Two Canadian telecommunications giants are squaring off in court over the alleged overcharging of 911 service fees.
According to a notice of civil claim filed June 11 in the BC Supreme Court, Bell Canada (TSX:BCE) is seeking the repayment of $564,176 it claims it overpaid to Vancouver’s Telus Communications (TSX:T) for 911 access for its customers.
Since October 1999, Bell has had a contract with Telus for the emergency service. Each month since then, reads the civil claim, Bell submitted a list of working phone numbers to Telus and paid a standard tariff for 911 access outlined in Telus’ 911 service agreement. That contract was also regulated by the CRTC.
In May 2008, Bell notified Telus about the need to audit the accounts it had been submitting. Bell continued to pay Telus each month while it undertook the review. There were no disputes between the parties at the time.
In February 2009, Bell completed its audit. The review allegedly found that the amount of phone numbers Bell had been submitting to Telus for 911 services had been overstated. The inflated numbers resulted in the aforementioned overpayment. Bell alleges it had been overpaying Telus since January 2003.
According to the civil claim, when Bell submitted the revised numbers, Telus refused to provide any refund or credit.
In June 2010, Bell filed an application to the CRTC, requesting it force Telus credit Bell for the charges. In November of that year, the CRTC ruled in Bell’s favour.
In addition to the $564,176.16, Bell is also suing for pre- and post-judgment interest, legal fees and damages from Telus for the “unjust enrichment” for services that it alleges were not rendered.
