Kyiv woman accused operator of losing 584 thousand hryvnias of UN aid due to disconnected number

Conflicts between telecom providers and subscribers in Ukraine have reached a new level — from complaints about content services to large-scale lawsuits for compensation of lost profits. Regulated by a range of norms from the Civil Code to the specialized Law "On Electronic Communications," these disputes force courts to seek a balance between consumer rights and commercial risks.

The "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" reviewed an interesting case where blocking a number became the basis for a claim of 50 million hryvnias. Why did the subscriber's ambitious claims fail in court?

Case No. 761/17074/25

The plaintiff went to court after her number was converted from prepaid to contract form and then disconnected. She claimed that because of this, she lost access to communication with the UN and did not receive financial aid amounting to 584,600 UAH. She demanded compensation for these losses and 50,000,000 UAH in moral damages.

The mobile operator explained that the plaintiff herself ordered the "Deferred Contract Connection" service during a call to the contact center, using a password from an SMS. Under the terms of the service, she was required to provide identification documents within 30 days, which she did not do.

Due to the lack of identification, on the 31st day the service was terminated, and later the number was canceled according to the law.

The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv noted that the plaintiff did not provide evidence of unlawful actions by the operator's employees. Moreover, she objected to the request for call recordings and SMS data that could confirm or deny her consent to the transition.

The court established that the operator acted within the Rules for the Provision and Receipt of Telecommunication Services and its own Terms of Service. The operator's actions to terminate service due to failure to provide identification documents when changing the communication form were recognized as lawful based on Article 116 of the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Communications."

Analyzing the claims for material damages (lost profits), the court applied the Supreme Court's practice and noted that unlawful behavior is the cause of damages only when it is directly related to them. In this case, the connection between the number disconnection and the failure to receive UN aid was recognized as indirect.

According to Article 623 of the Civil Code of Ukraine, lost profit is not hypothetical income but an increase in property that could be expected under normal circumstances. The plaintiff did not prove that she took all real measures to obtain aid through other channels or that the operator's actions were the sole obstacle.

According to part 4 of Article 121 of the Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Communications", the service provider is not liable for indirect damages (lost profits) unless otherwise provided by the contract.

The claim was fully dismissed because the court did not find unlawful actions or fault of the operator (Article 1167 of the Civil Code of Ukraine), and the grounds for moral damages compensation automatically disappeared.

Analysis of decisions in cases about tariff changes, fund write-offs, and number blocking shows the priority of public adhesion contract terms and special legislation over consumers' subjective expectations.

Prepaid service users bear increased risks in proving their case because the operator does not have their personal data until official registration.

In disputes with telecom operators, information about call logs and SMS verification is the main evidence. Refusal to examine them in court effectively deprives the plaintiff of the opportunity to refute the defendant's arguments about voluntary actions.

Expectations of social or international aid linked to a phone number generally cannot be claimed from the operator as lost profit since it is not guaranteed income from business activity. Operators who strictly follow their regulations have a high degree of protection in courts against claims of illegal service disconnection.

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