Violations in utility receipts: when the owner has the right to demand monetary compensation

Therefore, special requirements are imposed on the content of utility receipts: clause 69 of Rules No. 354 lists in detail the information that must be indicated there (data of the owner of the premises and the name of the service provider, an indication of the paid month, the name of each type of service for which the invoice is issued and etc.).

As judicial practice shows, the absence of at least one of the mandatory items in the receipt entails liability for the utility organization: a fine to the state revenue of 30 to 40 thousand rubles (Article 14.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation), as well as the obligation to pay monetary compensation to the citizen.

The fact is that issuing a receipt with incomplete information is recognized as a violation of the information obligation, which is assigned to the provider of public services by the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” of February 7, 1992 No. 2300-I, and for this compensation for moral damage is provided (Article .10, 15).

Let’s consider which items in utility receipts are considered illegal by the courts.

General house meter readings not provided

Despite the fact that the apartment building was equipped with communal metering devices, the citizen discovered that one of the receipts did not indicate the total volume of cold water supply and electricity that were provided during the billing period to all premises of the house.

The court found this to be a violation of clause 69 of Rules No. 354 and ordered compensation for moral damages (First KSOYU, No. 8G-10178/2023).

There are no lines for certain types of utilities for which fees are charged

The management company was fined for sending out receipts to residents for several months that did not include a line for cold water supply and sewerage utilities. The court agreed with the fine (First KSOJ, case No. 16-5983/2022).

No information about the utility service provider

The receipt did not indicate who is the provider of additional services for “Video Surveillance”, “Radio”, “Antenna” and “Emergency Maintenance”, whereas such information is mandatory according to clause 69 of Rules No. 354. The management company also received a fine (AS of the North-Western District, No. A56 — 66121/2020).

Units of measurement of services are not specified

Another violation is the absence of units of measurement of the volume (quantity) of utility resources in the receipt.

Thus, the management company was found guilty because the receipts did not indicate the units of measurement for services for electricity supply, cold and hot water supply and sewerage for the maintenance of the common property of the house (AS of the North-Western District, No. A56 — 66121/2020).

source: Legal subtleties