Pre-trial claim letter

What is happening

Most clients come to us when a debt has been outstanding for several months: accounts have sent reminders, the sales manager has phoned, and the debtor has promised to pay 'next week'. Yet no formal claim letter has been sent, and without one a money claim cannot go to the commercial court.

Another scenario: the company wrote the letter itself, but it has no calculation, does not identify the contract, or went to an address the counterparty left long ago. The court may treat the pre-trial procedure as not followed and return the claim or leave it without consideration, and the time is lost.

Sometimes the letter is needed less for court than for negotiation. The company wants to show a partner that it is prepared to go further without burning the relationship. Then tone, an accurate calculation and an offer the counterparty can actually accept are what matter.

What the law says

• Under the Commercial Procedure Code (APK), a dispute over payment under a civil-law obligation may be brought before the commercial court only after steps have been taken to settle it out of court, unless a law or the contract provides otherwise.
• A claim may be filed once 30 calendar days have passed from the date the claim letter was sent, unless a law or the contract sets a different period or procedure. So we start with the contract: it often contains its own response period or a specific method of service.
• For non-monetary disputes, such as amending or terminating a contract, the pre-trial step is mandatory where a law or the contract requires it; for termination the Civil Code separately requires the other party to be offered termination first.
• A notice is treated as delivered even where the addressee avoided receiving it (Article 165.1 of the Civil Code). We therefore send the letter to the address in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and to any addresses in the contract, and keep proof of dispatch.
• Following a mandatory pre-trial procedure suspends the limitation period for the time allowed for a response. This matters when the three-year period under the Civil Code is running out for some of the payments.

What we do

• We review the contract, correspondence and primary documents, and identify which claims can be made and what evidence supports each one.
• We calculate the principal debt and the contractual penalty or statutory interest for use of another's funds as at the date of the letter.
• We draft the letter: the basis of the claim, the calculation, the deadline for payment, the bank details and what the company will do next, without threats or emotion.
• We send it in ways that can later be proved in court: recorded post with a list of contents, courier, electronic document exchange or email where the contract allows.
• We track the response period, analyse any objections and propose options: a payment schedule, a settlement or a claim in court.
• If there is no answer, we move the file straight into preparing the claim, so nothing has to be collected twice.

What we will need from you

• The contract with the counterparty, including specifications, annexes and every amendment.
• Evidence of performance: universal transfer documents, delivery notes, acceptance certificates, payment orders.
• Correspondence with the counterparty, including letters, email and messenger chats where the debt or deadlines were discussed.
• Reconciliation statements, if any were signed, and details of part payments.
• Any addresses and contacts you hold for the counterparty, including its actual premises.