Are your clients not settling debts even long after the due date, and are overdue claims starting to accumulate? Then it's time to consider an effective way of enforcing these claims. Here’s how to proceed to get your money back.

First Steps

Communication is the fundamental pillar of success in the area of debt recovery as well. However, if debtors do not respond to repeated reminders or consistently fail to fulfill agreements or repayment schedules, you will have no choice but to take further steps.

For mass claim enforcement, we recommend first verifying whether the company or individuals who owe you money are in insolvency. You can check this in the insolvency register.

If you have many debtors, it’s advisable to set up a system for regularly monitoring the insolvency register. You can use one of the many paid services available online to help monitor insolvency statuses.

Why is this important?

If a debtor is declared bankrupt, the court will invite creditors to submit their claims, usually within a two-month period. If you fail to register your claim in time, you may lose the opportunity for at least partial repayment of your debt.

When Planning to Sue a Debtor

Before filing a lawsuit, we recommend involving a lawyer. The lawyer can send a formal pre-litigation demand to the debtor. This step is crucial for securing the reimbursement of legal costs (including attorney fees) in the court process. A pre-litigation demand from a lawyer often has a significant impact on the debtor and increases the likelihood of reaching an out-of-court settlement.

The lawyer can also help you create a consistent and systematic approach to sending pre-litigation demands to debtors and ensure proper communication with them throughout the process.

When It Gets Serious – Filing a Lawsuit

If an out-of-court resolution fails, you will need to assert your rights in court. When timing the lawsuit, be mindful of the statute of limitations. Typically, the limitation period is 3 years from the time you could have first filed a claim, such as from the due date of the debt.

For repeated debt recovery lawsuits, we strongly recommend securing legal representation. Court proceedings involve many formal steps that must be thoroughly followed and monitored, otherwise, you risk losing the case. You need to ensure timely payment of court fees, adequately prove your claim in court, and submit necessary statements within prescribed deadlines.

A competent lawyer will also help set up a lawsuit filing system as efficiently as possible, for example, by using an electronic payment order system to recover your money from debtors in the most effective way.

You Won the Case, but the Debtor Still Won’t Pay?

If even a final court judgment does not compel the debtor to pay, there are two ways to force them to comply – you can either initiate enforcement through the court or approach a court bailiff to begin the execution process.