Protocol for Making a Claim

The General Process
In the general claims making process, one must make their claim to the supplier in less than fifteen days since the acquisition of the product or the reception of the service concerned.
If the response from the supplier is not satisfactory to the consumer, or the supplier does not provide a response within ten days of receiving the claim, the consumer has ten days more to present their claim to the Director of Consumer Defense (DDC), and if the DDC is not able to provide a response that is satisfactory to the consumer, the consumer still has the opportunity to go to the Ministry within two days of contacting the DDC.
This process is valid in all cases except in services such as lights, water, and phone services.

Date of acquisition of the product or reception of the bill
------in less than 15 days--->
The consumer should contact the supplier
------in less than 10 days--->
The consumer should contact the Director of Consumer Defense
------in less than 2 days--->
The consumer should contact the Ministry

Processes for Filing Claims for Energy, Water, and Phone
In the case of energy, water, and phone services, the protocol that one must follow is a bit more complicated than the protocol we explained above. In these cases the suppliers have more than one chance to respond to the claim before the consumer can contact the Director of Consumer Defense, and in order to do so the consumer must first go through the appropriate regulating entity.
Note: We are not required to pay bills for goods or services on which we have claims; nor is it permitted for a utility company to cut our service while we are in the process of presenting a claim… THESE RULES ALWAYS APPLY.

Energy Bill Claims
What should we do when a light bill arrives and it is more expensive than usual, or there is something that appears to be out of the ordinary?
1. Make sure you do not have any unpaid bills with the energy company, since we can only present claims about a bill if we are caught up on all our payments.
2. Look at the date on the bill. From this date, the consumer has thirty days to present their claim (although it is better to do so within fifteen days).
Note: If one is presenting a claim due to harm or damages incurred by the consumer, we only have 72 hours after the harm or damages were incurred to present the claim!
3. After you have taken the above-mentioned steps, present the claim to the utility company that issued you the bill.
4. If the company does not respond to you within five working days, the consumer should present their claim for a second time to the utility company concerned.
5. If after five working days from the date of the second claim the consumer still has not received a response from the utility company, or their response is not satisfactory to the consumer who filed the claim, the consumer should report their claim within ten working days from filing the second claim with the utility company, to the Nicaraguan Institute of Energy (INE), which is the regulating entity.
Note: This entity gives us a grace period that ensures our utility service will not be cut while the claim is being processed!
6. In the case that the resolution offered by the INE is not satisfactory to the consumer, the consumer has 10 working days to present their claim to the Director of Consumer Defense. If the response of the DDC is not satisfactory to the consumer, we can contact the Ministry within two working days following the reception of the resolution offered by the DDC.

Date of reception of the utility bill
------in less than 15 days--->
The consumer should contact the supplier for the first time
------in less than 5 days--->
The consumer should contact the supplier for the second time
------in less than 10 days--->
The consumer should contact the regulating entity (INE)
------in less than 10 days--->
The consumer should contact the Director of Consumer Defense
------in less than 2 days--->
The consumer should contact the Ministry

Water Bill Claims
What should we do when a water bill arrives and it is more expensive than usual, or there is something that appears to be out of the ordinary?
1. Make sure you do not have any unpaid bills with the energy company, since we can only present claims about a bill if we are caught up on all our payments.
2. Look at the date on the bill. From this date, the consumer has thirty days to present their claim.
3. After you have taken the above-mentioned steps, present the claim for the first and only time to the utility company that issued you the bill.
4. If the company does not respond to you within fifteen working days, or the response is not satisfactory to the consumer, the consumer should present their claim to the regulating entity of water service providers within ten days from having received the proposed resolution from the water utility company. In Nicaragua, this regulating entity is the Nicaraguan Institute of Aqueducts and Sewage Systems (INAA).
Note: This entity gives us a grace period that ensures our utility service will not be cut while the claim is being processed!
5. In the case that the resolution offered by the INE is not satisfactory to the consumer, the consumer has 10 working days to present their claim to the Director of Consumer Defense.
6. If the response of the DDC is not satisfactory to the consumer, we can contact the Ministry within two working days following the reception of the resolution offered by the DDC.

Date of reception of the utility bill
------in less than 30 days--->
The consumer should contact the supplier for the first and only time
------in less than 10 days--->
The consumer should contact the regulating entity (INAA)
------in less than 10 days--->
The consumer should contact the Director of Consumer Defense
------in less than 2 days--->
The consumer should contact the Ministry

Phone Bill Claims
What should we do when a phone bill arrives and it is more expensive than usual, or there is something that appears to be out of the ordinary?
1. Make sure you do not have any unpaid bills with the energy company, since we can only present claims about a bill if we are caught up on all our payments.
2. Look at the date on the bill. From this date, the consumer has thirty days to present their claim.
3. After you have taken the above-mentioned steps, present the claim for the first and only time to the utility company that issued you the bill.
4. If the company does not respond to you within fifteen working days, or the response is not satisfactory to the consumer, the consumer should present their claim to the regulating entity of phone service providers within thirty days from having received the proposed resolution from the phone utility company. In Nicaragua, this regulating entity is the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Mail (TELCOR).
Note: This entity gives us a grace period that ensures our utility service will not be cut while the claim is being processed!
5. In the case that the resolution offered by the INE is not satisfactory to the consumer, the consumer has 10 working days to present their claim to the Director of Consumer Defense.
6. If the response of the DDC is not satisfactory to the consumer, we can contact the Ministry within two working days following the reception of the resolution offered by the DDC.

Date of reception of the utility bill
------in less than 30 days--->
The consumer should contact the supplier for the first and only time
------in less than 30 days--->
The consumer should contact the regulating entity (TELCOR)
------in less than 10 days--->
The consumer should contact the Director of Consumer Defense
------in less than 2 days--->
The consumer should contact the Ministry