Magyar Telekom fined for high customer penalties

BUDAPEST, June 29 (Reuters) - Hungarian telecoms watchdog NHH has fined Magyar Telekom MTEL.BU 100 million forints ($508,000) for excessive penalties to customers modifying or cancelling fixed-term contracts, NHH said in a statement. The NHH said the penalties applied by Magyar Telekom made it excessively difficult for clients to switch service providers, curbing market competition. It said the business practice affected several thousand clients.

The watchdog also said it ordered Magyar Telekom to amend penalties attached to existing fixed-term service plans within 30 days so that the penalties be proportionate to the costs or discounts related to that product.

At 1238 GMT, Magyar Telekom stock traded up 2.3 percent at 585 forints on the Budapest Stock Exchange, outperforming a 1.9 percent gain in the wider .BUX. ($1=196.84 Hungarian Forint) (Reporting by Gergely Szakacs)