Incorrect calculation of utility bills is quite common in practice. There can be many reasons for this situation, ranging from ordinary negligence to dishonesty of the management company. Each fact of violation requires a separate investigation, the results of which ultimately determine the punishment.
Housing and communal services legislation
- The Civil Code of the Russian Federation regulates relations in the field of property, non-property and intellectual rights, compliance with property, and contractual obligations.
- The Housing Code of the Russian Federation establishes criteria for the quality of service provision in housing and communal services. Article 157 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation establishes the administrative responsibility of the head of the Criminal Code for incorrect calculation of rent and the amount of the fine for this act.
- Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” dated 02/07/1993 No. 2300-1 lists the interactions between sellers (suppliers) and buyers, defines the concept of quality of services and products and prescribes the mechanism of the RFP.
- Federal Law “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation” dated May 2, 2006 No. 59-FZ is applied in the case of complaints about the work of state, municipal or private enterprises.
What could cause incorrect charges on a receipt?
Company employees calculate rent using special software.
Such manipulations are no longer performed manually; the calculation of utility bills is fully automated.
Therefore, there are few reasons for accrual errors in receipts:
- A technical error has occurred. A software failure or computer breakdown may affect the calculation result. This does not relieve the management company of responsibility for accruals, but it is an objective reason for the error and does not bear malicious intent.
- The consumer made a mistake himself and provided incorrect meter readings.
- Intentional illegal actions of the company's management or employees. In this case, incorrect calculation of rent becomes a criminal offense and entails more serious liability.
Features of accruals in 2019
The amount in the receipt for the provided housing and communal services consists of many components.
These include payments for the following types of work:
- maintenance of the building and engineering systems;
- removal of various wastes;
- carrying out current and major repairs;
- space heating;
- supply of electricity, gas;
- water supply and disposal.
For each of the listed groups, a separate tariff is formed, which can be adjusted over time. Today, single-rate and differentiated prices are used. The amount of payment for water and other resources is based on individual devices for recording consumed resources, and in their absence, average indicators are used.
Current legislation obliges homeowners and tenants to repay debts on time, and violation of such a requirement is fraught with the accrual of penalties. Penalties are also provided for the utility payment provider. The procedure for identifying the perpetrators of an unreasonable increase in fees, the application of punishment and the calculation rules are determined by Art. 157 LCD.
Where to complain to the management company for incorrectly charged rent
To restore your rights, you need to adhere to a certain algorithm of actions.
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To the head of the management company
The first step in resolving the conflict will be a written appeal to the head of the company. In it, the defrauded payer needs to describe in detail his arguments regarding the incorrectly calculated rent, with reference to the approved standards, and state the requirement for recalculation.
The appeal will be considered within a month. The answer may be positive when the manager admits the error in the calculations, apologizes and guarantees a recalculation in the next month.
In this case, both parties to the conflict will remain satisfied: the tenant will return the overpaid money, and the mistake will not cost the boss serious losses.
If the management company ignores the complaint or refuses to recalculate, the next step can be taken.
In GZHI
The State Housing Inspectorate is an executive body. Its functions include protecting the rights and interests of consumers of utility services, as well as overseeing the management company’s compliance with contractual obligations in terms of the quality of service provision, as well as charging for them in accordance with the approved tariffs.
There are inspection branches in all cities or regional centers. You can complain about incorrect rent calculations to any of them: bring the application in person or send it by registered mail.
In addition, you can submit an application online on the official website of the housing inspection. Based on the results of the inspection of the activities of the management company, the inspector has the right to impose an administrative penalty.
To Rospotrebnadzor
This is an executive body that has a wide range of powers in the field of citizens’ rights against various attacks.
This is the authority where you can complain and demand punishment for a company that charges unreasonably large payments. There are several ways to do this:
- send a mail message;
- call the hotline 8-800-100-0004;
- leave an email on the official website.
Upon request, an unscheduled inspection will be organized. Its results will help resolve the issue of the legality of charging utility bills and applying liability to the management of the management company.
