How to correctly, and most importantly, where to complain about the water utility

Help from a lawyer on this issue

A complaint to a water utility is most relevant for direct consumers of services in the event of a violation of their rights and interests. Complaints vary somewhat depending on the specifics of the situation, so it is necessary to understand where exactly they can be directed. If the addressee has suitable competence, the complaint will be considered in a timely manner. The likelihood of receiving a satisfactory answer for the applicant depends on the correctness of the complaint according to the available samples.

Legislation

1. The Federal Law “On Water Supply and Sanitation” dated December 7, 2011 No. 416-FZ ensures the fulfillment of the obligations of organizations and citizens.
2. The Housing Code of the Russian Federation establishes criteria for the quality of provision of utility services.
3. The Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” dated 02/07/1992 No. 2300-1 lists the rules of interaction between sellers (suppliers) and buyers, defines the concept of quality of services and goods, and prescribes the mechanism of the ZPP.
4. 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 event of complaints received about the work of state, municipal or private enterprises.

Claim for recalculation of utility bills

The applicant is the owner of the residential premises. The applicant requests a recalculation of payments for housing and communal services.

To Limited Liability Company "_______________" ________________________________ Copy to: _______________________________

gr. __________________________, residing at: ________________________________

“In the procedure of pre-trial settlement of a dispute”

I am the Applicant, ______________________, I am the owner of a residential premises located at the address: ________________________. This residential premises is a one-room apartment with a total area of ​​____ square meters. m., living area ____ sq. m. No one is registered in the indicated apartment. In _____ year, I was issued an invoice in the amount of __________ rubles ___ kopecks, which contains information about the need for me to pay for utilities and other housing and household services, the amount for the month according to the receipt is more than ___________ rubles. At the same time, for _____ year I paid for utilities and other housing services, the amount amounted to ________ rubles ___ kopecks. This receipt includes payment for services that were not provided to me (operation and maintenance of the elevator, garbage removal), since during the period _____ of the year I did not live in the apartment, and the elevators did not function. I believe that you, as a management organization, are acting against the interests of residents - owners of apartments in an apartment building, and do not want to agree with us on the procedure and methods of servicing our building in order to choose the most acceptable option for us, suitable for the quality of service and affordability of prices.

According to Art. 154 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, payment for residential premises and utilities for the owner of premises in an apartment building includes: 1) payment for the maintenance and repair of residential premises, which includes payment for services and work on managing an apartment building, maintenance, current and major repairs of common property in an apartment building; 2) payment for utilities. The Housing Code of the Russian Federation distinguishes between fees for the use of residential premises (rental fees), fees for services and work on managing an apartment building, maintenance and ongoing repairs of common property in an apartment building, and fees for utilities. Payment for utility services includes payment for cold and hot water supply, sewerage, electricity supply, gas supply, heating (clause 4 of Article 154 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation).

In accordance with Art. Art. 161, 162, 164, 165 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the management of an apartment building must ensure favorable and safe living conditions for citizens, proper maintenance of common property in an apartment building, resolving issues regarding the use of said property, as well as the provision of utilities to citizens living in such a building.

According to paragraph 2 of paragraph 15 of the Rules for the provision of utility services to citizens, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 23, 2006 N 307, if the contractor is a homeowners association, a housing construction, housing or other specialized consumer cooperative or management organization, then the calculation of the amount of the fee for utilities, as well as the contractor’s purchase of cold water, hot water, sewerage services, electricity, gas and heat energy are carried out at tariffs established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and used to calculate the amount of payment for utilities by citizens. If there are individual, common (apartment) metering devices in the premises and in the absence of collective (common house) metering devices, the amount of payment for utilities is determined based on the readings of individual, common (apartment) metering devices.

The amount of payment for the maintenance and repair of residential premises is established by the owners of premises in an apartment building at their general meeting. This, in turn, means that the owners of premises, when setting the amount of this fee, must agree among themselves on the amount of all necessary expenses for the maintenance of an apartment building, as well as its current and major repairs.

