Step 1: the claim
Send a written claim with the sum of the debt, the calculation, the contract it rests on and the payment date. A business entity must answer the claim within 15 days from the day it receives the claim. Keep the proof of delivery: if the law or the contract sets a pre-trial procedure, the court asks for it.
Step 2: going to court
- A dispute between legal entities and individual entrepreneurs — the economic court (article 25 of the Economic Procedure Code).
- A dispute with citizens — the civil court.
Attach to the statement of claim the contract, the invoices, the acts, the payment documents and the claim. A statement of claim to the economic court also carries the documents about the payment of the state duty and about sending a copy of the claim to the defendant.
Step 3: enforcement
When the court decision takes effect, you get the writ of execution and the state enforcement officer starts the compulsory enforcement.
Advice
Do not miss the limitation period. Under article 150 of the Civil Code, the general limitation period is three years. If the debtor states that the period expired before the court gives its decision, the court rejects the claim (article 153).