previous trips to Morocco, his phone bills never exceeded €140.
The detailed bill shows charges of €225 per minute between 3:39 a.m. and 6:34 a.m. on May 2 for “3G/3G+ roaming” communications. The charges totaled €31,000 before taxes for just four hours of usage.
The dispute has caused serious problems for Dominique’s business. Orange cut his service, affecting his cash register, card payment terminal, and email system essential for placing orders.
“€31,000 in four hours is ridiculous! That’s not what I earn in a year. I won’t work for Orange for two years. I won’t pay,” said the businessman, who claims to have been an Orange customer “for 38 years without missing payments.”
Dominique has taken several steps to resolve the issue, including sending a registered letter to Orange headquarters and filing a complaint with the Orange mediator. He has since switched to another mobile operator to keep his business running.
Orange maintains that “no tangible evidence allows us to question the validity of the amounts due” and claims their prevention service properly informed the customer of the charges.
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