Unpaid bills: the complete file!

Are you a contractor? It's true that this status can lead to late payments and even unpaid invoices.

So how do you recover an unpaid bill?

To help you through these complex and time-consuming procedures that we'd prefer to avoid, we'd like to focus today on the procedure to follow in the event of an unpaid invoice!

Reminder letter and formal notice to pay

The first step in any attempt to recover an unpaid bill is a reminder letter followed by a formal notice to pay.

Dunning letter

At best, such a dunning letter will result in payment of the invoice in question. In fact, such unpaid invoices may simply be the result of an oversight on the part of the customer, or even a delay of a few days. The invoice may also be blocked by the customer's management software.

This letter is a reminder. It is not compulsory for legal action, so no specific mailing (registered letter, with acknowledgement of receipt) is required.

If necessary, you can hire a collection company to take care of these time-consuming procedures. If you want to move faster, you can skip this step and go straight to the formal notice procedure.

Notice to pay

Unlike the dunning letter, this central stage is legally binding. In fact, the customer's formal notice serves as a record of the unpaid balance. The letter of formal notice must be sent by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt.

Order to pay

Once the customer has served formal notice to pay, it's time to move on to the injunction to pay.

If, after formal notice, your payment has still not been made, you need to start the judicial phase by applying for an injunction to pay. Such a request should be made to Greffe du Tribunal de Commerce, the commercial court in the debtor's place of residence.

Such a procedure must include a number of compulsory details. In particular, it is imperative to send a copy of the formal notice sent to the customer beforehand.

Simplified procedure (Macron law)

Finally, it's worth pointing out that there is another option: the Simplified Procedure or Macron Law. Whereas the classic procedure can be time-consuming (it can take several months) and costly (around 200€), the simplified procedure is characterized by the fact that it involves a bailiff. The collection process is then possible for the derisory price of €25, and in record time.

However, this simplified procedure still requires 3 steps to be completed!

Step 1: notifying the bailiff of unpaid bills

In order for the bailiff to intervene, it is imperative that the creditor send him various elements:

• A completed form describing the nature of the dispute. In particular, you must specify the amount of the unpaid invoice(s), and attach all supporting documents.
• Sending such a form to a competent bailiff located in the debtor's area of residence

Step 2: the bailiff checks that the nature of the claim corresponds to the scope of the simplified procedure.

Because the simplified procedure is not for everyone, the claim must have a number of specific characteristics:

• The latter must be "contractual" and thus justified by the clauses of a contract signed by both parties.
• The amount of the claim must not exceed 2000€.

Step 3: Payment invitation from the bailiff to the debtor

Finally, the bailiff addresses the debtor directly by sending a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.

The purpose of this letter is to demand payment of the debt. Following this letter, the debtor has15 days to comply with the bailiff's request:

• If the debtor responds positively, all that remains is for the parties to agree on the amount and terms of payment. This agreement must be recorded by the bailiff, who will issue the creditor with a writ of execution.
• If, on the other hand, the debtor responds negatively or does not respond at all, the bailiff can be seized by the creditor to carry out a so-called forced execution. The sum will then be seized by the bailiff from the debtor's account or salary. If all this is not enough, the bailiff may go so far as to seize property.

In conclusion, the first step is to try to resolve the dispute amicably, in particular by means of a reminder letter and formal notice, before calling in a bailiff or going to court!