In Kyiv, there are more than 150,000 residents who systematically do not pay for the supply of heat and hot water. The total amount of debt for these services among homeowners exceeds 7 billion hryvnias. About this informs KMDA press office.
The company is forced to resort to fines and court debt collection. This can lead to seizure of accounts and property. In addition, debtors are required to pay an enforcement fee of 10% of the total amount of the debt. As a result, during foreclosure through the court, the amount of payment for such clients increases by an average of 25%.
“Kyivteploenergo regularly appeals to system debtors to repay the debt. As a rule, these are newsletters, automatic calls, messages in payments and personal accounts, etc. Further, in case of ignoring, a penalty is applied. It is calculated for each day the monetary obligation is overdue and is 0.01% of the debt amount. In case of further non-payment, the utility company will file a lawsuit. About 5,000 lawsuits are currently being considered.
As a rule, the court satisfies the claims of the energy company. In such cases, in addition to interest, 3% per annum, the inflation index and a court fee are added to the amount of the debt, the minimum amount of such fee is UAH 3,028. The defendant also pays other court costs.” – noted Inna Kuchuk, head of the department of legal support for the sale of the structural unit “Energozbut” of KP “Kyivteploenergo”.
Yes, the owner of an apartment with an area of 206 square meters. m on Lesya Ukrainka Boulevard, 23-A accumulated a debt of 161,000. UAH After the court decision, her accounts and property were seized. The debt was forcibly collected. The total amount that had to be paid, including all additional charges, increased by 26% – more than 41.5 thousand. UAH in addition to the principal debt.
Another case concerns the owner of an apartment with an area of 926 square meters. m on the street Instytutska, 15/5, who owed 163,000 UAH for heating. After the court decision and seizure of property, the debt was also forcibly collected. As a result, he overpaid by 23%, which is an additional 37.3 thousand. UAH Despite this, the debtor is currently not making payments on current accounts, which may again trigger legal proceedings. Forcible collection applies to all categories of systemic debtors, including those who are currently outside the country.
“The same legal measures are applied to debtors who do not live in Ukraine as to those who are in the country. Therefore, the issue of debt must be resolved. Often, people turn to the company after the court has issued a decision on debt collection, and the accounts have been frozen. However, it is already too late, simply signing a settlement agreement with the company, without involving the executive service, in this case will not succeed. Many people believe that they will write a statement, we will make a settlement agreement, and their case will not go to the enforcement service. It’s not like that”, – explained Inna Kuchuk.
