Online options to chase up bad debts
Is there a way of chasing late payers online?
WE HAVE a couple of bad debts for less than €1,000 and we are not sure how to deal with them. The legal route explained in your last article (Connexion, December), using a huissier, seems counter-effective because of the costs involved.
Huissiers in our experience cost around €1,200. In England and Wales, you can apply via the internet for small claims cases using www.moneyclaim.gov.uk. The English Small Claims Court system is great. It costs around £150 and is easy, quick and effective. Is there the equivalent in France for outstanding debts?
NO OFFICIAL online money claim service exists, and the French equivalent of the small claims court system is as it was described last month. There are, however, many private debt collection agencies that handle claims electronically and can begin proceedings on your behalf. Search online for “recouvrement de créances”.
These collectors are regulated and work with a network of trusted huissiers (bailiffs) who will send out legal warning letters. You might find that an official letter from a bailiff will carry more weight than your own chasing attempts.
Some collection websites charge commission based on the size of the unpaid bill, while others charge a fixed, flat rate.
Sefairepayer.com, for example, will ask a huissier to send out two letters on your behalf for €49: an initial mise en recouvrement detailing the sum owed and giving 10 days to pay, and a more sternly worded mise en demeure with a three-day deadline.
Other packages, costing around €100, are available that include a face-to-face visit to the business premises, but at this point no actual legal proceedings are launched.
Taking debt-chasing to the courts using an online collection service starts at about €240. This will take the case as far as receiving an injonction de payer, the equivalent of an English county court judgment, but does not cover executing the order. That can be costly.
The English money claim service is easy, but a county court judgment against a business-owner is still no guarantee of payment: if they do not pay up, you would still need to hire a bailiff to execute the order or apply to a court for a winding-up petition.
