Vodafone Hungary hit with HUF932m fine by comptroller

Vodafone Hungary – a subsidiary of local telecoms/IT group 4iG since 31 January – has been ordered to pay a fine of HUF932.4 million (USD2.664 million) by the Hungarian antimonopoly authority Gazdasagi Versenyhivatal (GVH) for misleading its customers in two promotion campaigns back in 2015 and 2016. As reported by Daily News Hungary, GVH accused the then-Vodafone Group subsidiary of making multiple unfounded claims in its marketing, including claims related to group 4G network coverage which could not be proven. Legal proceedings started in 2016, leading to the GVH levying an original fine of HUF1.2 billion on Vodafone in December 2019, which the company appealed, and a court of first instance subsequently asked the competition authority to recalculate the penalty. Hungary’s Supreme Court (the Curia) upheld the verdict in January 2022, and the GVH’s latest decision finalising the reduced amount was issued on 24 March 2023.