PLN 5 for inactivity of the number? The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) fined Orange

The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a fine of over PLN 34 million on Orange Polska for violating the collective interests of consumers and using prohibited contractual provisions – the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection said in a press release.

As reported, Orange Polska unilaterally changed the terms of the contracts and illegally charged fees for maintaining a pre-paid phone in the event of the subscriber's inactivity, e.g. topping up the account.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) informed that Orange Polska introduced a fee for the “maintaining the number in the network” service in its pre-paid offer and charged it between May 2022 and January 2024. Consumers were not informed about this at the purchase stage, in the offers presented by the company – neither on the starter packaging nor on the operator's website subpages. Despite this – according to the Office – the company required active use of the service. Otherwise, it charged a fee of PLN 5.

As stated, maintaining the number is the entrepreneur's obligation under the contract and should not be assessed additionally in any way.

The provisions introduced in contracts regarding pre-paid telephony offers are not permitted. They are a form of punishing consumers for failure to perform activities imposed by the entrepreneur, e.g. a certain number of connections or data consumption, which should not happen. Such clauses are contrary to the assumptions of the pre-paid offer, i.e. the possibility of free use of the service – said the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

The decision is not final. The company may appeal against it to court.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) announced that these are further actions of the Office regarding additional fees for consumers using pre-paid telecommunications services. In 2025, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection brought charges against P4 and Polkomtel. (PAP Business)

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