With the rise in energy prices, many Belgians are behind the “don’t pay” movement, which consists of deliberately refusing to pay their bills. What are you risking?
If you do not pay your bills, in normal times (excluding crises), you will be in breach of your payment obligation. The supplier will send you a formal notice. If you do not react, you have a risk of denunciation of the contract, that the contract is terminated at your fault. You risk switching from your energy supplier contract to your network manager. A budget meter will be set up.
With the energy crisis and the increase in the price of energy, measures are put in place at the level of the various governments. There is the obligation to appeal to the justice of the peace before suspending the supply of energy.
People who stop paying their bills are going to be in trouble. You will have legal costs that are added to your unpaid bills. There is the intervention of a bailiff and procedural costs borne by the party who loses the case. We can do x2 or x3 on an energy bill. This will cost a minimum of €500.
The chances of winning a lawsuit are almost nil.
“You have to see the legal procedure as an opportunity to spread out your payments and organize yourself well, knowing that the goal is to reduce costs to a minimum and to create a payment plan”, explains Clément Résimont, lawyer specializing in business law. “As always, the policy of the ostrich, which consists in denying a reality, leads nowhere. You have to be proactive and propose a payment plan. The judges show humanity and they are able to put themselves in the place people to find a tailor-made solution. Paying nothing will never be a solution.”
