Rules for Alternative Dispute Resolution

The ERO issues, based on the Consumer Protection Act (§ 20x) and the Energy Act (§ 11q para. 2), rules for out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes, which regulate in more detail the procedure for out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes (hereinafter referred to as Rules).

ARTICLE 1

These Rules specify the procedure of the ERO in out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes (hereinafter also "ADR") with intermediaries in energy sectors.

ARTICLE 2

The ERO is a subject of out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes to the extent according to § 20e letter c) of the Act. For out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes between consumers and suppliers of electricity and gas (license holders for electricity trading and gas trading) to the extent according to § 17 para. 7 of the Energy Act, the legal regulation of Act No. 500/2004 Coll., Administrative Procedure Code, as amended (hereinafter referred to as "Administrative Procedure Code"), applies in full.

ARTICLE 3

For out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes with intermediaries in energy sectors within the meaning of § 11q of the Energy Act, the procedure according to Part Four of the Consumer Protection Act and further the Administrative Procedure Code to the extent of basic principles of activities of administrative authorities within the meaning of § 177 para. 1 of the Administrative Procedure Code shall be used. Out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes is not an administrative proceeding according to the Administrative Procedure Code.

ARTICLE 4

On behalf of the Energy Regulatory Office, authorized officials commissioned by the internal regulation of the Energy Regulatory Office perform acts in the proceedings on out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes.

ARTICLE 5

The purpose of conducting an out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute is not to issue a legally binding administrative decision. The purpose of out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes is to reach an amicable settlement of the dispute between the consumer and the intermediary and an agreement of the parties based on mutual communication through the ERO.

ARTICLE 6

Out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute is initiated on a proposal submitted by the consumer (hereinafter also "petitioner"). As a basis for submitting a proposal, the consumer can use the template published on the ERO website.

ARTICLE 7

The proposal to initiate a consumer dispute must contain:

• identification data of the parties to the dispute,
• complete and comprehensible description of the decisive facts,
• designation of what the petitioner seeks,
• information on when the petitioner exercised their right, which is the subject of the dispute, with the intermediary for the first time,
• declaration that the court has not decided in the matter, no arbitration award has been issued and no agreement of the parties has been concluded within the framework of out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute, and no proceedings before a court, arbitration proceedings or out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute have been initiated,
• date and signature of the petitioner.

ARTICLE 8

Within the description of decisive facts, the consumer should state the essence of the submitted dispute and factual circumstances based on which they believe they are right. Within the designation of what they seek, they must specifically define what right they seek against the intermediary (for the intermediary to fulfill an obligation, refrain from something, etc.). The subject of the discussed proposal cannot be a preventive request for determination (determination that a right or obligation exists or does not exist, without the intermediary having yet acted in conflict with the claimed claim of the consumer or raised an unjustified claim against them), unless the consumer has an urgent legal interest in it, which they describe in the proposal.

ARTICLE 9

The proposal can be submitted in writing or orally into the protocol or electronically via the data box of the person submitting the proposal, or by other means of electronic communication, if it is provided with a guaranteed electronic signature. Provided that the proposal is confirmed within 10 days, or supplemented by one of the methods listed in the first sentence, it can be submitted using other technical means, in particular via telefax or public data network without using a recognized electronic signature. The petitioner may submit a proposal no later than 1 year from the day they exercised their right, which is the subject of the dispute, with the intermediary for the first time.

ARTICLE 10

A document proving the fact that the petitioner resolved the dispute with the other party directly before submitting the proposal, and other documents proving the facts invoked by the petitioner, shall be attached to the proposal. If the petitioner is unable to document such facts, it is possible to refer to facts ascertainable from other sources available to the administrative authority or facts known to the intermediary.

ARTICLE 11

If the proposal does not contain the prescribed requirements or documents are not attached, the petitioner is invited to supplement them within a period of 15 calendar days. After the futile expiration of this period, their proposal will be rejected.

ARTICLE 12

The proposal will be further rejected if it is found that the dispute does not belong to the material competence of the ERO, the court has already decided in the matter or an arbitration award has been issued or proceedings have been initiated at court or arbitration proceedings, or out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute has already been initiated or terminated in the same matter, the petitioner submitted the proposal after the expiration of the specified period or the proposal is manifestly unfounded.

ARTICLE 13

The proposal is manifestly unfounded especially if it is a proposal submitted repeatedly and the petitioner has not documented new facts or removed defects of the previous hearing or by submitting it the petitioner clearly pursues abuse of rights to the detriment of the other party. The proposal may be assessed as unfounded if insolvency proceedings have been initiated against the intermediary according to Act No. 182/2006 Coll., on Bankruptcy and Methods of its Resolution (Insolvency Act) and the effects of these insolvency proceedings persist; or if the intermediary has entered into liquidation according to Act No. 89/2012 Coll., Civil Code, and the petitioner has not yet exercised their right which is the subject of the dispute.

