An electricity or gas bill is hard for most people to read, so they simply pay it. The Energy Act sets clear deadlines and limits for suppliers. If a supplier breaks them, you can object, and sometimes claim extra money.
Bills and complaints
The bill is much higher than your consumption warrants. You can complain about it, and the supplier must deal with the complaint within 15 days of delivery (Section 11(14) of the Energy Act). What to check is in the article How to check and complain about a high energy bill.
The bill did not arrive, or nobody dealt with the complaint. An electricity or gas supplier must send the bill within 15 days of receiving the data on your consumption (Section 11(10)), and must deal with a complaint within 15 days. If the supplier misses that, it owes you a penalty.
In plain language: if the supplier is more than 30 days late, it owes you 50 Kč for each further day, up to 5,000 Kč in total. The penalty does not arrive on its own. You have to ask for it in writing. If your contract sets a higher contractual penalty for the same thing, that penalty applies.
A bill for more than 14 months. The billing period for electricity and gas may last no more than 14 consecutive months (Section 11(7) of the Energy Act). You can dispute a longer bill.
The supplier charges you for a bill by email. It must offer you the bill in electronic form free of charge (Section 11(12) of the Energy Act).
Advance payments and prices
The supplier raised your advance payments. Advance payments may be no higher than your reasonably expected consumption (Section 11(6) of the Energy Act). If neither the price nor your consumption has changed, you can ask for an explanation or a reduction.
The supplier raised the price and did not tell you. A price increase must be announced no later than 30 days in advance, otherwise it has no legal effects (Section 11a(4) and (5)). You do not have to agree to a price increase that the supplier announced correctly, and you can terminate the contract. You send the notice yourself, and the Energy Regulatory Office (Energetický regulační úřad, ERÚ) offers free templates for it.
Leaving your supplier
The supplier wants a penalty because you left. A supplier may agree a contractual penalty for early departure with a consumer only in a contract with a firm price, that is a fixed price (Section 11cc(1) of the Energy Act). Even then, the supplier had to notify you of it sufficiently in advance, otherwise it is disregarded (Section 11cc(5)). The amount of the penalty also has a statutory cap (Section 11cc(2)). If the supplier charges you a penalty even though you had no fixed price, you can dispute it.
You signed the contract with a door-to-door seller. You can withdraw, within 14 days and without giving a reason, from a contract concluded outside business premises, for example at your home (Section 1829 of the Civil Code). You send the withdrawal yourself, and the ERÚ offers free templates for it. More is in the article Withdrawal from an energy contract and a false statement to watch for.
What to watch out for
- During a complaint, keep paying advance payments and bills, so that you do not fall into default yourself.
- The penalty of 50 Kč a day also applies to heat bills, but a different deadline runs there: the bill for the calendar year must arrive by 28 February (Section 11(11) of the Energy Act).
- Keep the date on which you received the bill or the handling of the complaint. The penalty is counted from that date.
What to do next
Did you receive a bill that does not match, or did the supplier miss a deadline? Describe your situation to Legamik and Legamik will prepare a complaint, or a demand for payment of the penalty, citing the specific provisions of the Energy Act. Legamik will calculate the penalty amount for you and watch the deadlines. You send the letter yourself.
Legamik is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. In complex disputes, we recommend consulting a lawyer.