Successful cross-border collection of unpaid invoices in Germany
ARROWS Law Firm provided legal support to a Czech company in the collection of an overdue debt from a business partner in Germany. The key was to choose an approach that would not be unnecessarily costly or slow, but would also allow for the rapid acquisition of an enforceable judgment directly in the debtor’s country. Thanks to a well-chosen strategy, the firm successfully enforced the debt and secured its payment without the need for a lengthy cross-border dispute.
The client turned to ARROWS after a German customer failed to pay several invoices for delivered goods, even though the customer had accepted the deliveries and had not previously raised any objections regarding their quantity or quality. ARROWS first reviewed the contractual documentation, delivery notes, business correspondence, and the issue of international jurisdiction. Instead of initiating proceedings in the Czech Republic, the decision was made to pursue the claim in Germany through the German dunning procedure, which is a simplified court proceeding for the enforcement of monetary claims, typically unpaid invoices. This approach was the most appropriate in this case because the debtor had both assets and its registered office in Germany, and it was practical to obtain any enforcement order directly where it would subsequently be executed.
ARROWS prepared a pre-litigation demand, coordinated the filing of the petition in cooperation with a German partner, and secured the procedural and evidentiary documentation so that the claim would hold up even if the debtor filed an objection and the matter proceeded to standard court proceedings. However, after the payment order was issued, the debtor acknowledged its obligation and paid the debt, including interest and other charges. The result was a swift and cost-effective recovery of the debt and the preservation of the client’s business position.