Complaint to or termination with a telecom operator, broadband or mobile (France)
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This document is in French
The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For a broadband, landline or mobile customer in France who wants to complain about a failing service or a bill, or to end the contract. As you choose: a complaint, a termination, which takes effect at the latest ten days after receipt (Article L. 224-39 of the French Consumer Code), or a termination without penalty after a change to the contract, within four months (Article L. 224-33). If you switch operator and keep your number, the new operator ends the old contract for you. In French, to send by registered post with proof of receipt.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- Your broadband box in France keeps cutting out and your operator does nothing about it.
- Your mobile or internet bill includes charges you do not recognise.
- Your operator changed the terms of your contract and you want to leave without paying a penalty.
- You want to cancel your broadband, landline or mobile contract by registered letter.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Customer
- Customer's address
- Operator (broadband, landline or mobile)
- Telecoms provider's postal address
- City
- Date
- Client number
- Phone number or line ID
- Complaint or termination
- Description of the problem
- Remedy requested
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- What does ending a 24-month phone contract cost in France?
- During the first twelve months, the monthly payments still due up to the 12th month can in principle be charged. For a contract made since 1 January 2023, ending it from the end of the 12th month no longer costs the payments for the rest of the term, unless a phone or other equipment was subsidised, in which case the operator may claim at most 20% of the sums still due (Article L. 224-28 of the French Consumer Code). The regulator ARCEP explains these rules free of charge on its site. After a contract change notified by the operator, ending it within four months carries no penalty (Article L. 224-33).
- Must a customer in France cancel the old broadband or mobile plan when switching operator?
- No, if you keep your number: give the new operator your RIO code, obtained free by calling 3179 from the line concerned; it handles the number transfer and ends the old contract. If you do not keep the number, or are moving, send this letter. Then return the rented equipment, such as the router or decoder, as the old operator instructs, and keep proof that you did.
- When does France's electronic communications ombudsman come in?
- After writing to customer service and then to the operator's consumer or complaints department without a satisfactory answer, and within a year of your first written complaint. Referral is free, online on the ombudsman's site. The ombudsman gives an opinion; if the operator accepts it, it applies it. You can also report the problem on SignalConso or on ARCEP's 'J'alerte l'Arcep', free services that do not settle individual disputes but guide inspections.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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