Mag. Balazs Esztegar LL.M.
Attorney-at-law Vienna


Piaristengasse 41/10
1080 Vienna, Austria
Tel. +43 1 997 4102
Fax +43 1 997 4102-99
office@esztegar.at

Collection of Debts

Someone who sells a product or furnishes a service and issues the relevant invoice may expect rightfully that this will be paid. In reality, however, entrepreneurs are frequently confronted to the situation that they awaited in vain arrival of the payment for a long time. An in-house warning system organised in an efficient manner is an important support for reducing the outstanding debts. If the own instruments have been exhausted, the assistance of an attorney at law who is familiar with collection of debts is necessary.

For the collection of cash debts in Austria Austrian law provides, with the dunning process, an approved instrument allowing for the plaintiff to carry out the collection of debt with a minimum of expenses in a standardised proceeding, in the judicial way. Claims up to the amount of EUR 75,000,000 may be enforced by the plaintiff in court via a claim for dunning. On the basis of this claim for dunning the Court shall issue first of all a conditional payment summons ("Zahlungsbefehl") without trial and serves this upon the defendant. In this, the Court of law summons the defendant to pay the unrevised claim or to make an objection against the payment summons ("Einspruch gegen Zahlungsbefehl") within 4 weeks.

Should no objection arrive, the payment summons shall become res iudicata and executable and the plaintiff may institute the execution by court. It depends upon the motion of the creditor initiating the collection, which valuables should be seized or sold in the course of the execution. In addition to the most widely propagated means of execution, execution on chattels and claims, there is also a possibility to request execution against internet domains, titles in trademarksindustrial rights or company shares.