French Vacationer Slapped with €37,000 Phone Bill: Orange’s Data Nightmare in Morocco

37,737.11 euros. This is the astronomical sum that Orange is demanding from Dominique, a 63-year-old merchant, for excessive Internet data consumption during a stay in Morocco, from April 28 to May 5, reports Le Parisien. "This is not possible. I didn’t touch my phone. Either I was hacked, or I made a mistake," assures the sexagenarian. He explains that before his departure for Marrakech, he had taken care to increase his mobile data allowance and that he had a 5 GB data plan, valid in Morocco as well.

For its part, Orange claims to have alerted him repeatedly on May 2 about the overrun: "This client received a first SMS indicating that he was reaching 80% of his plan, then a second at 100% + blocking. In this context, we offered him the possibility of buying a pass or unblocking by the meter (9 euros per MB). The client subsequently validated this overage authorization on May 2 at 6:14 pm. He then received 16 SMS alerting him of the overconsumption."

"I did not receive any SMS at 6:14 pm. I did not validate anything, assures Dominique. I just bought mobile data for 9 euros and much later in the evening," continues the merchant. He does remember receiving an SMS alerting him to a 2,500 euro overrun while dining with friends. However, "at the time, I didn’t pay attention to it," he confesses. According to him, he did not receive the other messages informing him of the explosion of his consumption, which came in the middle of the night.

Dominique received the detailed invoice in June: 31,000 euros before tax. On the night of May 2, between 3:39 am and 6:34 am, Orange billed him 225 euros per minute, with the mention 3G/3G+ roaming (international roaming) communication. "31,000 euros in four hours, that’s nonsense! That’s not what I earn in a year. I’m not going to work for Orange for two years. I won’t pay. If Orange remains inflexible, I’ll go to court," the merchant assures. He has already taken multiple steps. "I sent a registered letter to the head office, which remained unanswered. I filed a complaint with the Orange ombudsman. The processing time can be up to six months," Dominique fumes.

His line is now permanently cut off after his refusal to pay. "No tangible evidence allows us to call into question the validity of the sums due," the mobile operator affirms. "Our Orange prevention service has done what was necessary to inform the customer. In addition, all attempts by our customer service to dialogue with the customer have been met with a refusal on his part."