Debt collection is a comprehensive service in which we effectively help clients enforce payment and recover money both amicably, by filing a claim for payment, and through intensive bailiff action in enforcement proceedings.
By 30 June 2023 alone, 61,160 notices related to pending insolvency proceedings were disclosed in the Court and Commercial Gazette and the National Debt Register. This is more than in each of the previous years, except for the record year 2022, when there were more than 84,000 announcements. With the exponential growth of bankruptcy, it is important to remember that with each day of delay in taking collection action, the risk that your debtor’s assets will be seized by other creditors increases.
Debt collection: an offer to creditors
Debt collection in our offer includes services such as:
- Amicable collection of debts, preparation of summons for payment
- Negotiations with debtors
- Coordination of economic intelligence activities in order to establish the debtor’s assets
- Representation of the client in court proceedings, both domestic and for a European payment order
- Obtaining security for the claimant’s claims on the debtor’s assets
- Representation during enforcement proceedings
Debt collection: offer for debtors
As part of our offer, we comprehensively represent the debtor in court proceedings, including providing
- Filing an objection to a payment order
- Filing of objections to an order for payment
- Response to a statement of claim
- Appeals
- Lodging an appeal in cassation
Our services also include representation during restructuring or bankruptcy proceedings.
What sets us apart?
Thanks to our extensive network of contacts and using Polish and foreign procedures, we effectively recover our clients’ debts throughout the country and abroad. We act quickly and intensively using modern business intelligence methods in order to determine the debtor’s assets from which enforcement can be carried out. Delinquency and inaccuracy in this respect, threatens the seizure of the debtor’s funds by another creditor or, even worse, the appearance of a receiver in the company.
Action for payment
The first step of judicial recovery is to bring an action for payment. An action for payment requires a very precise presentation of the demands and their support by concrete evidence. Professional assistance from a lawyer who will prepare the claim, represent the claimant at the hearing and ensure that the proceedings are conducted in accordance with applicable law and, above all, that the client’s interest is adequately protected in the proceedings can significantly increase the chances of recovering the money.
Payment order
Our first objective is to obtain an order for payment from the court. In order to obtain an order for payment, it is crucial that the statement of claim is properly worded, as there is a risk that the court will not issue it. This may happen if the statement of claim states that:
- the claim is clearly unfounded, for example an overdue invoice has already been paid
- the factual allegations are in doubt
- the settlement of the claim depends on a counterclaim.
With an order for payment, which is an enforcement title, we obtain an enforcement clause on behalf of the client – only both documents provide a basis for the bailiff to enforce the debt. It should be borne in mind that the debtor has the right to lodge an objection to an order for payment before the order becomes final.
“Court case”
After an action has been filed, the defendant debtor may file an objection (in a writ of summons), a plea, or a defence in which he or she acknowledges or does not acknowledge the action brought against him or her. If the defendant does not acknowledge the action and the parties do not reach a settlement, the court will schedule a hearing.
After the hearing, the court issues a judgment in which it decides on the validity of the claims made by the plaintiff. The judgment of the court of first instance may be appealed to the court of second instance. It depends on the will of the parties whether they file an appeal. It may be lodged by one or both parties. If the parties fail to lodge an appeal within the time limit or the appeal procedure has been exhausted, the judgment of the court becomes final.
If a final court judgement is not favourable to you, it is worth checking whether you are entitled to extraordinary remedies, such as a cassation complaint, a complaint for reopening of proceedings, a complaint for declaring the final judgement unlawful and complaints for revoking an arbitral award.
Enforcement proceedings
Despite a judgment becoming final, the debtor may evade its enforcement. In this case, we initiate enforcement proceedings on behalf of our clients, i.e. proceedings in which we take action on behalf of an entitled creditor in order to force the execution of a judgment ordering the debtor to pay. This ranges from sending a reminder to the debtor to filing an application for the initiation of enforcement proceedings with the competent bailiff.
As part of our services, we supervise the actions of the bailiff, who has a number of tools at his disposal to enforce the debt. This includes, for example, seizure of the debtor’s salary, seizure of bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, as well as other assets that can be auctioned (auction of the debtor’s assets). The effectiveness of the bailiff’s actions can be significantly increased by showing him the existing sources of the debtor’s assets from which the claim can be satisfied. To do so, we use modern economic intelligence techniques.
Arbitration proceedings
The debt recovery process may look slightly different from a legal point of view if the contract binding our client to the debtor contains an arbitration clause.
Frequently asked questions
Jak wnieść sprzeciw od nakazu zapłaty w postępowaniu upominawczym