(haipo) – The Haifa Magistrate’s Court ruled in favor of a disabled person from Kiryat Yam in a lawsuit he filed against the Postal Bank and the Israel Post Company, after he claimed that an unknown person emptied his account using his ID card. As part of a settlement, the plaintiff will be refunded 150 shekels.
Judge Keren Margolin-Feldman last week approved the settlement agreement between the parties, under which it was decided that the Postal Bank and Israel Post would compensate the plaintiff. The plaintiff is a 52-year-old man who lives off disability benefits deposited into his account at the Postal Bank every month, which were his only source of income.
According to the plaintiff, during July 2021 he discovered that his ID card had been stolen, and filed a complaint with the police. About two months later, he discovered to his astonishment that his account had been emptied of funds. His investigation found that during these two months, seven withdrawals and transfers of funds were made from his account to another beneficiary. The total amount of funds stolen amounted to approximately 180 shekels, which had been accumulated over years from disability benefit deposits.
Following the events, the plaintiff contacted the Postal Bank demanding the return of the stolen funds. However, he received only a laconic response, stating that the matter was under police investigation and in the hands of the Israel Post security unit.
In February 2023, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit through attorney Eldad Ben Harush, alleging negligence on the part of the Postal Bank. According to him, the bank officials did not verify the identity of the person who made the withdrawals and transfers from his account, and did not bother to compare his photo and signature with those of the person who performed the operations.
In the defense, which will be presented by attorney Mordechai Butbul, the Postal Bank and Israel Post claimed that the responsibility lies with the plaintiff himself. According to them, he voluntarily gave his ID card to another person, and therefore the defendants could not identify the actions as suspicious. They added that the signatures on the withdrawal forms matched the plaintiff's signature.
After lengthy negotiations, the parties reached an agreement whereby the plaintiff would be returned 150 shekels in compensation, without any admission of liability on the part of the Postal Bank and Israel Post. Judge Keren Margolin-Feldman noted in her decision: "I congratulate the parties on their agreements and give them the force of a judgment."
The case raises questions about the Postal Bank's internal procedures and security mechanisms, especially when it comes to identifying customers and executing transactions. The decision to return the funds to the plaintiff could provide an incentive for banking companies to improve their verification and verification procedures, ensuring the security of their customers.
The Sror Ben Harush office, which is responsible for this lawsuit, which was handled by Attorney Eldad Ben Harush, told Hifa:
"Even large entities like the Post Office Bank need to know that they are not immune and when they make a mistake and harm the little citizen, if they know how to sue them, then they too will pay for their negligence."
Haifa, my hometown, excellent journalist, interesting articles,
Everyone is a thief in this country.
Without an admission of responsibility from the Postal Bank?
So why pay him 150 shekels, for his beautiful face?
Rotten judicial system
Only deep, profound reform.
Eyal-
How was the reliability of the report to the police that his ID card had indeed been stolen really checked?!
And so they apparently reached the aforementioned compromise agreement…
You need a brain reform.
This is how I got stung by the postal bank: several hundred shekels were stolen from my account every month.
And the clerks on the phone said they didn't know what I was talking about, "ma'am."
In the past, they would send me a sheet of activities I had performed every month in the mail.
Since the thefts started, they stopped sending letters so that the thefts would be hidden.
And when I wanted to close the account, they increased the amount of payment I had to make on basic interest by dozens of shekels under the pretext of interest rates that didn't exist before and that suddenly appeared.
Money money will haunt you.
Did you sue them?
The Honorable Judge Keren Margolin is a professional, amazing and humane judge.
Come to my district now…
The main thing is that they didn't hurt the tender soul of the stinking thief, the dream state.
Ben Gvir
Where are you from... hahahaha...
Where is personal security? Hahaha
You've done nothing for two years, just noise and talk.
…0..Acts you are a failure
What kind of man are you looking for?
Ben Gvir resigned from his membership in the government
and the Israeli Knesset.
No one has yet been appointed to replace him.
Even when he was in government and in his position, there was no security.
Itamar himself is a criminal with dozens of cases
Man, it's no longer relevant, take a number, ha ha ha, what a great country we have, right?
The plaintiff still lacks 30.000 and additional fees. He lost money. And the bank became richer by 30. Wicked
shocking