Class suit against Bezeq goes to trial

The Central District Court in Petah Tikva approved a NIS 103 million suit against Bezeq as a class action earlier this week. The plaintiff claims that Bezeq is illegally charging customers fees for not paying their bills on time.

The plaintiff, Yuval Kichel, says he was charged NIS 23 for being late in paying two bills, one by seven days and the other by eight days, even though he paid them himself, without Bezeq taking any steps to collect the payments. He claims such fees are illegal and wants his money back.

Bezeq says it charges customers who are more than seven days late in paying their bills, even though it sends out a warning letter only 14 days after the payment is missed.

The judge did not accept Bezeq's claim that the fees support its collection system, which all customers would have to pay for otherwise. Thus the the case will now proceed to trial.

The judge also levied NIS 100,000 in court costs on Bezeq for drawing out the proceedings.