collection
You granted a loan to a friend and never saw your money again? As a business owner, do you follow your payments because customers do not pay the bills? Now it's time to act and finally enforce your claims.
Often an "official" letter of formal notice from a lawyer is sufficient to put the debtor under pressure and to make him aware of the seriousness of the situation. Nevertheless, there are debtors, which leaves this unimpressed. Now it is time to resort to "harder means" and to use judicial help to enforce the demand.
There are two options for this:
- the legal action
- the dunning procedure
Table of Contents
1. The legal action
A lawsuit can be filed with the competent district court or district court. The application must set out the claims in detail and provide evidence. The other side now has the opportunity to defend itself against the lawsuit. Possibly, a merit or trial hearing will take place before the judge, assuming he is convinced of the argument, pronounces a sentence condemning the other party to make the payment. The legal and court costs incurred for the proceedings are also to be borne by the debtor in the event of complete confiscation. The creditor holds now a title in his hands, with which he can execute the foreclosure.
2. The dunning procedure
Significantly cheaper and faster compared to the lawsuit is the dunning procedure. In the run-up to this, there are fewer court costs and the way to enforceable titles may be considerably shorter.
The claims are submitted in a so-called "dunning request" to the responsible dunning court - directly online on the website www.online-mahnand.de
The order is sent to the debtor. If this does not respond, an application for an enforcement order may be filed. After the expiry of the opposition and opposition periods for the opponent then issued an enforcement order, ie an enforceable title. Also in this all procedural costs are included. The debtor is thus obliged to bear the legal and court costs incurred.
If the debtor objects to the order or objection to the writ of execution, the procedure (similar to the case) continues with the competent court.
Advantages and disadvantages of the dunning procedure
| Criteria | Benefits | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Enforcement already possible after 3 weeks. | If the debtor objects to the order for payment or enforcement order, it must be handed over to a proper court. |
| enforceability | It can be enforced without security. | |
| Costs | Low cost | If the debtor objects, the costs are the same as in the claim procedure. |
| limitation inhibition | The dunning procedure inhibits the statute of limitations. | A limitation of the statute of limitations is safer because the claim can be specified more precisely. |
| Risks in case of limitation | If the delivery of the notice of payment is delayed, the limitation period is endangered. | |
| success | Very good, because often no contradiction is raised. |
Title - and now?
With one title you can now execute the foreclosure. There are various possibilities:
- Appointment of a bailiff for enforcement in the movable property
- Garnishment (eg salary garnishment, account stocking)
- Foreclosure / coercive mortgage / receivership for real estate
- and much more
In addition, you may request the submission of the debtor's asset information in order to gain insight into its assets.
And why a lawyer?
For creditors, there are many ways to actively enforce their claims. We as a law firm are always at your disposal at every step. Whether soliciting a letter of formal notice, filing a lawsuit or filing an order for a claim, a lawyer can advise you on which step is the right one and makes more sense. The often complicated preparation of claims statements, calculation of interest and the monitoring of payment periods and receipts can be carried out reliably and correctly by a legal representative.
What does it cost me?
In general, the legal and court costs are imposed on the debtor. Advance payment is only required for court costs and expenses (eg bailiff costs). That means: fall for a successful realization of your claims no costs for you.
Do you have legal expenses insurance? Experience has shown that this (with the exception of deductibles) assumes all legal costs for you.
