HAVE AN UNPAID INVOICE?
Failure to pay an invoice you have sent may constitute sufficient grounds for the seizure of the debtor’s property by the bailiff’s office. However, it is important to remember that this applies only to those invoices that have been sent by post. Invoices sent via email may not serve as grounds for the seizure of the debtor’s assets.
If your invoices have been sent by post, the case can be submitted directly to the bailiff’s office requesting seizure of the debtor’s assets. An enforceable document, e. g. a court judgement, is not required in such cases. Meanwhile, if the debtor disputes your money claim, a bailiff must refer the case to a dispute committee.
Follow these steps if you want to collect a past due invoice:
In order to be able to collect a past due invoice at some later date, the first step you have to take is to send it in paper form. Remember that if the invoice has been sent via email, it would not constitute sufficient grounds for a bailiff to act.
Read more>If you have not received payment by the payment date stated on the invoice, you should immediately send a reminder notice to your debtor informing them about the overdue payment/requesting them to pay the invoice and a warning of legal debt recovery. Pursuant to the law, you must set a grace period of at least two weeks for the debtor to make the payment.
Send the following notice requesting payment: “Warning notice before initiating legal debt recovery including seizure of assets pursuant to Articles 4–18 and 4–19 of the Enforcement Act” (the sample letter is provided below). We recommend sending this document both by email and as a registered letter by post. Make sure you keep the postal receipt.
Sample letter: send this warning letter before taking legal action
Warning notice before initiating legal debt recovery including seizure of assets pursuant to Articles 4–18 and 4–19 of the Enforcement Act.
Read more>WARNING NOTICE BEFORE INITIATING LEGAL DEBT RECOVERY INCLUDING SEIZURE OF ASSETS PURSUANT TO ARTICLES 4–18 AND 4–19 OF THE ENFORCEMENT ACT
This letter is to serve as a warning that the outstanding amount owed by you must be paid within two weeks from the day of sending this warning. If this request is not honoured prior to the specified date, a claim will be filed to recover the monies owed by you with the court or bailiff’s office without additional notice.
Amount of debt:
Amount of debt:
Late payment charge calculated at the rate of ___ % and accumulated until this date (inclusive): ___
Amount paid:
Total:
The amount claimed is to be paid to the following account number:
This claim will be regarded as paid after both the debt amount and the accrued late charges are paid.
If you want to collect a debt, sometimes sending this warning notice is enough to achieve this end
If you want to make sure that the debtor pays serious attention to this warning notice, you can use our warning stamp.
If you have not received payment by the due date, do not hesitate to contact us.