New utilities billing company ARMS slaps interest rate charge on unpaid bills
Matthew Vella Late payments on the new electricity and water bills are to carry a 6% interest charge per annum, when these are paid later than 45 days.
The condition is carried on the back of the new tariff bills, which specifically states that late payments will accumulate at 6% per annum.
Additionally, the interest will be calculated from 15 days after the invoice is issued, that is, one month before the expiry of the credit period.
However, this interest will only be incurred by bills which remain unpaid within 45 days of receipt.
An irate businessman alerted MaltaToday to the fact that a €3,000 bill he had received, for the period covering March to August 2009, was in the post four days after the invoice had been issued.
Additionally, the interest charge is just three points less than the maximum chargeable by law.
In a letter to MaltaToday (page 14), Enemalta’s new billing company justifies the interest rate as ‘socially acceptable’. But the Chamber of SMEs’ (GRTU) director Vince Farrugia described the decision to charge interest at 6% as “going beyond reason”.
“Stipulating such a high interest to be paid after 45 days goes beyond what is ethically responsible. It is in bad taste. One has to ask how, or even if, the Malta Resources Authority could have approved such an irresponsible measure. If it didn’t approve the new interest rates, they would be illegal.
“If, on the other hand, Enemalta will be charging 6% interest with the blessing of the MRA, it would be unacceptable. Nobody in his right mind places such draconian measures on businesses which are already suffering the effects of a global recession.”
MaltaToday is informed the interest rate has been implemented under the creation of the Automated Revenue Management Services, a company owned by both Enemalta and the Water Services Corporation. ARMS Ltd is responsible to perform meter-reading, account keeping and bill collection services for the two corporations. It will also be handling customer care for the two corporations, and through smart metering will also analyse information on consumption patterns.
The Malta Resources Authority, the national regulator for energy and water provision, said the interest rate charge was regulated by the Electricity Supply Regulations and the Water Supply Regulations, which give the discretion to implement any changes to WSC and Enemalta. “The Corporations did not need any approval from the Malta Resources Authority,” an MRA spokesperson confirmed.
In fact, it was only in two legal notices published last week that the Enemalta and Water Services corporations were authorised to outsource their billing requirements to the newly-formed company ARMS.
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