Debt recovery and enforcement

Eisner & Dwyer law firm are entitled to represent clients in front of all German Local and High courts.

We are, however, of the opinion that costs and time should be saved as much as possible and that court action is not always the first step to be in consideration in a case of debt recovery.

Therefore, we usually recommend starting any action of debt recovery with getting as much information as possible on the financial situation of the debtor, which allows predicting the chances of success of a later enforcement. Service information companies provide not only knowlegde on the financial situation on German (and foreign) companies but often also on private persons. In parallel to such research, and especially where the debtor’s financial situation is not very stable, a final letter of demand for payment by a law firm should be sent to the debtor, to give him a last chance to pay without Court action.

Costs should also be kept low if legal action becomes necessary. This is, why we often recommend initialising court action though the judicial dunning procedure instead of a claim. The advantage of such dunning procedure is, that it can be faster and is usually much cheaper than a full claim. The dunning procedure has to be brought to a special Court and interrupts the limitation period as a normal claim. The dunning procedure can result in an order to pay with the same effects as a sentence coming from a regular regional or high court, always providing the debtor doesn't oppose. The order to pay is normally released within 4 to 5 weeks and allows all types enforcement.

If the debtor however opposes the request, the legal action will be transferred by the court responsible for the dunning procedure to the relevant Local or High court and will then be considered as a normal trial. In this case, the initialisation through the judicial dunning procedure does not create any additional costs.