Your energy supplier will never tell you, but this law can clear your unpaid bills.
Faced with the continued rise in energy prices, many French households are struggling to pay their gas and electricity bills. Between difficult ends of the month and forgotten payments, it happens that certain invoices remain unpaid for many months. Fortunately, the law protects consumers against the excessive accumulation of energy debts thanks to a little-known but essential mechanism: the prescription of bills. This legal protection can represent a real breath of fresh air for people in financial difficulty, provided they are familiar with their rights and the applicable deadlines.
The answer is clear: no energy supplier can demand payment of a bill unpaid for two years or more. As the regulations in force explain: “Once your supplier has billed you for your natural gas consumption, you must pay. If you do not pay, they must follow up with you on time. If you do not follow up for a period of two years or more, the supplier can no longer demand payment of the bill”explains the supplier Engie on its site.
This limitation period, set by articles L218-2 and L224-11 of the Consumer Code, constitutes fundamental protection for consumers. Concretely, if you received an invoice on January 1, 2022 and your supplier never contacted you for payment, you have been released from this obligation since January 1, 2024.
Beyond this protection against old unpaid bills, the law also imposes another important rule: your supplier cannot bill you for gas consumed more than 14 months ago. This provision prevents households from finding themselves facing excessive consumption arrears. However, be careful of exceptions, this rule does not apply if “your gas meter is inaccessible”, if “you have not sent your meter reading to your supplier even though the supplier has formally requested it”, or if “the supplier manages to prove fraud”, underlines Engie. To assert these rights, it is essential to keep your invoices for 5 years, a legal retention period which also allows you to contest incorrect invoicing. That’s good to know!
