JERUSALEM, Nov. 12 (JTA) – Israelis who used Bezek International for overseas phone service were deliberately misled by the company regarding international call rates, Israel’s trade ministry has concluded. The ministry’s anti-trust authority found that as two competing overseas phone-service providers were preparing to enter the market in May, Bezek executives exploited the company’s previous standing as a monopoly and deliberately adopted a policy aimed at “obscuring and confusing” the consumer about rates. To this end, the authority’s four-month investigation found that the senior management at Bezek adopted a number of tactics, including selective publication of phone rates, a complicated tariff structure making it difficult for consumers to compare rates between providers and erratic rate changes. Internal company documents cited in the authority’s report addressed such issues as “implementation of a policy to confuse rates.” Bezek officials denied any wrongdoing. “Nothing remained from what began as an investigation into claims that Bezek International was price-dumping,” said Uri Yogev, the director-general of Bezek International. “Bezek International plans to appeal the other, marginal issues which were raised to prove that it acted in accordance with the law throughout.” The trade ministry has yet to decide whether formal charges will be brought against Bezek International.
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