Ana Zagarcanin i Nikola Belosevic, a married couple from Bar, claim that the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG) and the institutions of the system are violating their basic living conditions. They are allegedly being forced to pay a debt for electricity that is not theirs, and the system has ignored all pleas, demands and legal remedies, which threatens their existence because their electricity has been disconnected for a year. EPCG, however, claims that they have done everything within their jurisdiction, and in accordance with the law, to resolve this case adequately.
Zagarčanin and Belošević live in a house that her husband received as a gift in 2024, and their electricity has been turned off due to a debt that has been registered in the deceased's name for years, since 2020, while, she claims, she is the legal heir completely ignored. Namely, the debt was registered in Belošević's grandmother, and his father is the heir to the house that he transferred to his son (Belošević) as a gift.
"We tried to resolve the debt, but instead of a legal solution, EPCG unilaterally cut off our electricity. Without my husband ever signing a contract with EPCG, without prior warning, without an agreement or the opportunity to explain anything. The debt was unilaterally transferred to him as the recipient of the gift, and our electricity was cut off," she said.
New interest rates every month
For ten months they were unable to move into the house, while every month they were greeted with new interest rates and, according to Zagarčanin, new threats. They were brought to the brink, she says, adding that they were forced to return to the substandard house because they had exhausted all other resources.
While they have been trying to exercise their rights over the past year, she emphasized, a bill of several thousand euros has "jumped" by 500 euros.
She claims that they encounter misunderstanding, unkindness and violations of the law in the institutions. EPCG sued her husband, even though they did not live in the house and even though the debt was illegally transferred to his name, she emphasizes.
"The urgency of this situation is further affected by the fact that I am entering my fifth month of pregnancy, which is why the risk to my health and that of my baby is increasing day by day. We have already suffered numerous psychophysical consequences, and they will only deepen without basic living conditions and with the continued violation of our basic human rights," says Ana Zagarčanin.
EPCG does not respond to complaints, does not respect documentation and behaves like an absolute force, Zagarčanin points out.
"From the director, who is in charge of issuing orders to turn on the electricity, to the employees at the counter, they are blackmailing us, they are not agreeing to the agreement and legal provisions, they are not willing to cooperate. On top of all that, they are behaving unkindly and insulting us, humiliating us," she explains.
She also claims that EPCG, without prior notice, without a deadline for settling the debt, and without a signed contract with her husband as the new owner, turned off the electricity and transferred the debt that had been growing with interest for years - transferred from the deceased person's account to his.
"He hasn't lived in the building since 2018, and when we wanted to move in in 2024, there was a power outage and life was impossible, especially because of the winter. We were soon forced to move into the house, and we are facing the impossibility of a normal life without the basic right to electricity," the newspaper's interlocutor said.
The debt is mostly made up of interest that has many times exceeded the principal debt that arose before the death of the responsible person and who died during the repayment period under the rescheduling, she states.
"Without electricity, without heating, without hot water and without hygienic conditions, our lives will only turn into a struggle for survival and preservation of health. The justice system ignores us, regardless of my health condition, my pregnancy and the fact that we are completely left to our own devices," she concluded in an interview with "Vijesti".
EPCG: Several repayment options offered
EPCG told "Vijesti" that they explained to Belošević at the beginning of July last year that in order to reconnect the electricity, he needed to pay the costs of reconnecting, the execution costs and the two last bills, in order to create a protocol "Let's share the burden" which would enable the debt for consumed electricity to be settled on favorable terms - by repaying the previous debt in fixed monthly installments of 20 euros and paying current monthly bills.
According to their records, he did this in October, while the name on the account was changed and the contract was signed in August.
In September 2021, according to EPCG, they sent a Warning on the obligation to conclude a Supply Contract due to the death of a registered customer.
In November of the following year, 2022, the power supply was disconnected due to a debt for electricity consumed at the cable connection cabinet, and the disconnection was registered by software. In mid-July of the previous year, an electricity meter with the possibility of remote reading and disconnection was installed at the metering point.
"After the disconnection due to debt for consumed electricity, no connection order was created. Upon reviewing the energy card, we found that consumption was registered on the meter, which means that someone arbitrarily connected it. So, they were warned and invited to change the name of the electricity customer from the deceased, they did not respond and someone arbitrarily connected the electricity," EPCG told "Vijesti".
They also claim that this couple, in communication with officials in Bar, were offered all options for repaying the debt, namely a one-time payment of the principal of the entire debt along with payment of execution and reconnection costs, with a write-off of unpaid interest, or payment according to the "Let's Share the Burden" protocol.
When asked why EPCG sued Belošević, they replied that they had initiated several enforcement actions against his relative due to a previous debt that was in his name, and when the same account was transferred to Belošević's name, they filed a request to continue that enforcement, which had previously been interrupted due to the death of the person in whose name the account was held.
Disappointed with the court's actions
A young couple from Bar also feels let down by the judicial authorities, namely the Bar Basic Court. Zagarčanin says that the institution has been ignoring them for months and refusing to act on their request for a temporary measure and protect them from the energy blockade.
Their case has been handed over to Judge Vladana Rakočević, while Court President Tamara Spasojević is refusing any request for an interview and issuing a temporary measure to turn on the electricity and ensure a fair trial, claims Zagarčanin.
Judge Boris Bulatović previously dismissed their case because, according to lawyer Darko Hajduković, which Zagaračanin reports with documentation available for inspection, at that moment, at the end of December last year, they did not live there.
President of the Basic Court in Bar, Tamara Spasojevic, told "Vijesti" that at the end of November of the previous year (2024), based on a proposal for the issuance of a temporary measure by Belošević Nikola, a case was formed against the opponent of the proposer, EPCG AD Nikšić, which was prolonged by judge Bulatović.
As she said, Judge Bulatović rejected Belošević's request for a temporary measure requiring that electricity be connected to their house within three days, to which lawyer Hajduković filed an appeal, which was deemed unfounded.
"From the above, it can be concluded that this court acted properly and promptly, and in relation to Ana Zagarčanin's allegations that she and her husband Nikola Belošević sent letters, requests and urgent requests to which I allegedly did not respond, and the allegations that I spoke with them and convinced them that the case would be processed according to the due process, I emphasize that these allegations are not true and I consider them incorrect," said Spasojević, when asked to comment on the allegations of the two Barans.
She also claims that only one request for the party to be admitted to court was received in her name, which was submitted by Zagarčanin on April 1 of this year, after which, with certain complications, they contacted her to schedule an appointment with Spasojević, but Zagarčanin, upon learning that a decision had been made, said that an appointment was not necessary in that case.
Zagarčanin claims that they will not give up and agree to pressure from EPCG.
"I also wrote to the President of the Supreme Court, and I will send emails every day to see if anything will happen and how important it is to the citizens. We are so exhausted from waiting quietly only to be ignored by everyone in the end," said Ana Zagarčanin.
Zagarčanin: EPCG violates a number of laws
Zagračanin claims that EPCG violated a number of laws in its treatment of them, one of which is the Law on Obligations, which defines the cooperation between the two parties in the procedure.
She also refers to the violation of Article 27 of the Consumer Protection Law, which provides for a response from the provider of goods or services, which, she claims, they never received in an adequate manner. She warns of the violation of their rights guaranteed by the Law on Inheritance, but also other rights prescribed by the Law on Energy, the Constitution of Montenegro, international human rights conventions, internal acts of EPCG...
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