Debt collection
Debt enforcement requires neither a judgment nor proof of the claim: you file a request, the office serves a payment summons, and it is for the debtor to object. What decides the outcome is the quality of what you prepared beforehand.
Who it is forSMEs and self-employed people with unpaid invoices, trustees chasing on a client's behalf, landlords facing late rent, providers before going to court.
Order
The formal notice that starts interest running, the pre-filled enforcement request for the right office, and the debtor's record of debts.
Understand
When does default interest start?
On formal notice to the debtor, or without notice where a due date was agreed. The statutory rate is 5 % per year unless a higher rate was agreed. That is why a written, dated notice matters: without it you lose the interest for the whole earlier period.
Art. 102 and 104 CO
Must the claim be proven to enforce?
No. The enforcement request requires no evidence: the office serves the payment summons on your statements alone. The debtor has ten days to object, without giving reasons, and enforcement stops there until you have the objection set aside.
Art. 67, 69 and 74 DEBA
What if the debtor objects?
The objection must be set aside. With a signed acknowledgement of debt, a contract or an accepted invoice, provisional dismissal of the objection is obtained in summary proceedings, faster and cheaper than ordinary litigation. This is where the quality of your documents decides everything.
Art. 80 to 82 DEBA
Which office has jurisdiction?
The one at the debtor's domicile, or at the registered office of a company entered in the commercial register. A request filed with the wrong office is returned and the fees are lost. We identify the office and pre-fill the official form.
Art. 46 and 50 DEBA
Going further
FAQ
The office fee depends on the amount claimed, is advanced by the creditor and charged to the debtor if enforcement succeeds. We give the exact amount for your claim before filing.
The record of debts we obtain tells you before you incur costs. Enforcing against a debtor already covered in certificates of loss costs more than it recovers, and we advise against it in writing where that is the case.
No, Clairdex prepares the documents and explains what follows. A contested dismissal or litigation requires a lawyer, and you will arrive with a complete file.
Swiss enforcement presupposes a Swiss place of enforcement. For a foreign debtor the route changes entirely depending on the country and the applicable convention; tell us before ordering.
Not for the request, but in practice yes to have an objection set aside. That is why the file starts by putting your documents in order.
A question before ordering?
An old unpaid invoice, a debtor who disputes, several invoices to combine: describe the case here. Personal reply within two business days.
