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How to Instruct Us
We simply require the following details:
Full name & address of the debtor
All available contact details of the debtor i.e. contact name(s) / Tel / Mobile / Email(s)
Amount owed (Invoice(s) or Statement will help)
Or ask us to call you – just leave us your details:
Case Study - EUR 2,000 recovered from Austrian Debtor
Initiation of Case
A travel company in Amerstdam, Netherlands had an Austrian client (in Vienna) that was making payments for an outstanding amount in excess of EUR 25,000. Payments were always being made late but once the service was completed the debtor broke off all contact and refused to settle the remainder of the debt. There was no known disputes or issues.
Debt Collection Process
At this point the client instructed us and we sent the case details to our local office in Vienna. They immediately sent an initial letter to the debtor stating the amount owed and the timeframe to pay. This timeframe was not met so our local office made intense calls and contact with the debtor. Following this process the debtor made payment to our client within 4 weeks of our intervention.
Summary
The client believed the debtor would not pay so was extremely pleased with the services, communication and success of this case. They stated they would not hesitate to instruct us with any future cases.
Austria Debt Collection – No Win No Fee
Creditreform operates a global specialist International debt collections service. We have local offices and fully approved expert international debt collection agency partners in every country worldwide. All our International debt collection agency partners and offices operate on a No Win No Fee basis charging an agreed commission against monies recovered only.
Main reasons why a local country debt recovery agency is so important rather than trying to recover from a debt collection agency UK are as follows:
The local International Debt collection Partners know:
The local cultures
The languages
The laws
Are in the same time zones
Herewith details of our debt collection service Austria:
Location of debt recovery office in Austria?
There are eight Creditreform offices in Austria
Vienna (Head Office), Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), Burgenland, Steiermark (Styria), Kärnten (Carinthia), Oberösterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Tirol, Vorarlberg. All debt collection letters are sent by the local office.
Number of debt collection staff?
About 140 employees. Each staff member is allocated a client and all their debt collection letters are personalised in order to effect the best response results from debtors.
How long have you been operating a debt recovery service in Austria?
We have been operating a European debt collection service on a no win no fee basis in Austria since 1889. Austria is included on our debt collection agency list.
What type of debt collection services do you provide? Do you do commercial debt recovery (B2B) and consumer debt recovery (B2C)?
We handle both Business to Business debt recovery cases and Business to Consumer debt collections cases. There is different content for business to business debt collection letter templates and business to consumer debt collection letters templates.
Statue of Limitation in Austria?
3 years after the due date of the invoice. If there exists a judgment of the court, the verdict is barred after 30 years.
Austria civil litigation statute of limitations is a law that time limits a plaintiff’s right to bring a claim against a defendant. The statute of limitations in Austria is 3 years. However, if an action has been taken within this time then the statute of limitations time will be extended to account for this. Once the specified time period elapses then no action can be taken through the legal processes unless the plaintiff is able to prove exceptional circumstances. Other Statute of Limitations include:
Austria Open Account Years – 3 years with some exceptions
Austria Promissory Notes – 6-36 months
Austria Written Contracts – 2-3 years with some exceptions
Austria Oral Agreements – 2-3 years with some exceptions
How EU (European Union) laws effect debt collection in Austria?
Because of the EU DIRECTIVES 2000/35/EU and 2011/7/EU our debt collection fees legally are a compensation of the creditor, which we try to collect from the debtor.
Austria has been a European Union (EU) member country since 1995, Euro area member since 1999 and Schengen area member since 1997.
How many companies registries in Austria for businesses (i.e. UK has just 1 central registry)?
Business companies are either registered in the commercial register, or in GISA, which is a public register of the Ministry of Economy. It depends on the legal status and the size of the company.
There is 1 company registry in Austria which is called Firmenbuch (Federal Ministry of Justice, Company Register) located at Federal Ministry of Justice, Museumstr 7, 1070 Vienna, Austria.
We have access to Austria Company Registry searches to find out who further background information on all Austria companies.
What is the debt collection process in Austria?
We first send a debt recovery letter/mail. In B2C we send also a registered letter. After 10 days we send a second debt collection letter, a warning that the file will be transferred to the lawyer. Then we try a phone conversation. Our in-house lawyer send a last debt recovery letter, again after 10 days. We try to settle/close in 1 month.
