GVH said the company advertised its Hungarian sites be2.hu and academicsingles.hu as free of charge but charged fees for messaging.

Be2 also misled consumers about terms of use, prices and renewal of subscriptions, as many users were unaware of the duration of their subscriptions or the costs of the subscriptions.

GVH instructed the company to discontinue non-compliant practices within 30 days and communicate to users corrective measures it is taking. 

Users also have the opportunity to assert their civil law claim directly in court, the competitions authority asserted.