How long should I keep the receipts for payment of utility services
Right Educational Program / / December 19, 2019
We decided to look in detail at how much you need to store receipts for payment of utility services and what to do with them after the required retention period is over.
What kind of receipts in question?
Receipt - a document issued in accordance with established standards and confirming payment services. Form of payment is described in the document order Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation № 924.
In all receipts detail: there is a separate line for each resource, given the consumption rate of each municipal services. This allows you to check whether the amount of accrued payment, and control their costs.
Despite the fact that the rules described in the Order, only approximate, in most cases look the same receipt. This makes the job easier with this type of documents.
So, you pay for utility bills and get a receipt. What to do next? It is necessary to preserve it.
How to keep a receipt after payment?
No law or regulation, which would be clearly prescribed obligatory term storage of receipts for payment of utility services. But a clue can be found in the Civil Code. In it appears the term "statute of limitations" - a period during which you can apply to the court for the protection of violated rights. He is three years. So you need to keep receipts for at least three years.
Be sure to remember: keep the necessary receipts, decorated by all the rules.
If you pay for the service and noticed that the receipt does not look right, as usual, require re-register it.
If you pay by card services or through online banking, make sure that the checks were attached to all other receipts.
Why to know the shelf life of the documents?
Know about the timing and store receipts for payment of utility services need to always be able to protect their rights. For example, if you have to sue the provider of public services, can not do without receipts.
Suppose you keep receipts for three years. What to do with them now?
Knowledgeable lawyers are advised to keep the receipt after the payment as long as possible. They say that although this law and not, you may need these documents, and three years later. Litigation between providers and consumers of public services are not uncommon. The longer you keep the receipt, the more arguments in their favor will be able to attach to the case.
In addition, if we define retention periods based on the statute of limitations, you should know one more thing. If the statute of limitations runs out, you can still claim protection of violated rights. Therefore, the stored receipt can be not only useful, but also become a trump card up his sleeve.
Output
- Keep the receipt to have been decorated by all the rules.
- Keep receipts for payment of utility services for at least three years.
- If possible, store these documents as long as possible.