Average length of time to collect a debt?
6-8 weeks by out of court debt collection by undisputed cases. The average time taken to recover a Austria B2B debt collection case varies from case to case.
Can late payment fees / interest to be added to claims?
Yes, fees can be added for Austria debt collection cases according to local law.
Details on legal service / process in Austria?
In case of undisputed debt collection claims after filing for court order it takes approximately 2 months to get a final court order. In case the debtor has money on the account and can be enforced it takes up to a year to collect. Please find attached the above document as information to this point.
We can offer you the following services by insolvencies in Austria:
Creditreform offers you the following services:
filling of your claim in court
representing your interests at the court hearings
enforcement of privileges
checking payment proposals
continuous reporting about the status of the proceeding
watching over the payment of dividends
watching over deadlines of payments of dividends
Good conditions e.g. no charges for claims under € 2.500,–
prompt and fast service
European Payment Order in Austria
The Austrian Code of Civil Procedure includes a fully tried and tested order for payment procedure (Mahnverfahren) for payment claims. Many claims are processed on line in a simplied format. The order for payment procedure is limited to payment claims other than those which have to be decided in a special type of ‘non-contentious’ procedure (Ausserstreitverfahren). Since 1 July 2009 there is a limit up to EUR 75,000.
The Austrian order for payment procedure cannot be used if the defendant is resides or is predominately resident overseas.
What language should the application be made in Austria?
The official language in all courts is German. Some courts also allow use of Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian or Slovenian as official languages for minority language groups.
What Courts are used in Austria?
There are four main court sytems used in Austria as follows:
115 district courts (Bezirksgerichte)
20 regional courts (Landesgerichte)
4 higher regional courts (Oberlandesgerichte)
Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof)
District courts
These are courts of first instance mainly responsible for:
adjudicating civil-law disputes involving claims of up to EUR 15 000 (Wertzuständigkeit),
ruling on certain types of case irrespective of the amount of the claim (Eigenzuständigkeit),.
Regional courts
Regional courts, also known in civil cases as ‘courts of justice of first instance’ (Gerichtshöfe erster Instanz), have jurisdiction:
to adjudicate at first instance on all legal matters which are not reserved to the district courts.
to rule on appeals against the decisions of district courts.especially family, tenancy and enforcement cases.
Higher regional courts
The higher regional courts, also known as ‘courts of justice of second instance’ (Gerichtshöfe zweiter Instanz), form the third organisational level. They sit in Vienna (covering Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland), Graz (covering Styria and Carinthia), Linz (covering Upper Austria and Salzburg) and Innsbruck (covering the Tyrol and Vorarlberg).
In both civil and criminal cases these courts deal only with appeals.
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court in Vienna is the court of final appeal in civil and criminal cases. Alongside the Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgericht) and the Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgericht), it is one of the ‘highest courts’ in the country (Höchstgerichte). This means that no further domestic remedy is possible against its decisions.
Mediation (Alternative Dispute Resolution - ADR) in Austria
The Federal Ministry of Justice keeps a list of registered mediators. All the mediators included in the list have followed specific training.There is no central authority with responsibility for mediation services.There are professional and non-professional associations offering mediation services and a few non-governmental organisations offering support to mediators.
In some local disputes an attempt to settle the matter out of court must be made first before the case can be brought to court. This may be done by referring the matter to a conciliation board, by seeking a pre-trial settlement through the district court (a procedure known as ‘prätorischer Vergleich’) or by mediation.
Mediation is not a free service and the fees are agreed by the private mediator and the parties to the dispute.
Under Directive 2008/52/EC parties to a dispute must be allowed to submit a request for the content of a written agreement resulting from mediation to be made enforceable. In Austria the content of an agreement resulting from mediation is enforceable only if the agreement takes the form of a settlement (Vergleich) before a court or a notarial act before a notary.
Can Statutory Interest Rate be added in Austria?
The European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters established factsheets which provide information on how statutory interest is defined by the Member States, whether national law provides for statutory interest and if so, on which legal basis and at which rate/amount.
Austria Business Credit Reports
Creditreform provides over 88 million international business credit reports throughout Europe and 200 million international business credit reports worldwide. We provide freshly investigated Austria Credit Reports which can be done prior to trading to make sure the company you will be dealing with can meet the commitment or once the debt becomes overdue to ensure the debtor can meet the amount owed.
