He was just a phone call away — from a massive fine.
A man was slapped with an over $200 fine for using the speakerphone function on his cell phone in a train station in the western French city of Nantes.
The man, only identified as David, was chatting with his sister on speakerphone when he was approached by an official from France’s state-owned rail company SNCF, CNN reported.
“An SNCF security person told me that if I didn’t turn off my loudspeaker, I was going to be fined €150,” he told BFMTV.
David, who originally thought the intervention was just a joke, wasn’t laughing when the official issued him the hefty fine.
“I think the person was offended. She took out her notebook and fined me,” he continued.
The disgruntled cell phone user already hired a lawyer to contest the fine, which was $154, but was hiked to $207 because he didn’t pay it right away.
