Legal support helped to cancel an unlawful gas bill

Tamara, from the village of Kozacha Lopan in the Kharkiv Oblast, faced a problem with incorrect gas meter readings. Due to active hostilities, the woman had been living in another city as an internally displaced person (IDP) since April 2024 and was unable to submit her meter readings. When she managed to return home, she recorded the actual meter readings and submitted them online. 

From 2024 to August 2025, the woman was charged for over a thousand cubic metres of gas, which she could not pay. The amount was too high and the charges were unlawful. Tamara repeatedly called the hotline and wrote to Naftogaz demanding that the readings be corrected, but her requests were ignored. A court order had already been issued against her to recover the debt for the natural gas consumed. 

In August, Tamara turned to the charity Caritas Kharkiv for legal assistance. Lawyer Andriy explained the principles of cancelling a court order and renewing the deadline for appealing to the court. He helped Tamara draft and submit an application to cancel the order and a motion to renew the deadline. 

Thanks to the professional support of the lawyer, provided in cooperation with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) with financial support from the European Union, the court cancelled the order to collect the unlawful debt. 

*The name has been changed to protect personal data.