Debt collection in Switzerland

Debt collection agency Switzerland

• Our debt collection company is based in Switzerland
• Switzerland is our “home country”, which we know very well in economic and legal terms
• A special feature of Switzerland is its small size. If you have a good network of contacts, you know a lot of people
• It may be even possible that we already know “your debtor” or “your case” from other debt collection contexts or that we can quickly obtain the necessary information
• Swiss debt collection companies are not subject to state supervision or specific legal regulations

Swiss debt collection agency with years of experience

There are many debt collection agencies in Switzerland. Most of them are debt collection agencies that focus on collecting debts by letter, by phone calls and if necessary by law. However such methods fail when dealing with criminal debtors or debtors who are unwilling to pay.

As in other constitutional states, debt collection is primarily the responsibility of the state and its organs. In Switzerland, it is very easy to enforce debts. The requirements for proving the claim are minimal. Simultaneously, it is also easy to defend oneself against a debt collection by means of a legal proposal.

Only a precise analysis of the debt collection register can sometimes provide information about the presumed justification of debt collection claims and the potential situation of a debtor. The substance of a claim only becomes apparent after a legal process has been requested and granted and – if there is not already a legal title – in the subsequent judicial debt collection proceedings in Switzerland. This is preceded by a primary mediating authority, the Swiss justice of the peace, which has a clarifying and mediating effect similar to what we sometimes do. With honest debtors and reasonable creditors, acceptable solutions are consequently often possible. It is only after going to the justice of the peace that legal action is possible.

But even in Switzerland, creditors seeking to obtain their debt collection rights face many hurdles and risks. Swiss civil lawsuits cause high lawyer and court costs. These are quickly higher than the costs of direct debt collection. It is uncertain whether they will ever be paid – even if the case is won in court. Time and again we have debt collection cases in which a title was obtained at great expense, but ended with debtors still not willing to pay. Wouldn’t it have been wiser to have the debt collected beforehand via direct collection in Switzerland?

Debt collection in Switzerland:

For debt collection in Switzerland, which is not limited to legal collection but is seeking solutions through direct contact with debtors, the limits are defined by criminal law. Hence the threat of “serious disadvantages”, such as the deterioration of creditworthiness in the event of non-payment, is already considered as coercion (Art. 181 StGB), but not the announcement of a debt collection. Our debt collection know-how consists of achieving agreements with debtors before or out of court and alternatively motivating them to make payments, within the limits of the criminal law. Where useful, we assist you in legal debt collection or carry this out in cooperation with your lawyer(s).
Before taking on a mandate, we clarify the debtor’s situation as far as possible, including the possibility of obtaining money. Pre-court / out-of-court negotiations and measures are often quicker and more cost-effective than lawsuits. In either case, we seek a personal discussion in the first place. Further legal steps and measures are considered if no progress can be made through negotiations.