Bluffaktura
Hi there,
I have an issue that I would really like some advice on. I have a private Company (Enkildfirma) that I registered a few months ago. I do not really have an income yet, I give art classes to some students from home. I received a letter in the post that to me looked like a Skatteverket form asking for my company updated details. I completed and signed the form and sent it back to them in the pre-adressed envelope I received with the post. One week later I received an invoice of just under SEK6000 to pay - it turns out that this was not a Skatteverket form but a request for Nummerupplysning to advertise my contact details. They are based in Estonia. I reported a Bluff-faktura with my local police office. Nummerupplysning have in the interim agreed that I can pay them off in 6 instalments and that they won't be sending me the next invoice for the following year. I have however heard from several people that I should not pay them and that it is a scam. There has been several warnings also on facebook about the same. I do not have an income and can't really afford to pay them. Are they able to sue me for the Money and can I keep on refusing to pay them? What is the legal ramifications.
Please Contact me if you need any further information.
Kind regards
Shornene Howard
Cel: 0723708047
Email: jshoward@telia.com
Lawline svarar
Greetings, and thank you for turning to Lawline with your inquiry!
Summary
As the company’s practice is in violation of several articles in The Contracts Act (avtalslagen), the contract cannot be deemed legal.
The contract in and by itself is not, however, in violation of any statutory principles of the Swedish judicial system. This means that the contract is not automatically unenforceable, though still being illegal
At this point there are two more viable options; either continue refusing to pay and hope that the company lets up, or sue the company in court to declare the contract unenforceable.
It would, at this point, be ill advised to pay in accordance with the payment plan, as this too could be seen as a ratification of the entire contract and its contents.
Analysis
There are a few articles in the The Contratcs Act which suite the situation.
Article 30, betrayal, fits the situation wherein a party has misled its counterpart and the party either knows or must have known that the counterpart have been misled.
Article 33, in violation of good conduct, fits the situation wherein the circumstances regarding the institution of a contract are in violation with basic principles of good conduct.
Article 36, unsuitable contracts, fits the situation wherein either the circumstances regarding the institution of the contract, or the contract itself, is in violation of basic principles in regards to general practice.
Conclusion
To ensure a definitive end to the situation, a decision has to be made by a court. The contract is not unenforceable, that is, you being safe from legal persecution from the company, until a court has decided that it is so.
Though it, due to the questionable legality of the contract, may be unlikely for the company to try to take legal action, it is in its right to continue to send letters.
If you need further assistance with your case, you are more than welcome to contact us at 08-533 300 04 (Monday to Wednesday, 10:00-16:00) or e-mail us at info@lawline.se
It is also possible for you to come in contact with a lawyer qualified in this field, here.
