Orange Polska Fined After Charging Pre-Paid Customers for Not Using Their Phones

Key Takeaways

• Unlawful Contract Changes: Orange Polska introduced a “number maintenance” fee for pre-paid customers without properly informing them at the time of purchase or obtaining consent for changes to existing contracts.
• Fees for Not Using the Service: Customers were charged $1.25 (PLN 5) every 31 days if they did not actively use their phone, contradicting the basic premise of pre-paid services.
• Double Charging Identified: Some customers who had already paid for extended account validity were still charged the maintenance fee, resulting in duplicate charges for keeping the same number active.
• Violation of Consumer Rights: Poland’s consumer watchdog found the contractual clauses unlawful, concluding they penalized consumers and breached the right to clear, transparent information.
• Significant Financial Penalty: The total fine imposed on Orange Polska amounts to approximately $8.5 million (PLN 34,030,000), though the company may still appeal the decision.

Deep Dive

Pre-paid mobile phones are supposed to be simple. You top up when you want, use the service when you need it, and stop when you don’t. According to Poland’s consumer watchdog, that promise quietly broke down for thousands of Orange Polska customers. On 4 February 2026, Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) announced that it had fined Orange Polska roughly $8.5 million (PLN 34,030,000) for unlawfully charging fees to pre-paid customers who were deemed “inactive.”

The regulator found that Orange had unilaterally changed the rules of its pre-paid contracts, introducing charges that customers were neither clearly informed about nor required to accept. Between May 2022 and January 2024, Orange Polska introduced a so-called “number maintenance” fee in its pre-paid offers. Customers who failed to actively use their phone (whether by making a call, sending a text, using mobile data, or buying an add-on) were charged $1.25 (PLN 5).

Subscribers received warning messages by SMS stating that if their phone had not been used in the previous 30 days, a fee would be deducted the following day to keep the number active.

UOKiK found that this charge was not disclosed at the point of sale. The fee did not appear on starter packs or in the offers presented on Orange’s website, even though customers were later expected to comply with activity requirements to avoid being charged.

From the regulator’s perspective, that crossed a clear line. Maintaining a phone number is part of the operator’s contractual obligation and should not come with an extra price tag.

Charges That Kept Coming, Sometimes Twice

The authority also took issue with how the fee was applied. Orange charged the “number maintenance” fee every 31 days after a customer’s last recorded activity. The definition of “activity” was broad, but the consequence was consistent—no use meant a recurring charge.

In some cases, the situation went further. Customers who had already paid for services extending the validity of their account, such as an “account valid for one year” option, were still charged the maintenance fee, effectively paying twice to keep the same number active.

UOKiK concluded that the contractual clauses underpinning these fees amounted to an unlawful penalty. They punished consumers for failing to perform actions that should never be mandatory in a pre-paid model, undermining the very idea of pay-as-you-go services.

A Breach of Trust and Transparency

Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK, said Orange’s conduct ran counter to basic standards of fair dealing. He emphasized that companies cannot change the terms of an ongoing contract without a proper modification clause and informed consumer consent. Customers, he noted, make purchasing decisions based on specific offers and should not be caught off guard by new charges or usage requirements introduced after the fact.

At stake, according to the authority, is one of the most fundamental consumer rights, which is the right to clear and reliable information. The decisions are not final, and the company retains the right to appeal them before the courts.

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