012 Smile.Communications ltd announces that it has been notified of a proposed class action lawsuit with respect to its international calling cards
PETACH TIKVA, Israel, April 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - 012 Smile.Communications (NASDAQ Global market and TASE: SMLC), a growth-oriented provider of communication services in Israel, today announced that it received a monetary claim, and an application for permission to file it as a class action lawsuit against the company, as well as two other international telephony companies, Bezeq International Ltd. and Netvision 013 Barak Ltd, in the Tel-Aviv District Court.
The claim was filed by seven citizens of The Philippines that are employed in Israel, who claim to have used the international calling cards of 012 Smile.Communications, Bezeq International Ltd. and Netvision 013 Barak Ltd, to call abroad. The purported plaintiffs claim that the calling cards provide an average of 50% of the units of time indicated to the purchasers of the cards. They also allege that the three international telephony companies deduct the time spent when unsuccessfully attempting to call someone from the card, calculate and collect payment not by units of round minutes as indicated, provide misleading information about the number of "units" on the card and together formed a cartel that arranged and raised the prices of calling cards.The purported plaintiffs seek court permission to file the claim as a class action lawsuit by virtue of Israel's Class Actions Law, on behalf of groups of people that include anyone who purchased calling cards distributed by one of three international telephony companies for use in calls to The Philippines, during the seven year period prior to filing the claim or during the proceedings themselves. The purported plaintiffs claim that the damages caused to all members of the purported class total approximately 400 million shekels, of which, they estimate that approximately 80 million shekels of damages were attributable to the company's calling cards. The purported plaintiffs also claim damages of approximately 9 million shekels as a result of the alleged actions by the three international telephony companies, 012 Smile.Communications Bezeq International Ltd. and Netvision 013 Barak Ltd as a cartel.
The company has not had an opportunity to review the claims with its counsel and is unable to provide any comments at this time.