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If you have engaged in business abroad with a German customer or corporate entity and you need to recover an outstanding debt, the law firm of GRP Rainer LLP can assist you. Our English-speaking lawyers have experience representing clients in countries and regions all over the world including Asia, the United States, Canada, and the UK.

Once we conduct an initial consultation with you to discuss the facts of your debt collection case, we can get started.

Starting the Debt Recovery Process

The debt recovery process in Germany begins with an investigation of the claim. Our firm will need the following information from you to get started:

• Contact details for your company;
  
• Contact details for the debtor;
• Copies of correspondence sent to and received from the debtor regarding the debt;
• Copies of contracts, terms and conditions, purchase orders, invoices, etc.;
• Contact information for witnesses to the dispute.

After gathering some basic documentation of the debt collection matter, we may contact a credit reference agency to determine if the debtor is still solvent and what their financial condition is at the time. For example, it may not be prudent for your company to file a lawsuit if the foreign debtor has filed for bankruptcy or could not afford costly litigation. In those instances, we take out of court actions to try to collect on the debt and in many times, are successful doing so.

Prior to filing a formal complaint in court, we will contact the German debtor on your behalf in an effort to notify them as to our representation in the matter, and to recover the debt.

If there was an “arbitration clause” in your contract with the debtor, we will likely initiate arbitration proceedings as an alternative dispute resolution method. If your contract did not include an arbitration clause but you would like to settle the matter outside of court, you may also want to pursue arbitration.

Filing a Debt Collection Lawsuit in Germany

Prior to filing a debt collection lawsuit on your behalf, we may file a formal complaint application for German Local Courts to issue a default summons. A default summons may be served on the debtor if they do not file a formal objection. The court can issue a default summons without conducting an examination of the details of the claim.

If the debtor fails to object, then the default summons becomes an execution deed and is an enforceable judgment.If the debtor objects to the default summons or the client chooses to proceed directly to filing a debt collection lawsuit, our international debt collection firm can begin court proceedings. The first hearing on the matter may be 3 to 4 months after the lawsuit is filed but may vary depending on the case and complexity of issues involved.

Enforcement of a Debt Collection Judgment in Germany

When a favorable resolution to the matter is obtained, we can assist you in enforcing the judgment against the debtor. To do so, we may enlist the bailiff of the court to serve the debtor with the enforceable deed. Additionally, you may choose to garnish assets of the debtor, seize real estate owned by the debtor, or another type of debt recovery measure.

How GRP Rainer LLP Can Help

GRP Rainer LLP are German debt collection specialists, with experience representing English-speaking clients facing out of court debt collection settlements and arbitrations. Our lawyers are fluent in both German and English and are experienced bilingual negotiators who are familiar with drafting legal documents in English. If your company needs to recover debt in Germany, contact us today to learn more about our German debt collection services.

Lawyers Michael Rainer Lawyer Annette Bröhl Lawyer Sebastian Dreyer Lawyer Dina Komor Lawyer

 

Locations Cologne Hohenzollernring 21-23 50672 Cologne, Germany Tel.: +49 221-27 22 75-0 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Berlin Kurfürstendamm 21 10719 Berlin, Germany Tel.: +49 30-88 706 404-5 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it             Bonn Bundeskanzlerplatz 2-10 53113 Bonn, Germany Tel.: +49 228-26 73 38 5 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   Düsseldorf Königsallee 92a 40212 Düsseldorf, Germany Tel.: +49 211-54 03 99-10 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it