The Parliamentary Ombudsman's office has so far received 10 complaints regarding the billing practices of Varha, the wellbeing services county of Southwestern Finland.
Varha recently sent invoices to tens of thousands of customers for social and health care services that were provided years ago. The issue affects around 40,000 customers in the region and the total sum of the payment reminders is more than 18 million euros.
Varha issued an apology about the matter last week.
According to the Parliamentary Ombudsman's office, Deputy Ombudsman Maija Sakslin is set to carry out an inspection of Varha's invoicing and collection unit on Friday. The office's rapporteur, Terhi Arjola-Sarja, said eventual decisions about further action will be made after the inspection.
Varha gave extra time to clients that had already received the invoices — and has extended the deadline for new bills to 45 days.
The Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV) has received eight complaints about the matter.
According to KKV's Senior Adviser Juha Jokinen, among other things, the complaints alleged that those who received the payment reminders had not received the original bills in the first place.
KKV is monitoring the situation and awaiting decisions reached by the Parliamentary Ombudsman's office, according to the authority.
