Facua denounces that "multitude" of electricity bills have not been issued to homes for months
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The controversy over the runaway price of electricity is now joined by the errors recorded in the families' receipts. Facua-Consumidores en Acción has today demanded that the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) open an investigation into the enormous chaos in electricity billing that currently exists with household electricity bills. As reported by ABC, the change in the electricity rate that came into effect last June has led to delays in receipts due to billing problems at distributors.
According to the consumer association, the origin of the anomalies is due to two problem areas. First, distributors have been "unable" to adapt to the new system of tolls and charges regulated in force since this June and billing information has not been provided to the marketers or it has been done with various errors. On the other hand, Facua points to a computer problem at Endesa, which has resulted in thousands of invoices being stopped issuing and collecting since September last year. With this, many clients do not receive invoices or have done so with irregular or estimated amounts that will have to be corrected in the medium term.
In Competition they have already been monitoring this situation for weeks and will proceed to publish the analysis and conclusions in this regard,
as explained by sources from the regulator to ABC. Despite this, Facua appealed to the CNMC to delve into the causes and scope of the delays in electricity bills and assess whether the responsible companies have acted diligently or, on the contrary, are engaging in negligent practices. given the enormous delay in solving them. "The problems of distributors to adapt to regulatory changes are causing consumers to accumulate significant debts and do not know if they are applying the correct rates, which is a situation of enormous defenselessness," they warn from Facua.
Rectification of invoices
In addition, Facua urges consumers to exercise their rights and claim. In other words, if it is finally concluded that there has been an incorrect operation of the meters or an error of an administrative nature that has caused delays in billing or the collection of amounts lower than those corresponding, consumers have the right to make payments « in as many monthly invoices as months elapsed in the error. ”This is stated in article 96 of Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, which regulates the activities of transport, distribution, marketing, supply and authorization procedures of electrical power installations.
In the event that amounts greater than those due have been invoiced, they must be returned in full "on the first subsequent invoice, without the possibility of splitting the amounts to be returned." In addition, consumers will not have to pay any amount billed more than a year late.
The association criticizes that the legislation of the sector does not impose on the electricity companies the obligation to inform users of their right to pay deferred charges not billed as a result of errors. Likewise, Facua informs that consumers who receive late invoices that they can reject the charges in their banking entities and go to their electricity marketers to request the prorated payment in the same number of months that the billing error has lasted.
