PENALTY ON ACCOUNTS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 73, 18 December 1937, Page 5

PENALTY ON ACCOUNTS

Our Own Correspondent.)

Is Power Board Entitled To Extra Charge? > DIFFICULT POINT OF LAW

(From

WAIPUKUEATJ, Last Night. A bid to make legal history wae made in the Waipukurau Magistrate's Court lo-day when a uumber of prosecutions, said to be the first of their land to be brought in New Zealand, were decided by Mr J. Miller, S.M. In addition to these, however, a point of considerable interest to electricity consumers and power boards throughout New Zealand was left undecided pending the magistrate's decision. Can a power board legally charge a penalty if an account is not paid before the expiry of a stated discount period? This was the question on which tht Magistrate Teserved his decision after hearing lengthy legal argunjent from both sides. Mr D. W. Neild appeared for the Central Hawke's Bay Power Board and Mr A. M. White for the def'endant, M. G. Joblin, a married woman, of Waipukurau. The decision when it is given will have a vital bearing on power boards generally, since it is a point of law that has never been settled. ' ' The ■ present case has beer. brought," said Mr Neild, "to establish a principle of considerable iinportance which has been decided for borough councils by a recent ruling but not as yet for power boards. The principle at stake is whether a power board can stlpulate that its price will be increased if the account is not paid wilhin a certain time. ' ' The defendant had been on holiday for eome time and when she returned she at once paid her account, but ifsfused to pay the penalty demanded. As this account was counted as arrears, she was debarred by the power board's rules from any further discounts, but she had since 'deducted these herself when paying each account, eo that the amount owing was rising all the time. She herself had requested that a case be made of it. The Magistrate remarked that it was a question of placing an interpretation on a difficult point of law and reserved his judgment.