If the contractor is a management organization, then the calculation of the amount of payment for utilities, as well as the purchase by the contractor of cold water, hot water, sewerage services, electricity, gas and heat energy are carried out at tariffs established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and used for calculating the amount of payment for utility services by citizens. The amount of payment for the maintenance and repair of residential premises of premises owners who have chosen a management organization to manage an apartment building is determined by a decision of the general meeting of premises owners in such a building. At the same time, the manager does not have the right to impose any work or services, or independently change the amount of tariffs established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and used to calculate the amount of payment for utility services by citizens.

The decision of the Council of Deputies of the Leninsky Municipal District of the Moscow Region dated December 24, 2009 No. 2/33 “On establishing the amount of payment for residential premises and utilities for the population of the Leninsky Municipal District” established the amount of payment for residential premises for tenants and owners of residential premises. However, the invoice you issued for utilities and other housing services is calculated at different tariff rates, significantly exceeding the amount established by the above decision.

In accordance with Art. 209 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the owner has the rights to own, use and dispose of his property. The owner has the right, at his own discretion, to take any actions in relation to his property that do not contradict the law and other legal acts and do not violate the rights and legally protected interests of other persons.

According to Art. 420 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a contract is an agreement between two or more persons to establish, change or terminate civil rights and obligations. By virtue of Art. 421 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, citizens and legal entities are free to enter into an agreement. Compulsion to enter into an agreement is not permitted, except in cases where the obligation to enter into an agreement is provided for by the specified Code, law or voluntarily accepted obligation.

Based on Art. 16 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, contract terms that infringe on consumer rights in comparison with the rules established by laws or other legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of consumer rights protection are declared invalid.

Thus, your actions, expressed in “imposing” on me to pay for utility services at an increased rate, contradict the norms of the current legislation and at present I insist on recalculating the amount of utility bills accrued to me.

Based on the Decree of the Russian Federation of May 23, 2006 No. 307 “On the procedure for providing utility services to citizens,” the recalculation of the amount of payment for utility services is carried out by the contractor within 5 working days based on a written application from the consumer.

In this situation, I suffered significant inconvenience and mental suffering. To resolve this issue and protect my violated rights, I had to contact various authorities, on which I spent my personal and work time, as well as money. It should be noted that in order to protect my violated rights, I had to contact LLC “_____________”, to whose cash desk I paid funds in the amount of _______ rubles. According to Art. 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a person whose rights have been violated may demand full compensation for the losses caused to him, unless the law or contract provides for compensation for losses in a smaller amount. Losses are understood as expenses that a person whose right has been violated has made or will have to make to restore the violated right, loss or damage to his property (real damage), as well as lost income that this person would have received under normal conditions of civil circulation if his right was not violated (lost profits).

Based on the above, in accordance with the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 15 Civil Code of the Russian Federation,

I ASK: 1. Recalculate the payment for housing and communal services for the apartment located at the address: __________________________ 2. Pay in my favor ______________ rubles to compensate for the legal services I paid.

If my proposals are not satisfied within 10 days, I will be forced to go to court with legal costs charged to your account. In addition, in this regard, I am forced to contact the prosecutor’s office and the antimonopoly service. We kindly request that if my proposals are not satisfied, send a written refusal to the address: _________________________________

Where can I complain?

Vodokanal maintains urban water supply networks. The most common reasons for requests:

1. Unreasonable collection of fees for water supply, issuance of debt, refusal to recalculate and write off.
2. Supply of water of inadequate quality, with foreign impurities and odor. This is a serious violation that requires the involvement of specialists from Rospotrebnadzor, identifying the causes and establishing damage to the environment. Liability is possible up to and including criminal.
3. Failure to eliminate faults in the area of ​​responsibility: lengthy repairs of underground pipes, lack of covers on manholes.
4. Lack of water supply for a long time.

As a rule, the consumer enters into an agreement with the management company, and that, in turn, with the Vodokanal enterprise. Therefore, when questions arise about water supply, you should find out the problems at the level of the management company (problems can arise inside the house), and then proceed with your complaints to the resource supplier.

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If the written request to eliminate violations was not responded to (representatives of Vodokanal) or refused, you can go to higher authorities.