Austria Skip Tracing Agents
Creditreform’s debt collection company service also uses an expert local Austria tracing agent services to locate any absconded debtor.
Specialist Debt Recovery Experts
There are many unique requirements to recovering international debts in all countries including Austria debt collection services which differ from the UK debt collection agency services and therefore it is very important that cases are handled directly by our expert international debt collection agencies and not from debt collectors UK. This method of international debt collection sets Creditreform aside from the competition who in many cases try and recover debts from a UK debt collector only. Using the local offices and partners enables us to achieve a far greater success rate and our No Win No Fee service together with competitive commission rates against monies recovered only ensures you get the best service.
Austria Debt Collection Partners in the following Austrian Cities
Who are the main trading partners for Austria?
The main trading partner for Austria is European Union (70%) of which Germany is 30% of this value. followed by Italy, the United States (USA), and Switzerland.
Which countries border Austria?
Austria is a landlocked country bordering Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.
What is the legal system in Austria?
The Austria legal system is based on Germanic Civil law. The Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (ABGB) of 1811.
What is the name of the Government Gazette in Austria ?
The Gazette in Austria is called the Bundesgesetzblatt für die Republik Österreich - Federal Law - Gazette for the Republic of Austria.
What is the Supreme Court in Austria?
The Supreme Courts in Austria are:
Constitutional Court of Austria
Supreme Court of Justice
Administrative Court of Austria
Austria Debt Collection Agency FAQs
1. How does a Debt collection agency in Austria recover overdue debts?
The debt collection process is initiated by an introductory letter to your debtor stating the amount owed to you and informing them of our involvement. Letters are then followed up with emails and telephone calls. From our experience the most effective part of this process will be the outsourcing to a third party debt collection agency in Austria as the debtor now has to resolve the debt and can no longer hide or provide lame excuses.
2. How long does the debt recovery agency in Austria take to process a case?
The debt collection case will be processed immediately up receipt and a letter sent normally by email and post. You will receive an automated confirmation by return.
3. What is the success rate for debt collection agencies in Austria?
The success rate of the debt recovery case depends on a number of factors including the solvency of the debtor and whether the case has a legitimate dispute. Our aim is to recover every debt that is recoverable.
4. Does the debt recovery agency in Austria operate a No Win No Fee debt collection?
We take on all debt collection cases on No Win No Fee basis only charging the agreed commission against monies recovered.
5. Why use a local debt recovery agency in Austria?
The reasons for using a local Austria debt collection agency than processing from a different country is the debt collector in Austria speaks the local language, knows the local laws and operates in the same time zones.
6. Are there any debts too old or too small for Austria debt collection?
We will assess all debt cases, irrelevant of age and size and then advise the best processes to recover these through the Austria debt collector.
7. How do I instruct the debt collectors in Austria?
Instructing the debt collectors Austria is a simple process. You just email details of the debt, debtor and amount to be recovered and the case can be initiated.
8. What evidence do I need to provide when instructing the Austria debt collector?
When instructing the debt collector in Austria just provide copies of invoices/statements, debtor contact details and any relevant information you may have to assist with the recovery process.
9. Who does the debtor pay?
In general the debt collector in Austria will request payments to be sent directly to the client but if not possible for any reasons will take payment directly. If payment is taken then cleared funds will be processed and sent to client straight away.
10. Can I instruct multiple cases?
You can send unlimited debt case instructions. Our systems will automate volume cases to meet your requirements.
11. Can you trace debtors in Austria?
Through our network of skip tracing agents we have an extremely high success rate of locating your absconded debtor.
12. How long does the debt collection process take?
On average the debt collections process takes 90 days to resolve an amicable debt recovery case. There are a number of factors that can delay this process but we will keep you informed every step of the way.
13. What are my options if debt collection in Austria is not successful?
If the debt recovery service is not successful we will advise you of your options including legal actions. Please note no legal actions or other processes will be taken without prior instruction from you.
"From the first contact until the monies arrived in our account, the team was highly informative, clear about terms and conditions and most importantly successful in recovering the debt!
I would highly recommend you to anyone unfortunate to be embroiled in a bad debt situation and will also consider using your credit reference service before taking on unknown clients in future."
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Ian