Very often we have to hear from the client that it is easier for him to admit the debt as hopeless than to sue for years. This mainly happens when the amount of debt is small, usually up to 100 thousand UAH. In such cases, so that the client does not really waste time and money, we recommend recovering the debt through a court order.
This procedure is quite fast and much cheaper than filing a lawsuit. However, not everyone knows about it and therefore does not use it.
Therefore, in this article, we decided to talk about the features of debt collection in the order of order proceedings, as well as the pros and cons (of course, not without them) of this procedure.
We pay attentionthat this article deals with the requirements for which a court order can be obtained in the order economic litigation.
• The essence of the procedure
In order to obtain a court order, you prepare a statement to the court, which is very similar in content to a lawsuit. The similarity is that in this statement you must indicate on what basis the debt arose, justify its size and your right to receive funds.
In the application for a court order, you describe the facts, provide evidence of the amount of the debt, and apply to the court. It does not even need to be sent to the debtor.
If your documents are in order and the court has no doubts about the declared debt, the court issues an order, which sends to the debtor. The court hearing is not held. After that, you need to wait until the order comes into force, if the debtor does not declare its cancellation (this will be discussed below), get the order and contact the executor, who will collect the debt.
• Features
You can use this procedure only if:
- Amount requirements does not exceed 100 subsistence levels for able-bodied persons (as of January 1, 2021 it is 227,000 UAH).
- Your claims arose on the basis of a written contract.
- There is no dispute about the debt. If everything is clear with the previous paragraphs, then this point should be stopped.
Enforcement proceedings exist to simplify the debt collection procedure for the person to whom such a right belongs. If there is a dispute, then already in the lawsuit the court must decide whether you have the right to receive funds or not.
Simply put, the debtor admits that he owes you money. How to confirm this? First of all, you need to provide primary documents: the contract itself, signed by the debtor expense invoices, payment orders (bank statements), acts of services rendered and the like. It is also desirable to have a letter of guarantee from the debtor, in which he acknowledges the debt and promises to pay it within a certain period.
Often debt collectors attach a signed reconciliation act, which records the amount of debt. However, the case law in this regard is ambiguous. Most judges claim that the reconciliation act is only an accounting document and does not confirm the indisputability of the debt. If, however, you include an act of reconciliation, it can be taken into account by the court only if the information that is reflected in the act is confirmed by the primary documents, which we mentioned above.
• Pros
Fast.
The court must consider the application within 5 days from the date of receipt.
Not expensive.
For filing an application you need to pay only 227 UAH court fee, regardless of the amount of debt.
Easier than a lawsuit.
Requirements for the application are provided in Art. 150 COD of Ukraine and are reduced only to the indication of the applicant's claims, the circumstances on which they are based and the list of evidence.
• Cons
Simplified cancellation procedure.
If the debtor files an application for cancellation of the order, the court does not find out whether the debtor's objections are justified, but immediately cancels the order. This is due to the specifics of this procedure, as it exists to facilitate the recovery of debt by those debtors who undoubtedly have the right to claim. As noted above, if there is a dispute, it should be resolved only in litigation. Therefore, if the debtor applies for revocation of the order, the court immediately revokes the order. The debtor has 15 days from the date of delivery of the order to file such an application.
The order of entry into force of the order.
The legislation stipulates that the order enters into force 5 days after the deadline for the debtor to file an application for its cancellation. The debtor may file such an application only if he has received an order. If the debtor evades receiving the order or is simply not at the address of the location, legally the order cannot take legal effect.
The practice of courts in such a situation is quite ambiguous. Some courts, upon returning the order with the mark "not served", still issue an order to the claimant for execution, and some courts refuse and only explain the right to go to court in the order of claim proceedings.
Conclusions. A court order is indeed a convenient mechanism for protecting the undisputed claims of enterprises, especially when the amount of debt is small. You will be able to save time and money, as well as understand the position of the debtor and use it in litigation. If you are denied, you can always apply again or in litigation.
If you have doubts about the indisputability of your claims, we are always ready to analyze the primary documents and determine the prospects for ordering or to prepare a statement.