To the administration

The administration of the locality is interested in the proper maintenance of the city territory, its communications, and orders repair and construction work, including water supply networks. Therefore, if the water utility violates its obligations, you can complain to the local administration. To do this, you need to write a statement in two copies, stating the essence of the detected violations and demanding their elimination.

The complaint is registered at the reception, leaving one of the copies with you, or the document is sent by mail.

Registration of applications

From March 1, 2021, emergency dispatch services will be able to choose how to register requests:

• in the order log,
• in electronic form in the application accounting system.

In both cases, using a recording of a telephone conversation.

The procedure for receiving an application is as follows:

1. Find out the reason and nature of the appeal.
2. Decide whether assistance from emergency repair services will be needed.
3. Record the decision made in the application log. If the accounting log is kept in the Housing and Communal Services GIS, place the application data there.
4. Inform the applicant of the registration number of the application, deadlines for completion and a list of necessary activities.
5. Organize the execution of the received application within the appropriate time frame.

How to disclose information about restrictions and interruptions in the provision of CG

To the housing inspection

GZHI controls the activities of enterprises in the field of housing and communal services. Unfair performance of work by the water utility is a direct violation of contractual obligations, in some cases – non-compliance with the rights of citizens. If complaints to previous authorities remain without a positive response, you can complain to the Housing Authority. To do this, draw up an appeal according to a standard template and deliver it in person or by mail.

IMPORTANT! State authorities accept complaints on their official websites, as well as through online resources - State Services and RosZhKKH. There you can also see a sample, an example and receive a claim form.

Where to file a complaint about a water utility

After considering the legal framework and registration procedure, as well as ways to file a complaint about the work of the water utility, the question remains open about where exactly it should be delivered. In this case, there are several options depending on the specifics of the problem. However, there is no prohibition on transmitting a message to several places at once.

To the housing inspection

Depending on the level, housing inspections carry out state or municipal control of the activities of enterprises in the housing and communal services sector. Complaints regarding the operation of the water utility in the city of Moscow are handled thanks to the Internet services actively operating here: State.

When contacting territorial offices, electronic forms are often used on the official portals of the city or government authorities. They involve filling out fields about the applicant’s personal and contact information, as well as the text of the problem itself. As elsewhere, there is the possibility of attaching additional materials.

To the administration

If we are talking about a large city divided into several districts, then in this case there are most likely several district administrations. The question arises about where it is better to contact: the administration of one of the city districts or directly to the central office, as the main authority.

The answer should be based on the specifics of the work of local authorities. City halls and administrations perform standard organizational functions regarding the formation and distribution of the budget, the establishment of various regulations and the promotion of regional development. In this regard, the central authorities are certainly interested in solving individual problems of citizens.

Nevertheless, they shift the direct function of verification to the competent authorities (the same prosecutor’s office or Rospotrebnadzor). However, depending on the severity and scale of the problem (receipt of an individual complaint or mass claims against the water utility), the territorial administration will take on a control or supervisory function to resolve the problem.

The public should not count on the possibility of receiving an answer from the administration on any of the questions asked. If complaints are received here regarding the functionality of the water utility that are not within the competence of the authority, they may not be accepted for consideration, which is permitted under Federal Law No. 59. But further redirection to the correct addressee will be carried out in any case.

To Rospotrebnadzor

This is one of the most common versions that arises among citizens in response to the question of where to go regarding a problem with the water utility. Indeed, it makes sense to write here if the rights of citizens (consumers of the services of the specified organization) are violated or if even third parties discover the negative impact of the water utility on the environment.

The organization protects the rights of citizens on the basis of government decree No. 322. At the same time, it has the right to conduct control, supervisory and inspection activities. Accordingly, complaints are categorized based on the need for an unscheduled inspection or the absence of such a condition (which is reflected in the samples of online complaints on the website).

A slight difficulty for Internet users who want to write an application on the website is the need to register with the ESIA (Government Services portal). However, such a requirement applies only to those samples of complaints that are supposed to trigger an unscheduled inspection of the water utility.

