Storage of payment documents becomes difficult due to the space they occupy. But how much do utility bills keep? And what's the point of doing this?
What is the essence of the problem
It lies in the fact that a person regularly pays for the services provided. After a long period of time, it turns out that he has accumulated debts. Difficulties with debts arise in relations with all organizations in the housing sector. We are talking about a management company or HOA, companies involved in water supply, electricity and gas. Unfortunately, bona fide homeowners also suffer.
How much do utility bills keep ? Someone for a year, someone for two years, someone keeps them as the most valuable property - all their lives.
They are needed in order to prove the groundlessness of claims. Due to the lack of well-functioning work of departments in public utilities, invoices to bona fide payers are issued. The only way to solve the problem is to provide receipts confirming the absence of debt. The court session closes as soon as the consumer provides utility bills.
In modern conditions, the organization must indicate the amount of debt for the current period (month) and the presence of debt for the past time. It used to be a little practiced.
The role of receipts
The goal of automating the process and the desire to protect the interests of companies and consumers forced the development of a receipt system. Housing and communal services receipts are developed at the government level.
At the same time, even residents of apartments receive documents of different contents. This is due to the different characteristics of the house, the list of services received by residents. For example, not every house has a basement or intercom.
Owners of private houses in the city and in the suburban area pay a minimum list of services: gas, water, electricity, garbage collection. They receive utility bills only for the listed services. In addition, he left the opportunity to pay directly to utilities.
Receipt - an official document that meets the requirements of the legislation indicating the accrued debt and confirming the fact of payment at the same time.
Given that difficulties can arise at any time, the answer to the question of how long to keep receipts for housing and communal services payments is as long as possible, 3 years may not be enough. The following explains why. Accuracy and scrupulousness will not hurt.
What is written in the receipts
They contain a considerable amount of information:
- information about the owner of the housing or the recipient of services (name, address);
- type of resource supplied;
- account number;
- information about the utility service (full name, bank accounts);
- the period for which the account is inserted;
- previously made payment;
- amount of debt as a result of recalculation;
- the volume of services received (the amount of garbage taken out, delivered water, the amount of electricity, etc.);
- information about benefits, installments, if any.
Residents of private houses receive utility bills for each service separately, residents of apartment buildings are often billed in a single document.
What the law says
People do not agree on what period of time it is worth keeping receipts. In general, nowhere is there a strict rule regarding the storage of receipts. How much you need to keep receipts for payment, no regulatory document will not say directly. Only on receipts is there a note on storing them for 3 years.
The basis for this is the provision of the Civil Code .. During this time, the company has the right to apply to the court for debt collection.
At the same time, the court is not obliged to automatically refuse to open the case to the plaintiff. This often becomes a problem for citizens. If you do not declare in the court of first instance that the limitation period has passed, the judge may consider the case and make a decision not in favor of the consumer. Therefore, it is worth immediately declaring a deadline. It is advisable to write a written statement on this subject and submit it to the office in advance, on the copy left, ask to put a mark on acceptance.
It is difficult to make a claim against a judge, as he is not obliged to take into account a period of 3 years without the initiative of the party to the case.
In some cases, the plaintiffs refer to the fact that the deadline is separately calculated for each payment that the consumer owes.
What are the ways to pay for services
There are many opportunities to pay for utilities. Whatever method is chosen, how much receipts for utility bills are stored does not affect this.
Money is paid through terminals accepting payment for a variety of services, through cash desks of enterprises or Unified Settlement Centers accepting money from the population. In the electric power industry, there are companies engaged exclusively in raising funds for the services provided.
Citizens with bank cards use the electronic banking system so as not to waste time visiting the branch. Companies try to keep accounts at all local banks so that consumers have the opportunity to pay where it is more convenient.
People continue to use the postal service, however, not all utilities conclude agreements with it on serving the population.
All of these payment methods leave a confirmation of payment received in the form of checks.
Proof of payment
In addition to answering the question of how much utility bills are kept, it is worth considering a number of nuances.
The payment documents must bear the seal of the bank or cashier of the post office or other organization that accepts the money. It is more difficult with the terminals for receiving payment, they issue checks without printing, which in the future can create problems. The request to correct the defect will save in the future from unrest.
The situation is different with banks. When making a payment through an electronic system, the user saves the receipt in electronic form in the database of the institution. At any time, you can then print it out and get a seal at the bank with the signature of the branch employee. In this case, you don’t have to think about how much to keep receipts for housing and communal services payments. The reputation of companies influences the attitude to keeping receipts: some are constantly engaged in disputes with tenants, while others are approached differently and do not require too much.