Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, December 19, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife man has brought a class action lawsuit against Bell Mobility over its monthly charge to NWT customers for non-existent 911 service.

The Yellowknife resident is suing the cell phone service provider for $6 million, which would be divided among all Bell Mobility's customers without 911 service.

The company charges 75 cents a month for the service.

"When I first received the cell phone service, I asked them to explain all the charges to me," said James Anderson.

He then asked why he was being charged for 911 service, which no communities in the NWT provide.

"They were unable to give me a satisfactory answer as to why I was paying that charge," he said.

Anderson's lawyer, Toronto-based Keith Landy of the firm Landy Marr, said in today's consumer-conscious society, customers have the right to expect to receive what they are being charged for.

"We are hoping to make just an unjust situation," he said.

He said a class action makes the plaintiff (Anderson, in this case) representative of all people in a certain "class" which in this case, would be all Bell users who are paying for 911 service and not receiving it. Landy Marr specializes in civil litigation and class actions. Anderson said his class action suit is Canada-wide, encompassing any cell phone users in the country in his situation.

"We have taken the position that everyone in the NWT and beyond (who is paying for non-existent 911) ought to be compensated for the money they have paid," Landy said.

Landy said the method by which a settlement would be paid out would vary depending on what kind of agreement was reached.

"The court takes a supervisory role to ensure the settlement is fair," he said.

In this case, a settlement could involve rebates to affected customers' accounts, or simply cheques distributed to all members of the class.

Jeff Meerman, a Quebec-based spokesperson for Bell Canada, said the company did not wish to comment on the case while it was still before the courts.