To the prosecutor's office
The prosecutor's office is a supervisory body that has jurisdiction over any issues of non-compliance with legislation, including housing legislation. There is no point in contacting the prosecutor's office without going through all the previous authorities. In this case, the complaint will be sent down for consideration by the relevant departments.
If a citizen has confirmation of appeals to all authorities, then the prosecutor will evaluate the quality of work of government bodies with applications and initiate his own check of compliance with the criminal code of law. As a result, an order will be issued to eliminate violations and, if necessary, an administrative penalty will be imposed.
IMPORTANT! Appeals to government authorities can be sent through online services on their official websites, or use the capabilities of the electronic resources of RosZhKKH or the State Services website.
To court
The court is the last authority to which a citizen deceived by the management company can turn. As a rule, such issues are resolved at previous stages. But if all attempts to resolve the conflict out of court are futile or, despite the positive decisions of the authorities, the Criminal Code does not comply with them, then you can draw up a statement of claim, attach correspondence to it and go to court.
Overcharged amount on receipt
An overestimated amount in the receipt may be caused by an error by the tenant or the owner of the premises, who incorrectly indicated the meter readings. In such a situation, a new payment may be issued or a recalculation may be performed, as a result of which the overpaid amount will be sent to pay off the debt of future payments.
If it is discovered that rent has been charged incorrectly, the owner or tenant can file an application requesting a recalculation. The management company has all the information about current calculations, so if questions or difficulties arise, all questions should be asked to specialists and the management of the organization. Today, in many Russian regions there are hotlines, by calling which you can ask questions regarding current tariffs and get advice.
Issues of improper accruals today can be resolved in several ways. The simplest, but not always effective, is to contact the Criminal Code.
The procedure for contacting the organization is as follows:
- UK;
- housing inspection;
- prosecution authorities;
- court.
The Criminal Code is obliged to respond to a citizen’s appeal and provide an answer. In the absence of clear explanations and readiness to recalculate, an official complaint about incorrect calculation of accruals is submitted to the body that controls the activities of management companies.
The prosecutor's office is contacted in cases where the previous ones were unsuccessful. In most cases, this method is used when serious violations are identified, payments for non-existent services are regularly included in receipts, or there is evidence of theft of funds. The consequences for the perpetrators can be very dire, including criminal liability. The application can be submitted in person, by sending an ordered letter, or by using the service of the regional prosecutor's office website.
How to correctly write a complaint for incorrect calculation of payments
First you need to make sure that there really is an error on the receipt. To do this, you need to find out the current tariffs for utility services - perhaps they have recently been increased - and also check the information about the meter readings transmitted earlier: it may turn out that the consumer himself made an inaccuracy.
If you are convinced that there is an error in the receipt, you can file a complaint.
Appeal to the head of the management company
The leader must be interested in a peaceful resolution of the conflict, so it is necessary to contact him with a statement with the following content:
- Indicate the addressee's full name and position, for example, to the director of Management Company LLC, I.I. Petrov.
- Next, the initiator of the complaint indicates his data and address.
- Below in the center of the page is the name of the document - Complaint.
- Then the citizen must describe the problem in detail, indicate for which services and for what period the excess amounts were accrued, refer to the approved tariffs, and demand a recalculation.
- It would be useful to warn about the intention to apply for protection of rights to higher authorities if the issue is not resolved at this level.
- At the end, the date the document was drawn up and a signature are placed.
To the State Housing Inspectorate
A complaint of similar content is being drawn up.
They describe the details of the dispute, attach copies of receipts (it is advisable to confirm your good faith as a payer of utility bills and the absence of debts), documents confirming the right to use or own the apartment, a copy of the application and the response of the head of the company.
IMPORTANT! As a general rule, citizens' appeals are considered within 30 days.
Complaint to Rospotrebnadzor
After attempts to resolve the conflict, you should contact the head of the management company directly.
