Coca-Cola Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over App Points
Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Coca-Cola Israel for allegedly preventing users from redeeming points in its app for months and then resetting those points. The suit seeks over 2.5 million shekels in compensation and the restoration of rewards.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Coca-Cola Israel faces a class action lawsuit over its app's reward system.
- Users claim they couldn't redeem points for rewards for months.
- Accumulated points were allegedly reset to zero without proper notice.
- An alternative redemption method was reportedly restricted to specific groups.
- The lawsuit seeks over 2.5 million shekels in compensation.
A class action lawsuit has been filed against The Central Bottling Company, the Israeli manufacturer and distributor of Coca-Cola products, alleging that the company's mobile application failed to allow users to redeem accumulated points for rewards over several months. The lawsuit, filed by consumers represented by lawyers Nitzan Gadot and Doron Radei, claims that users were consistently met with an "out of stock" message in the app's gift shop for an extended period.
The claim further states that the accumulated points and "caps", earned by entering codes from under bottle caps or through app activities, were eventually reset to zero for all users on October 4th. This occurred despite company terms stating points are only deleted after 180 days of inactivity and require a 30-day prior reminder. The plaintiff alleges they had made an activity in the app just days before the reset and did not receive a prior notification.
Additionally, the lawsuit contends that an alternative redemption method, exchanging points for drinks via automated machines from a company called "Mashkar," was effectively limited to soldiers and students at military bases and universities, a restriction not disclosed to all users. The suit seeks to represent three groups of consumers: those whose points were deleted during the app update, those whose points were previously deleted or unredeemable, and those who allegedly did not receive a birthday benefit mentioned in the terms.
The plaintiffs are requesting that the company restore the deleted points and replenish the gift inventory, or alternatively, provide monetary compensation equivalent to the value of the deleted points, plus NIS 50 per user for non-monetary damages like wasted time and distress. The individual claim is for NIS 150, while the total class action is valued at over NIS 2.5 million. The Central Bottling Company has 90 days to respond, and stated they had not yet received the lawsuit.