My phone or internet is down: do I get compensation in Hungary?
If your service is interrupted for a reason on the provider's side or beyond both sides' control, you pay nothing for that time. Above 48 hours in a calendar month, the month's fee is refunded, unless force majeure applies and the provider did its best.
When your line is down, your provider has to repair it. In some countries you get compensation if a fault is not fixed in time; what applies in Hungary, and what it means for emergency calls, is below.
📜 The rules in Hungary
Compensation
If a fault is not fixed within 72 hours, you get a daily penalty (kötbér): four times the daily share of your monthly charges if the service works with reduced quality, eight times if it is unusable. It is paid within 30 days, unasked.
Emergency calls
Calls to 112 and other emergency numbers are free from every phone, and stay possible even if your service is restricted for unpaid bills. Mobile networks also deliver public alerts and emergency warnings by SMS free of charge.
The details
- Report every fault to the provider: it must locate it, fix a real fault on its side within 72 hours of your report free of charge, and tell you about the repair within 24 hours. (njt.jog.gov.hu)
- Planned maintenance needs 15 days' prior notice and may not exceed one day per calendar month. (njt.jog.gov.hu)
- A fault reported again within 72 hours of the repair notice does not count as fixed. A lost or stolen SIM card must be suspended at once on your request, and calls made after your report cannot be charged to you. (njt.jog.gov.hu)
Nemzeti Média- és Hírközlési Hatóság (NMHH)
The telecom authority. It acts on breaches of telecom rules once you have complained to the provider first; it can order the provider to comply or fine it, but does not decide your individual claim.
Békéltető testületek
Free, independent conciliation boards run by the county and Budapest chambers of commerce. They settle consumer disputes about your contract out of court once you have tried and failed to settle directly with the provider.
🪜 Step by step
- Report the fault right awayCall or use the provider’s fault service, and note the date, time and reference number.
- Keep a recordWrite down how long the service is down and what you could not do.
- Ask for compensation or a refundIf the fault is not fixed in time, ask in writing for the compensation or price reduction that applies.
- Escalate if neededIf the provider refuses, complain in writing and then go to the dispute body.
📇 Who to contact
❓ Questions
Can I still call emergency services during an outage?
Emergency calls from a mobile phone usually go through any available network. If your phone cannot connect, ask someone nearby to call.
Is a short outage compensated?
Usually only longer faults or missed repair appointments are. The rule for Hungary, if there is one, is on this page.
What if the faults keep coming back?
Repeated faults can give you the right to a lower price or to end the contract. Ask the regulator or the dispute body.
📎 Sources
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