The Superior Court of Quebec authorized two class action lawsuits against telecommunications provider Vidéotron. The lawsuits allege the company overcharged residential customers in Quebec, where it primarily operates.
Though the allegations have yet to be tested in court, the authorization of both class actions means a large number of Vidéotron customers could be rewarded damages, reports BNN Bloomberg.
One of the lawsuits focuses on rebates and interest charges, alleging Vidéotron did not refund some pre-paid customers when they cancelled services. According to the lawsuit, Vidéotron did not issue refunds when customers were owed less than $5 for cancelled services, but did issue refunds for amounts greater than $5.
That same lawsuit separately alleges that Vidéotron charged one month’s worth of interest on overdue balances, regardless of how many days later customers were. The lawsuit claims that Vidéotron’s customer contracts say the company charges interest on overdue amounts on a daily basis, not monthly.
The lawsuit was authorized as a class action on February 3rd. The lawyers behind it say it applies to Quebec customers of all of Vidéotron’s services between October 20th, 2018 and February 3rd, 2023. The lawsuit’s notice of class action says Vidéotron denies the allegations.
The other lawsuit accuses Vidéotron of improperly charging some customers for SIM cards that those customers didn’t request. The lawsuit cites two examples of Vidéotron customers being charged $10 for a SIM card they did not need or ask for. The lawsuit was authorized to proceed on August 9th.
It’s worth noting that neither class action includes customers of Freedom Mobile, which was recently acquired by Vidéotron owner Quebecor earlier this year.
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Source: BNN Bloomberg
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