Stop the bad payment morale of your French debtor with debt collection France! It is certainly good to know that this country is in the top fifth of the countries with the biggest economy in the world. The gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to no less than EUR 1737 billion in 2005. Within Europe, France is the third largest economy, after Germany and the United Kingdom.
The return for debt collection France is high efficient and therefore decisive action is going to be taken. You can establish a carefully thought-out collection strategy with one of the French debt collection specialists at the Invorderingsbedrijf. Our collection specialists know the rules of collection in France by heart.
Our collection specialists are at your service and they can ensure that your claim is handled properly. Read in this article how we will obtain what you are entitled to.
In France there are various legal forms. The collection strategy is fine-tuned to the legal form of the debtor. The legal form of your debtor has an influence on liability. Some examples of French legal forms are the EURL (Entreprise Unipersonnelle à Responsabillité), the SASU (Société par Actions Simplifées Unipersonnelle) and the SARL (Société à Limitée). We will advise you to get the right legal form set up for you. But where do you start when you aren’t getting paid?
French are known as late and bad payers. Unfortunate, but true. A French debtor is preferably formally given notice of default ( mise en demeure) in the extrajudicial phase ( phase extrajudicial ). No worries. We know how to manage this process. This means that we give the debtor a final term to proceed to (re) payment. French people are in most of times impressed when they receive a letter from a lawyer ( advocat). We collect your claim immediately in nine out of ten cases. With debt collection in France, we will take a closer look at what the next steps are going to be to let your debtor pay the claim. Such decisions are only going to be decided on in direct contact with you (for agreement).
France offers various options. Let us explain the following judicial phases:
1. The bottom procedure (procédure au fond)
The bottom procedure is often used in France in case of disputed or high claims. That is, if your debtor does not agree with you claim. This procedure is commenced with a summons ( assignation ) before the competent court and is similar to the summons procedure in the Netherlands. After the summons has been submitted to the competent court, the case is assigned to a specific chamber of the court. After this, a date and time will be determined for a session ( l’audience d’appel ). Based on this session, it is determined whether there is a short route ( circuit court ), normal route ( circuit moyen ) or a long route ( circuit long ) must be followed. The route to follow is always dependent on the circumstances of the case. We can provide you with extensive information about this. You know exactly where you stand, with this difficult matter.
2. The French payment order (injontion de payer)
But in many cases we recommend a different route, the payment order ( injonction de payer ). The injontion de payer is comparable to the European order for payment and is characterized as a ‘quick procedure’. This procedure only applies to undisputed trade claims. This procedure is initiated at the court by filing an official document by one of our debt collection lawyers in France. Direct Debit In addition to the basic proceedings and the French order for payment, France still has a number of procedures, such as summary proceedings. Our lawyers and lawyers are specialized in French debt collection law and can apply the right procedure in your case.
In France, strict deadlines apply within which the debtor must respond. If a debtor lodges an objection late or does not raise an objection (which often happens), the court will immediately show up in the case of a procéduré au fond (bottom procedure). From the practice of debt collection France it appears that many French debtors do not file a defense. And that is good for your win (s) opportunities.
If we have obtained a judgment for you, this conviction will be enforced by one of our bailiffs. The bailiff ensures that your claim is collected. There is something else that makes collection France attractive, let’s take a closer look at that.
When conservatory attachment is made, the goods on which the attachment is placed will be kept, as it were, until the court decides. So you have already confiscated, without the judge giving a final verdict. In order to safeguard the creditor’s recourse, debt collection offers two forms of conservatory attachment, namely saisies conservatoires and sûretés judiciaires .
Saisies conservatoires can be placed on movable property (such as cars or stock) or under third parties such as on bank accounts. The purpose of this form of conservatory attachment is primarily to secure the creditor’s recourse possibilities. The attachment has a freezing effect as a result of which the attachment object can no longer leave the debtor’s assets.
Sûretés judiciaires can be placed on real estate and, for example, on shares. To lay a conservatory attachment, a leave from the judge is required. Our debt collection lawyers in France advise you on the route that we will take together with you.
France has always been an arbitrary friendly country. It is important that there is an agreement between the parties that states that in the event of a dispute, the parties first try arbitration. In principle, French courts will not intervene in a dispute where a valid arbitration clause exists. Whether you are dealing with such a clause, we look forward to seeing you.
In addition to a valid arbitration clause, the agreement must determine which law applies, for example French or Dutch law.
Is there arbitration for you? We look at it for you. Just contact us.
If your French debtor has been declared bankrupt ( banqueroute ), there is still a chance to recover your claim. The deadline for submitting a claim in the event of bankruptcy is four months for foreign creditors. The term starts from the moment the bankruptcy is registered in an official French register, called the BODACC.
There is a separate bankruptcy procedure for private individuals. Do not hesitate and contact us directly so that our specialists can investigate your case and take appropriate action.
In the case of direct debit from France, driver liability plays an important role. The director ( administrator) can be liable to the company but also to its creditors. This must be determined according to the circumstances of the case. The decisive factor is whether the driver has acted carefully. In France, directors are liable to the company in the following cases.
In order to determine whether there is a driver’s liability, the judge moves in the situation of the driver. The judge analyzes the act comission of the driver. The judge checks whether the driver has acted as a ‘ bon père de famille’.
Limitation periods
French law, like Dutch law, has limitation periods. The general limitation period in France is five years if it concerns trade receivables. However, French law also has specific limitation periods. For example, in transport law there is a limitation period of nine months to one year. This means that it is therefore even more important to take action quickly. A judgment that we obtain for you remains valid for 10 years.
It is also possible to ‘stop’ the prescription. This means that the term of prescription starts again. The prescription is interrupted under French law by initiating legal proceedings. In addition, there are other obstacles, such as a summons. Which of the aforementioned interruption options you can best use depends on your claim and the number of days it is open.
We start immediately with debt collection France. It is not a problem if you do not have all the pieces. Send us what you do have. Our debt collection specialists are happy to help you with this.
We can help you with all civil claims on debtors in France. For example, think of the following:
If in doubt, please contact us. Together with our debt collection specialists, we can look at your claim.
Do you have a claim in France? Or a dispute with a French debtor? Then debt collection France is also helpful for you. Please feel free to contact us via telephone number 070-7620330 or send us an e-mail . Collection specialist Mr. Konings can tell you more about the possibilities of debt collection in France and (hard to) recoverable receivables from debtors established in France.