To the prosecutor's office

This organization performs supervisory functions over all kinds of enterprises. This is a single all-Russian structure, which includes the central apparatus and territorial branches. You can write an appeal using standard templates to any of the specified multi-level addressees. However, the head office can lower the request to a lower level - to the specific region where the problem occurs.

It is worth writing to the main office after receiving an unsatisfactory response from the territorial unit where the citizen previously applied. In this case, both a question will be raised about the main problem, and doubts will be expressed about the competence and professionalism of the local prosecutor’s office specialists.

The prosecutor's office, like Rospotrebnadzor, has the opportunity to conduct an unscheduled inspection of the activities of the water utility based on a complaint received. The result of studying the alleged violation may be orders, fines and the initiation of legal proceedings in court (from the prosecutor's office itself). However, where is it better to contact: Rospotrebnadzor or the prosecutor’s office?

It is worth noting that the prosecutor's office is an example of a higher supervisory institution. Therefore, its employees have the right to consider complaints that were rejected by the same Rospotrebnadzor. That is why the prosecutor's office can be both the primary and secondary addressee for sending a complaint.

Sample claim

The procedure for filing a complaint form online is much simpler. In this case, the user works with a ready-made form, in which the fields to be filled out are already specified. Accordingly, he does not need to think about how to write and arrange the necessary blocks on the page. At the same time, attaching additional materials about the activities of the water utility is often possible here in the form of scans or files.

How to write a complaint against a water utility. Contents of the written sample:

1. A header indicating the name of the addressee and information about the applicant.
2. The name of the document is “Application”.
3. Main text part.
4. Requirements.
5. Signed and dated.

The main part of the text should contain a description of the situation and a request for its solution. The latter can be written as a list that will reflect specific requirements. It is recommended to confirm your rights and the fact of their violation with legislative references, as well as evidentiary materials (documents, audio, video recordings, photos). It is better to list the evidence at the end of the complaint and then attach it to it.

To Rospotrebnadzor

This is a government body that is designed to monitor compliance with sanitary standards and consumer rights by organizations and enterprises of various types. This is the authority where you need to complain about the water utility if its workers did not fix the potholes in the yard after repairing the pipes, there are no covers on the manholes, and they responded to the written request of the residents with an unsubscribe.

Rospotrebnadzor has set up a hotline where you can call 8-800-1000-0004 and get free advice on an issue of interest.

How to write a complaint

Let's look at the rules for drawing up using the example of the administration and the prosecutor's office:

1. The header indicates the name of the prosecutor's office or the full name of the head of the administration.
2. Next, the applicant writes his full name and address.
3. Then follows the name of the document - Complaint.
4. The main part contains a detailed description of the essence of the conflict: how the water utility violates the rights of citizens, what work it has not completed. It is necessary to indicate the actions that were taken to resolve the dispute independently, and which authorities have already been contacted.
5. At the end, the date of preparation of the document and signature are indicated.
6. The attachment will include correspondence with the organization, other authorities, photographic materials, and testimony.

Site visit

Emergency dispatch service employees take with them on the trip the necessary equipment and materials, an official identification card, disposable shoe covers and an identification sign (badge, patch on clothing), which will indicate the name of the organization, last name, first name and patronymic, and professional specialization.

If, in order to process an application, an ADS employee needs to get into a room in an apartment building, the emergency dispatch service warns the owner or user of the room in advance and reports:

• planned date and time for the start of execution of the application,
• reasons for needing access,
• Full name of the employee who will process the application.

To verify that the application has been processed, the ADS will ask the contractor to photograph the result and will periodically interview the owners and users of the premises in the apartment building. Everything is serious, the results of the control will be entered into the application log or GIS Housing and Communal Services, if applications are recorded there.

Terms of consideration

In accordance with current legislation, the standard period for reviewing citizens' letters is 30 days. But there are some nuances:

1. If the response does not require further investigation or the violations are corrected promptly, government agencies have the right to complete the review and respond to the complaint before the expiration of the 30-day period.
2. If additional time is needed for a detailed investigation, the applicant is given a reasoned response to extend the inspection period. But this interim response must be issued within the time period specified by law - 30 days.