Dunning process: What should I do?

If you have not responded to dunning letters and collection claims, you may receive a yellow envelope in the post containing a court default summons.

It is important to know that courts do not check in advance whether the claims being demanded are indeed justified. The courts therefore do not know whether you do actually owe money to the person asking you for money.

So, you definitely need to respond to the default summons.

If you have received a default summons, you should respond promptly but calmly.

Please think about whether you may have ignored a payment request or you may have forgotten to pay an invoice for an online order. In this case, pay the claim to prevent enforcement and further costs.

We recommend that you check the collection expenses on the default summons. You can check them here: www.inkasso-check.de. If some of the costs are too high, you can object to this part.

You don’t need to do anything else. The case is now closed.

In order to make sure that you don’t have to pay any unnecessary collection or dunning costs again in the future, we would advise you to always pay invoices straight away once you’ve received the goods or service you ordered.

If the claim is unjustified, you must raise an objection within two weeks. The objection form comes with the default summons.

You can object to the entire claim or just part of it. If you did not conclude a contract with the creditor or you have already paid the invoice, we would advise you to object to the entire claim. If your objection just relates to the amount of the main claim or the collection expenses, just object to this part.

Tip: Send your objection letter by registered post! If you need any help or you are unsure which costs are appropriate, contact your consumer advice centre.

If the businessperson does not want to pursue their claim any further, the case will be closed.

If the creditor does want to continue to pursue the claim, the court will decide on the dispute in court proceedings. You will receive a letter from the court to inform you of the outcome. Now you need to take action.

This means normal court proceedings for you. You then need to defend your case and show that the claim is unjustified.

Important! If you lose, you will have to pay the costs of the proceedings and the legal costs.

Tip: You may be able to apply for legal aid for the costs of the proceedings from the court. This financial support will be approved if your chances of success in court are good, and you would be unable to pay for the costs of the proceedings at all or you would only be able to pay for them in part.

It is absolutely essential that you take action when you have an enforcement order at the latest. That’s because this is your last chance to respond and prevent enforcement.

In the event of enforcement, your work income or personal property, for example, may be seized to settle your debts.

You must submit any objection within 14 days. There is no template for the objection. That means that you need to write the objection yourself. Don’t forget the case reference and your signature! It is also advisable to specify the reasons for your objection.

If you are unsure how to do this, get some advice from the consumer advice centre. Once you have submitted your objection, the legal dispute will be passed on to the responsible court and your case will be decided in normal court proceedings.

With the enforcement order, the businessperson to whom you owe money can make an application for enforcement. There are various enforcement measures.

• The businessperson can, for example, request your salary or bank account to be seized to settle your debts.
• Alternatively, a court bailiff may enter your home to seize valuable objects that you do not need to live (e.g. jewellery) and then sell them. You must pay the additional enforcement costs.