A web page is displayed on an Apple iPhone in Toronto, Thursday, Dec.8, 2011. The Supreme Court is allowing a class-action lawsuit against Canadian cellphone companies over system access fees to proceed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
June 28, 2012 - 12:25 PM
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court is allowing a class-action lawsuit against Canadian cellphone companies over system access fees to proceed.
The suit against some of the country's biggest wireless carriers, including Rogers, Telus and Bell Mobility, was launched in 2004.
The companies appealed the certification of the suit all the way to the Supreme Court, which today dismissed the appeal — paving the way for the suit to proceed.
As is customary, the high court did not provide reasons for its decision.
The suit alleges the cellphone companies wrongfully collected the fees, which were in addition to other monthly fees for phone service, from customers.
It calls for the respondents to be reimbursed.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
While some cellphone companies have phased out system access fees the suit seeks to recoup fees paid reaching back two decades.
The class action was certified by the courts in Saskatchewan in 2007.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012