Decision of the Competition Council of the Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal - GVH) Vj-188/2005: Vodafone

The Competition Council of the Hungarian Competition Authority (Gazdasági Versenyhivatal - GVH) established in its decision, issued on 30 March 2006, that Vodafone infringed the provisions on the prohibition of unfair manipulation of consumer choice of the Hungarian Competition Act.

In the competition supervision proceeding the Competition Council of the GVH concluded that certain advertisements of Vodafone, which omitted to state an important piece of information concerning the consumers` obligation to pay an interlocking fee, when stating that calls made abroad only cost the tariff payable in Hungary, were held to be unlawful. It was held to be contrary to law that Vodafone in its advertisements, according to which calls received abroad are free of charge for the receiver, did not properly inform its consumers that they must pay an interlocking fee when receiving a call abroad

The Competition Council imposed a fine of HUF 2 million (approx. EUR 7,600) on Vodafone for its unlawful behaviour.

Budapest, 31 March, 2006

Hungarian Competition Authority
Communication Group

Further information:
Erika Baráth
Hungarian Competition Authority
1054 Budapest, V., Alkotmány u.5.
1245 Budapest, 5. Pf. 1036
tel: (+36-1) 472-8985
email: Barath.Erika@gvh.hu
http://www.gvh.hu