The company Riverty apologized that a customer had to pay NOK 49 in invoice fees. Now another customer is ready to take the fight to court.
FEES: Rune Moe received an invoice with NOK 49 in administration fees. Ten minutes later, he read that Riverty apologizes for having demanded NOK 49 in invoice fees. Photo: PrivatePublished: Published:
Less than 20 minutes ago
On Palm Sunday, Rune Moe read that the company Riverty apologized for insisting that a customer pay a fee of NOK 49 to receive an invoice
Ten minutes earlier, a bill had ticked into his online bank.
He had parked at Jessheim Storsenter on 22 March and was billed NOK 70.
The parking cost NOK 16. The administration fee was NOK 49 and the service fee was NOK 5.
– The amount in itself is not that large, but there are a few principles involved, says Rune Moe to E24.
Riverty refers to the whole thing as a “demanding topic”, and points out that several actors do not agree with the authorities’ assessments.
– For a long time, it has been an industry practice to operate with a fee when issuing an invoice of NOK 49 and above. It is only in recent months that Forbrukertilsynet and Finanstilsynet have come up with clear guidelines related to this, writes communications manager Kristina Hunter Nilsson at Riverty to E24.
Read the full response from Riverty further down in the case.
Read on E24+
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“In line with the Financial Agreements Act”
E24 recently told the story of Pål Tønder from Andebu in Vestfold who refused to pay the invoice fee to Riverty of NOK 49.
When he threatened to take the company to court, they backed down.
– In this case, we should have realized at an earlier stage that the claim should not have been the subject of debt collection or legal action – that is regrettable and we have taken the consequence of that by waiving the claim, Riverty wrote in an email to E24.
She also wrote that “the invoicing fees we and our clients operate with in future will be in line with the Financial Agreements Act”.
Will take it to court
Rune Moe – who read this ten minutes after receiving an invoice with an administration fee of NOK 49 – is clear about what he is going to do with the invoice.
– I will, of course, pay for the parking, but I will contact them and say that I will pay the fee in full.
– Completely out?
– Yes, I will follow it all the way through the courts if it comes to that, says Moe.
It is not necessarily the company Riverty that determines the size of the invoice fee. They take over the invoice handling from their customers.
– However, Riverty should be well informed about the regulations. That is why it is strange that the company assists customers in collecting illegally high invoice fees, says Gunstein Instefjord, head of consumer policy at the Consumer Council.
– Exemplary clear
– We see that creativity is high in the industry when it comes to calling invoice fees something else, says Instefjord.
He says several companies in the industry have changed the name of the invoice fee and charged the same amount.
The parking company Apcoa, which also uses Riverty to handle invoicing, has introduced a product they call Park & Go. The Consumer Council has called it “invoicing fees in sheep’s clothing”. Apcoa rejects the criticism.
– Otherwise, administration fees are another rewrite, says Instefjord to E24.
The Consumer Council has had a tips campaign where consumers can report high invoice fees. Four out of five inquiries about illegal fees concern invoice fees for toll crossings and parking. Six out of ten tips are about companies in Riverty’s customer portfolio, says Instefjord.
– The Financial Agreements Act, the Consumer Protection Authority and the Financial Protection Authority are all exemplary clear, he says.
– We will be very surprised if the parking companies and Riverty have not realized that what they are doing is illegal.
– Different denominations
E24 asked the money collection company Riverty if they have only changed the name of the NOK 49 fee from “invoice fee” to “administration fee”.
– Different players, including our clients, use different names for the fees they operate with. We are not aware that this has changed as a result of the discussions that have taken place in recent months, replies communications manager Kristina Hunter Nilsson at Riverty.
E24 also asked questions about:
- What they think about the Consumer Council’s criticism.
- What they think about so many people complaining about them through the Consumer Council’s tips campaign.
- Documentation for what is the basis for the 49 kroner required in administration fees.
- If they send out invoices they are not willing to defend in court.
The company did not specifically answer these questions.
Riverty replies to this
This is what communications manager Kristina Hunter Nilsson in Riverty writes to E24:
When drafting the Financial Agreements Act, the Ministry believed that which costs are included in “actual cost” should be clarified through practice, as it may seem difficult to provide an appropriate and appropriate legal or regulatory regulation of the questions that may arise. For a long time, it has been an industry practice to operate with a fee when issuing an invoice of NOK 49 and above.
It is only in recent months that Forbrukertilsynet and Finanstilsynet have come up with clear guidelines related to this. The Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority has based a strict interpretation of the regulations relating to invoice fees when they notified central players of a decision with a deadline of 18 January this year. Several actors have expressed that they do not agree with the inspectorate’s assessments and there may be differences between different industries, which has made it a demanding topic.
The parking industry differs somewhat from other industries when it comes to invoices, as the end customer has many other payment options that the end customer does not choose to use (including apps, payment machines, online during the first 48 hours, etc.), and that it is basically an unknown invoice recipient so that a job has to be done to find out who the invoice should be sent to. This has been problematic against the inspection from central actors. It is also important to clarify that no decision has been taken against players in the parking industry.
As previously mentioned, Riverty, together with its clients, has followed this development closely, and together with its clients has focused on aligning itself with the supervisory authorities’ guidelines and taking the necessary measures.
Riverty is aware that over time the Norwegian Parking Association (Norpark) has had a dialogue with the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority relating to the problem, so that this is also handled from an industry perspective for our clients.
At the same time, we are working closely with our industry organization Virke Inkasso on how we, as a financing and debt collection company, will handle this in the best possible way going forward. Virke Inkasso has stated that they will request the Finanstilsynet for a meeting just before Easter to get the necessary clarifications in place.
We hope the above answers the points you mention and makes it clear that both we and the sector are in dialogue with relevant parties to get the necessary clarifications so that we, as financing and debt collection companies, can all proceed in the right way in the near future. We really want to get this right and await guidance from the relevant authorities.
Sea view
– Complaint
If you receive an invoice with a fee of NOK 49 from a parking company, the advice to the Consumer Council is to complain to the company and dispute the claim.
– On our website you will find a simple procedure on how to make a complaint. If you do not get approval, you should tip the Consumer Protection Authority, says Instefjord in the Consumer Council.
2024-04-01 09:30:32
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