Debt Collection in Padova, Italy | Debt Recovery in Padova | Unpaid invoices
Dimarco & Partners International Law Firm
Our Lawyers in Padova provide debt collection and debt recovery legal services in favor of foreign Clients. Our experience in this field permits us to recollect significant amounts of money in favour of foreign multinational and medium small companies. Our firm already takes care of the debt collection in favour of multinational companies handling more than 500 cases per month. We believe that the approach in debt recovery has to be methodological and for this reason we divide our activities in precise phases:
  • Analysis of the debtor set in Padova;
  • Extrajudicial phase: drafting of a formal legal notice of payment against the debtor located in Padova;
  • Court action in Padova;
  • Enforcement procedure on properties, bank account or credits belonging to the italian debtor located in Padova.
After the analysis of the debtor resident in Padova, our lawyers draft the formal legal notice of payment. In this stage our Law Firm will try to reach a transaction with the debtor, avoiding the judicial action. The importance of this phase is not just warning the debtor that a judicial action is going to start but it has also a further meaning. Commercial credits have a prescription period of five years: it means that if the creditor waits more than five years without interrupting the prescription, his right will be extinguished. The legal notice of payment has the function to interrupt the prescription period (ex. a credit arisen on 1st of November 2010 it will expire on 1st of November 2015; if a legal notice of payment is sent on 25th of October 2015, the prescription period will run again and the credit will be extinguished on 25th of October 2020).
                                                                THE COURT ACTIONS IN PADOVA:
  • Decreto Ingiuntivo (Order of Payment) for certain, liquid and payable credits:
It is the most common and fast procedure for cases concerning unpaid commercial invoices. This court action is called "decreto ingiuntivo" and it is developed inaudita altera parte (that means without the presence of the debtor). Our debt collection Lawyers submit the recourse to the court of Padova (Tribunale di Padova) asking to the Judge to issue the order of payment. The following documentation is needed:
  1. unpaid invoices translated into italian and authenticated;
  2. documents of transport (if there is a delivery of goods);
  3. contract or confirmation order;
  4. recognition of debt (a written document from the debtor that admits the debt), even if this is not compulsory. The presence of this document permits us to require the injunction temporarily enforceable.
Once we receive the documentation, we may start our debt collection: the decreto ingiuntivo is delivered to the court and If there is a recognition of debt, the order of payment is temporarily enforceable and our Lawyers in Padova may proceed shortly with the enforcement. If this document is missing, the provision is not temporarily enforceable. The Court of Padova normally takes 3/4 weeks to release the injunction. Once it is released from the judge, we provide the notification (often via registered email if the debtor is a corporate entity) and the debtor has 40 days to file an opposition, starting an ordinary action. If there isn't an opposition in the term of 40 days, the order of payment becomes final and binding.
  •  The ordinary action:
In case that the credits doesn't arise from an unpaid invoice it is not probably certain, liquid and payable. The typical case for corporates is the wrongful breach of a contract. In these kind of cases the agreements often contains a penalty clause to quantify the amounts dued from the part that terminated the contract unlawfully. Even if at first sight there is a clear determination of the credit, it is not possible to ask for an order of payment because the court has to ascertain the credit and the breach of contract. For this reason it will be necessary to start an ordinary action in front of the Court of Padova. It is possible to check the various phases of the ordinary action in the section Litigation in Padova.
In case the debt collection is positive and we obtain an enforcement order, our lawyers proceed with its notification, attaching a further deed called precetto, and after ten days from the positive reception of the deeds from the debtor, they can proceed with the next steps:
  1. Enforcement of the bank account belonging to the debtor located in Padova;
  2. Enforcement of the real estate belonging to debtor located in Padova;
  3. Enforcement of goods belonging to the debtor located in Padova;
  4. Enforcement of credits belonging to the debtor located in Padova.
We look forward to cooperate with You.