Telephone, Internet or television: performance and evolution of the contract

Verified 12 August 2020 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Termination of online contracts

Published on 18 August 2022

Online contract termination will have to be offered on sites that already offer the possibility to sign an online contract.

For this purpose, the trader must make available to the consumer a free feature to accomplish this.

That's one of the things article 15 of law no. 2022-1158 of august 16, 2022.

However, a decree must be issued no later than 1er June 2023, to specify the conditions for implementing this feature.

The information contained on this page remains current and will be amended as soon as the text enters into force.

Your contract for a telephone, internet or television subscription sets out the obligations that you and your operator or supplier must fulfill. The trader must provide the service provided for in the contract. For your part, you have to pay your bills. You can modify your contract and renew it automatically under certain conditions.

Your operator or supplier must meet their commitments under the contract.

If the service provided does not match the service provided in the contract or the offer announcement, it may be a deceptive marketing practice.

Example :

Your contract for a telephone subscription gives you access to unlimited SMS messages to all operators in France (except certain special numbers). If you are charged for text messages in addition to your package, then this is a deceptive marketing practice.

The trader also has an obligation of result in the provision of the service. It is therefore responsible for the malfunctions encountered during the execution of the services (for example, if your internet connection does not work), except in case of force majeure.

If there is a problem, you can send a formal notice to restore the service to working order.

Instruct its Internet service provider to provide the promised service

You can also ask for compensation and non-payment for periods when you were unable to access the service.

Seek compensation from your phone or internet service provider

You must comply with the conditions set out in the contract.

You must pay the amounts invoiced on the scheduled date as long as they correspond to the prices and tariffs in force in your contract.

If you do not pay your bills, your operator or your supplier can stop the service and take over the loaned devices (internet box, decoder...).

The trader cannot impose direct debit as the only means of payment. He must offer you another means of payment, by check or by transfer for example.

If a fee is requested to use another payment method, the fee must be justified (check processing...).

Please note

if you are in financial difficulty, your operator or supplier cannot charge you fees related to a rejection of payment.

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At the request of the operator

The operator or supplier cannot change your contract without informing you.

For example, it can't delete a TV channel or lower your mobile data plan without notifying you.

They must notify you of any planned changes to the contract at least 1 month before they are implemented. He may do so by mail or by any other means durable support (e.g. by sending an email).

As soon as your subscription is changed, you have 4 months to accept the changes (in this case, you have nothing to do), or reject them and terminate your contract without charge or penalty. Once your contract is terminated, you will be able to switch operators or suppliers.

At your request

You can only request an amendment to your contract if a clause (i.e. a provision) of your contract so provides.

The modification of your contract is materialized either by a new contract or by a agreeable added to your original contract.

The change may result in a longer commitment period.

However, the professional cannot impose a minimum period of engagement of more than 24 months (2 years).

Example :

If you have signed a 24-month contract and request to modify your contract before the end of the 24 months, your operator can offer you an additional engagement period of up to 24 months. To do this, they must offer you the same service for a minimum 12-month engagement period. The duration must be included in your new contract.

We're calling tacit renewal of the contract the automatic renewal of the contract after it has ended. The initial contract must include a clause of tacit renewal so that it can be renewed automatically.

Your operator or supplier must inform you in writing of your right not to renew the contract, even if the contract contains a clause of tacit renewal. It must do so at the earliest 3 months and at the latest 1 month before the end of the period authorizing the rejection of the renewal.

Without information from him, you can terminate the contract immediately and free of charge by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt.

In the event of a dispute concerning the performance of your contract, you can to refer to the electronic communications ombudsman or departmental services for the protection of populations.

FAQ