SodaStream to Compensate Customers with 2.9 Million Shekels
In the motion to certify the lawsuit against the company, it was claimed that it prevents customers who purchased subscriptions for gas cylinders from utilizing their balance towards the end of the subscription period. The company claimed that customers are free to use the entire quantity. The court approved a settlement agreement reached between the parties, according to which SodaStream will grant an additional year of warranty, for free, for 58,000 carbonation devices.
The Central District Court approved on Wednesday a settlement agreement within the framework of a class action lawsuit filed against SodaStream Israel. As part of the agreement, the company will compensate customers with benefits worth 2.9 million shekels.
The motion to certify the class action, filed in September 2023 by four customers, concerns the marketing of carbonation devices and related accessories for preparing homemade carbonated drinks. The court ruling indicates that the company offers "subscription plans" for purchasing gas cylinders for a fixed period (e.g., 48 cylinders for 4 years), marketed through the company's call center.
The claim, filed by attorneys Roi Biton, Adam Levin, and Yonatan Rappoport from the law firm Rappoport, Levin, Biton, alleged that the company's conduct prevented customers from utilizing their remaining cylinders towards the end of the subscription period. According to the claim, the company forced consumers to renew the deal as a condition for enjoying the cylinders they had already paid for and failed to properly present the agreement terms.
SodaStream argued that the motion lacked factual and legal basis, claiming that customers were free to use the full quantity of cylinders throughout the plan's duration. Ultimately, the parties reached a settlement whereby SodaStream will grant an additional year of warranty, for free, for 58,000 carbonation devices purchased before the ruling's approval. The additional warranty will take effect automatically upon the expiration of the original warranty, with a value estimated at approximately 50 shekels per device. The company was also ordered to consolidate the program's terms into a single document in accordance with the Consumer Protection Law.
Judge Iris Rabinovich-Baron determined that the settlement was proper, fair, and reasonable.
"We are pleased with the approval of the settlement agreement and with another significant result for the consumer public. The class action process we filed against SodaStream ended with an agreement that includes benefits for the public worth approximately 2.9 million shekels, alongside a change and regulation of the company's conduct," stated the law firm Rappoport, Levin, Biton.
SodaStream Israel responded:
"SodaStream believed that the lawsuit should be dismissed, and as emerges from the decision approving the settlement agreement, the court believed that most of the claims raised in the lawsuit have no merit. Regarding a specific aspect concerning the method of sending the program's terms and the call script in the company's call center, as a gesture of goodwill, SodaStream agreed to act in accordance with the court's recommendation for change in order to avoid disputes, and as a gesture of goodwill, to conclude the case by way of providing a benefit to the public."