The application must include the correct, in the applicant's opinion, payment calculation with justification and a copy of the receipt, confirm the absence of debt for housing and communal services, attach a lease agreement or certificate of ownership, correspondence with the management company.
Nuances of a complaint to the prosecutor's office
Such content will have an appeal to the prosecutor's office. But, in addition to the main problem and providing evidence, the applicant must confirm the appeal to the relevant organizations: the housing inspection and Rospotrebnadzor.
The prosecutor's office not only considers the complaint on its merits, but also evaluates the legality of the actions or inactions of officials.
IMPORTANT! You can file a claim in court immediately, without contacting supervisory authorities, if you have evidence!
How to file a claim against the Criminal Code
A statement of claim against the management company demanding recalculation of incorrectly calculated rent must meet standard criteria:
- The header indicates the status of the court to which the case is being sent for consideration and its address,
- Below are detailed personal data of the initiator of the process: his last name, first name, patronymic, address, telephone.
- Next, you need to describe in detail the details of the opposite party: the full name of the management company, its legal and actual address.
- The main part describes the essence of the dispute. The plaintiff must also indicate attempts to resolve the conflict out of court. Then, with reference to paragraphs of regulatory documents that confirm the validity of his claims, the plaintiff demands recovery from the defendant of the amount of overpayment or recalculation.
- All documents confirming the applicant’s arguments are attached to the claim (a copy of the paper confirming the ownership of the residential premises, a receipt for payment of the state duty).
Company liability and punishment in 2019
In accordance with the norms of the Housing Code, the service company is obliged to verify the correctness of payment calculation within 30 days from the date of receipt of the application. The result may be agreement with the fact of the violation or refusal to recognize the legitimacy of the claims.
In case of violation of the calculation rules, the management company is obliged to:
- Perform recalculation and return illegally accrued funds;
- Pay a fine, the amount of which directly depends on the amount of overstatement.
The fine of the Criminal Code according to the current rules is 50% of the amount of overpayment compared to the correct figure. The owner can count on recalculation if the fact of provision of low-quality services or their implementation with interruptions, the duration of which exceeded the established standard, is recorded. Claims of this nature are sent to Rospotrebnadzor, whose decision may provide for a fine of 30%.
Theoretically, the law allows you to demand compensation for an error in charging for utility bills. Its maximum amount is 50% of the excess amount. In reality, it can be difficult to recover these amounts, since it is necessary to prove that such actions caused moral damage and financial damage.
What to do after considering the complaint
If the decision made by the competent authority or court satisfies the applicant, then he, having received a copy of it, will await recalculation. For the management company, which did not want to resolve the conflict peacefully, this will be costly.
What will be the punishment
According to current legislation, if the Criminal Code has eliminated the cause of the dispute before the victim contacts government authorities or there is no fault, then it will avoid sanctions.
If the complaint reaches government officials, then they are obliged to make a decision within thirty days to impose an administrative penalty: a fine in the amount of half the amount of the overcharged rent.
Is compensation due?
If the owner or tenant of the apartment proves that the rent was charged illegally, the management company is obliged to recalculate it in the next month. In addition, the fine imposed by decision of the authority will be paid in his favor.
Funds in the form of a fine are not given to the applicant in person, but are taken into account as advance payments for utility services, and this amount is indicated separately on the receipt.
Reasons for incorrect accrual and procedure
Today, the calculation of amounts in receipts is carried out using programs, so the risk of errors inherent in manual calculations is eliminated.
Errors in determining the amount of payment for the use of utilities arise for the following reasons:
- deliberate incorrect accrual to inflate amounts;
- inclusion of services not provided in the payment;
- carrying out calculations based on old databases;
- erroneous application of rates;
- incorrect data entry into the program.
Charges can be made based on meter data, apartment area or the number of registered persons. Errors often occur when using outdated information about the number of persons currently registered and living in the apartment. Such situations occur in the event of the death of a tenant or his departure to live in another place. Correcting this is quite simple and before this you need to fill out an application with a request to eliminate the inaccuracy in the calculations being carried out.
