How to get a refund with the help of a collection business?
Verified 20 October 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
If you doubt that someone will be able to pay you back the amount they owe you on time, you can load a amicable covering business to claim this amount on your behalf.
FYI
you may prefer another way to amicable covering, such as the use of a Commissioner of Justice (for a simplified recovery procedure) or a judge (for an order for payment).
A collection business is a company that takes responsibility for claiming a refund of an amount owed to you by a debtor.
She is acting on behalf of a creditor (company or person) who has signed an agreement with it. It charges the creditor for its services.
The recovery business has no specific means of action: it has the right to claim the amount due by post (letters of formal notice to pay) or by telephone. In addition, there are certain rules that must be followed when intervening.
Before any collection business action, you must enter into an agreement with them.
This convention shall contain the following information:
- Origin of the claim
- Amount of sums due by debtor with a separate indication of the various elements of the claim
- Conditions for fixing the recovery business you will have to pay
- Conditions under which the remittance business will remit to you the money received on your behalf
The agreement must have as an annex the insurance contract "professional civil liability" of the recovery business.
FYI
The recovery business must prove that it has an account with an authorized credit institution, used solely to receive the sums recovered from the debtors.
The recovery business may ask the debtor the amount due by mail (letters of formal notice to pay) or by telephone.
What happens next depends on the debtor’s reaction:
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The debtor repays his debt
When the debtor pays the debt in full, the collection business informs you.
It shall return the sums received to you within the time limit laid down in the agreement.
If no time limit is laid down in the agreement, a period of one month from the actual receipt of the refund shall apply.
The intervention of the recovery business then ends.
The debtor repays only part of his debt
When the debtor pays part of his debt, the business responsible for collection informs you.
It shall return the sums received to you within the time limit laid down in the agreement.
If no time limit is laid down in the agreement, a period of one month from the actual receipt of the refund shall apply.
The intervention of the recovery business (which is an amicable recovery procedure) is terminated when the deadline for the debtor to pay has passed.
To get the full refund of the unpaid, you can choose to hire a legal proceedings (proceedings before the court) for the purpose of obtaining an attachment against your debtor.
FYI
Recourse to the court entails costs that will be charged to the debtor.
The debtor does not pay
The intervention of the recovery business (which is an amicable recovery procedure) is terminated when the deadline for the debtor to pay has passed.
To get the refund of the unpaid, you can choose to hire a legal proceedings (proceedings before the court) for the purpose of obtaining an attachment against your debtor.
FYI
Recourse to the court entails costs that will be charged to the debtor.
General principles
Conditions and procedure for amicable recovery
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National Institute of Consumer Affairs (INC)