Recovery of receivables

What is happening

A buyer took goods on deferred terms for years, paid late and then stopped paying altogether. The debt built up over several shipments, some delivery notes are signed and some are not, and the last reconciliation statement was a year ago.

A customer accepted the works but keeps delaying payment, citing defects it has never described in writing, or saying the payment is 'awaiting approval' at head office. Meanwhile the limitation period on the earliest certificates is running out.

Sometimes the debtor is solvent and simply does not treat this debt as a priority. Sometimes several claims are already pending against it, its accounts are restricted and the director has just changed. These are two different recoveries, and they call for different tactics.

What the law says

• A contractual debt is recovered in the commercial court after the pre-trial claim procedure under the Commercial Procedure Code (APK): as a general rule, the claim is filed once 30 calendar days have passed since the claim letter was sent.
• Undisputed, documented claims below the threshold set by the APK are dealt with by court order; if the debtor objects, the order is set aside and the dispute moves to ordinary claim proceedings.
• Besides the principal debt, you can claim the contractual penalty or interest under Article 395 of the Civil Code, as well as legal costs, including the cost of representation.
• The limitation period under the Civil Code is three years and runs separately for each payment; acknowledgement of the debt, such as a reconciliation statement signed by an authorised person, interrupts it.
• A judgment that has entered into force is enforced under Federal Law No. 229-FZ of 2 October 2007 "On Enforcement Proceedings": the writ of execution may be presented directly to the debtor's bank or to the bailiffs.
• Together with the claim, the court may be asked for interim measures, such as freezing funds up to the amount claimed, where enforcement could otherwise be frustrated.

What we do

• We assess the debtor before starting: litigation against it, enforcement proceedings, financial statements, signs of asset stripping.
• We gather and fill gaps in the evidence: primary documents, proof of signatories' authority, correspondence.
• We send the claim letter and, in parallel, discuss a repayment schedule if the debtor is willing to pay.
• We prepare the claim or the application for a court order and represent the company in the commercial court.
• We obtain the writ of execution and choose the route: the bank, the bailiffs or one after the other.
• If the debtor evades enforcement, we look at its bankruptcy and at the liability of those who control it.

What we will need from you

• The contract and evidence of delivery or performance: universal transfer documents, delivery notes, acceptance certificates.
• The accounts department's calculation of the debt, broken down by document and payment date.
• Reconciliation statements, letters of guarantee and correspondence in which the debtor acknowledged the debt or promised to pay.
• Whatever the company knows about the debtor: warehouse and site addresses, the banks it uses, its main customers.
• A power of attorney to act on your behalf.