Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

Published: 14. July 2021 —

Content

Since 1 February 2016, the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (hereinafter as “the Office“ or “URSO“) has been an alternative dispute resolution body pursuant to Section 3(2)(a) of Act No. 391/2015 Coll. on alternative dispute resolution, as amended.

The purpose of alternative dispute resolution is to amicably settle a dispute between the parties to the dispute, which are the seller (e.g. electricity/gas/water/heat supplier) and the consumer (e.g. household consumer). The Office shall resolve disputes independently, impartially and with due diligence, taking into account the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of both the consumer and the seller.

Name, address and IČO (organisation identification number)	Úrad pre reguláciu sieťových odvetví Tomášikova 28C, 821 01 Bratislava 3 IČO: 36 06 98 41
Date of entry	01 February 2016
Correspondence address	Tomášikova 28C, 821 01 Bratislava 3
Contact e-mail address	ars[at]urso.gov.sk
Telephone contact	02/581 004 81
Contact persons	Mgr. Jana Štrbková JUDr. Lucia Seligová
ADR languages	Slovak, English
Types of disputes	Disputes between the consumer and the seller arising from contracts on distribution system connection, contracts on integrated electricity supply, contracts on integrated gas supply, contracts on heat supply and consumption, contracts on drinking water supply and contracts on wastewater collection concluded with an entity carrying out a regulated activity pursuant to Section 1(c) of Act No. 250/2012 on regulation in the network industries, as amended.
Grounds on which an ADR entity may refuse to resolve a dispute pursuant to Section 13(4) of the Act 391/2015	if the consumer submits the proposal after the expiration of one year from: the date of receipt of the seller's negative response to the consumer's request for remedy or the vain expiration of a period of 30 days from the date on which the consumer sent the seller a request for remedy to which the seller has not responded, if the consumer has not demonstrably attempted to resolve the dispute by communicating with the seller before filing the proposal, where the quantifiable value of the dispute does not exceed EUR 20, where the matter to which the proposal relates has been dealt with previously and the consumer has been informed of the outcome of handling the proposal, where the proposal does not contain any new facts and where alternative dispute resolution would be obviously, considering all the circumstances, ineffective, where it is clear that, in all the circumstances, alternative dispute resolution could only be pursued with disproportionate effort.
Legislation	In particular Act No. 391/2015 Coll. on Alternative Dispute Resolution of Consumer Disputes, as amended, Act No. 251/2012 Coll. on the Energy Sector, as amended, Act No. 657/2004 Coll. on the Heating Sector, as amended, Act No. 250/2012 Coll. on Regulation in the Network Industries, as amended
The Office may refuse the proposal also in case:	it is not competent to settle the dispute, the proposal is unfounded - an unfounded proposal is in particular a proposal from which it is clear, after a thorough assessment of the proposal and the attached documents, that the consumer is not seeking to protect his rights and legitimate interests, where the proposal is anonymous, the consumer has failed to complete his/her proposal within the time limit set, despite being requested to do so, and the alternative dispute resolution cannot be pursued because of this deficiency.
ADR fees	The Office resolves disputes free of charge. The costs of alternative dispute resolution shall be borne by each of the parties to the dispute separately without any possibility of reimbursement.

Alternative dispute resolution rules:

The consumer has the option to terminate participation in ADR at any stage of the dispute.

The agreement resulting from ADR is binding on the parties to the dispute; the parties' option to take the same matter to court is not affected.

If no agreement is reached between the parties to the dispute pursuant to the previous sentence and the authorised employee, on the basis of the facts he/she finds during the alternative dispute resolution, comes to the justified conclusion that the seller has violated the consumer's rights pursuant to the applicable legislation in the field of regulation of network industries (e.g. Act No. 251/2012 Coll. on the Energy Sector, as amended, URSO Decree No. 24/2013 Coll. establishing the rules for the functioning of the internal electricity market and the rules for the functioning of the internal gas market, as amended by Decree No. 423/2013 Coll.), he/she shall terminate the alternative dispute resolution by issuing a non-binding reasoned opinion.

The list of alternative dispute resolution entities can be found on the website of the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic - www.mhsr.sk

The documents located at this site are available in Slovak language only.

Updated: 20. July 2022