ARTICLE 14

A record is made in the file about the rejection of the proposal, no resolution is issued. The rejection, together with its reasons, is communicated to the participants in the out-of-court settlement of the consumer dispute within 15 calendar days from the date of receipt of the proposal, unless the facts establishing the reason for rejection are discovered later, in which case it is communicated without undue delay from the discovery of this fact.

ARTICLE 15

Out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute is initiated on the day the ERO receives the proposal. If the proposal is not rejected, the parties to the dispute are notified of the initiation of out-of-court settlement of the consumer dispute and instructed in accordance with the law about their rights. If the nature of the dispute, the scope of factual claims of the consumer and the documents submitted by the consumer on the subject of the dispute allow it, the ERO may send the parties to the dispute an expression of a preliminary opinion on the subject of the dispute together with the notification of the initiation of the consumer dispute.

ARTICLE 16

The intermediary is obliged to provide the office with a statement on the facts stated in the proposal within 15 working days of receiving the notification according to Art. 15. The intermediary is obliged to cooperate closely with the office and provide it with the cooperation necessary for the effective course of out-of-court settlement of the consumer dispute within the meaning of § 11q of the Energy Act.

ARTICLE 17

In the event that the intermediary acts in conflict with § 11q of the Energy Act, the department materially competent to conduct out-of-court settlement of disputes with intermediaries shall without undue delay submit a suggestion for a proposal to initiate sanction proceedings with the intermediary for committing an offense according to § 91c para. 1 letter j) of the Energy Act.

ARTICLE 18

Out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute must be terminated within 90 days of its initiation. For particularly complex disputes, the ERO may extend this period by a maximum of another 90 days, of which it immediately informs both parties.

ARTICLE 19

Out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute ends with the conclusion of an agreement between the parties to the dispute, a unilateral declaration by the consumer on termination of participation in dispute resolution notified to the office, death, declaration of death, declaration of missing or termination of one of the parties to the dispute without a legal successor, futile expiration of the period for conducting the dispute according to Art. 18 or rejection of the proposal.

ARTICLE 20

The ERO notifies the other party to the dispute without undue delay about the termination of out-of-court settlement of the consumer dispute, unless it is clear from the submitted agreement of the parties to the dispute that both parties are aware of the termination of dispute resolution. The agreement on out-of-court settlement of a consumer dispute must be in writing, or in the form of a confirming confirmation by the intermediary about the disappearance of the subject of the dispute between the parties together with documentation of the fact that they informed the consumer about reaching an agreement. If a proposal for concluding an agreement is submitted to the ERO by the intermediary, the office will forward this proposal to the petitioner together with a reasonable period to express whether they accept the agreement.

ARTICLE 21

If the ERO considers it expedient, it may, in the event that the hearing of the consumer dispute does not lead to the conclusion of an agreement, issue a reasoned non-binding opinion on the subject of the dispute, which it delivers to the parties together with the notification of the termination of the dispute or before the expiration of the period for its conduct.

ARTICLE 22

The obligation to deliver a document to the parties to the dispute is fulfilled if it is delivered via the public data network to the addressee's data box, to the address stated in the proposal for initiation of out-of-court settlement of the consumer dispute or to the address, including electronic, which the parties to the dispute communicate to the ERO for the purpose of delivery. In the event that the address of the intermediary stated in the proposal differs from its registered office in the public register, it may be delivered to the address stated in the proposal, unless it is clear from the content of the file that the delivery address stated in the proposal was stated for the consumer as a contact address.

ARTICLE 23

When resolving a dispute, negotiations are held and documents are usually submitted in the Czech language. The parties to the dispute may negotiate and documents may also be submitted in the Slovak language, documents may also be submitted in other languages, a party that invokes a document in the proceedings that is drawn up in a language other than Czech, Slovak or English is obliged to submit a translation of the document into the Czech language at the request of the other party to the dispute or the administrative authority.

ARTICLE 24

A file marked with a file reference is kept in each dispute. The file consists of the proposal including attachments, all other acts of the parties to the dispute, acts of the administrative authority and other submissions related to the dispute. The parties to the dispute have the right to inspect the file and the right to receive copies of documents filed in the file. The ERO may verify the identity of the consumer in the Population Register upon submission of the proposal and ascertain data on supply to the consumer's consumption point from the market operator's system.

ARTICLE 25

Each participant in the proceedings bears their own costs of the proceedings.

ARTICLE 26

These Rules come into force on the day of publication on the ERO website and take effect on 01.07.2022.