Execution Office registrar decision

28 years later: Execution Office registrar rejects Mizrahi Tefahot motion to add NIS 2.6 million in interest

The Execution Office registrar rejected a motion by Mizrahi Tefahot to add about NIS 2.6 million in interest to a file opened in 1989 for NIS 59,000, after the bank claimed an error in the interest rate. It was held that the debt in the file had been cancelled and the file closed.

Background and facts: an Execution Office file from 1989

The details here are based on a report in Calcalist of April 9, 2018. The full text of the decision was not found openly online, and the file number does not appear in the report. The decision was given at the Tel Aviv Execution Office, by the Execution Office registrar.

According to the report, in 1989 Mizrahi Tefahot opened an execution file against a debtor, for a debt of about NIS 59,000. The debtor paid NIS 300 every month for years, without arrears. In October 2016, after the debt balance reached zero, the bank asked to reopen the file and add about NIS 2.6 million in interest to it.

The parties' arguments

The bank claimed an error in entering the interest rate when the file was opened. According to the bank, an annual interest rate of 3.75% was entered, instead of a monthly interest rate at that rate. The debtor objected. According to the report, he argued a delay of 28 years, and argued that the bank was seeking to teach him a lesson.

What the Execution Office registrar decided on Mizrahi Tefahot's motion

According to the report, the registrar accepted the delay argument. She noted that the bank could have asked to correct the interest rate at any stage, and did not do so. She further noted that over the years the bank managed the file according to its procedures, and so it can be regarded as having waived the claim.

The motion was rejected. According to Calcalist, the registrar ordered that the debt in the file had been zeroed and that the file be closed.

What it means for Mizrahi Tefahot customers

The decision shows that a creditor who asks to change a calculation in a file after many years may face a delay argument. A debtor in an execution file can ask for the breakdown of the calculation and the interest rate that was entered, and check them. More information appears on the pages How much do you owe Mizrahi Tefahot and Mizrahi Tefahot collection proceedings.

Sources

Frequently asked questions about court rulings against Mizrahi Tefahot Bank

Can a bank increase a debt in an Execution Office file after years?

In the decision reported in Calcalist, the Execution Office registrar rejected a motion by Mizrahi Tefahot to add about NIS 2.6 million in interest after 28 years, because of delay.

What did the bank argue?

According to the report, that when the file was opened in 1989 an annual interest rate of 3.75% was entered by mistake instead of a monthly interest rate at that rate.

What happened to the file?

The registrar ordered that the debt in the file had been zeroed and that the file be closed.

Was delay alone decisive?

According to the report, the registrar also noted that the bank could have asked for a correction at any stage and did not do so, and that it can be regarded as having waived the claim.

Details according to a report from April 9, 2018, not yet verified against the text of the decision

How to cite

File number not stated in the source, Tel Aviv Execution Office (registrar). Source: Net HaMishpat (Israeli courts database), case File number not stated in the source.

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