Top-Rated Debt Collection Agency in Poland
Fast and reliable debt collection in Poland - no upfront costs, only pay for success. Request a FREE Consultation or upload your claim today.
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In Poland, the simplest method to retrieve your owed funds is through debt collection.
Debitura specializes in debt recovery in Poland, offering a range of services such as accounts receivables management, debt collection notices, pre-legal and legal debt collection, and enforcement court proceedings. Our team of experienced professionals use their expertise of Poland's debt collection laws and regulations to deliver efficient and effective solutions to businesses seeking to recover outstanding debts.
We offer unwavering assistance throughout the entire process.
Tailored debt recovery plan.
"We have over 500 experts who specialize in international debt collection."
Our lowest cost service has achieved a success rate of 87%.
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FGGK - Law Office in Poland, Business lawyers and attorneys; Over 20 years of experience; Professional lawyers, registered at the Bar Association of Warsaw.
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BRILLAW by Mikulski & Partners is not just a company, it is primarily a team. A team of a dozen experienced lawyers and attorneys-at-law perfectly prepared to provide comprehensive legal services for every type of business activity. Since 2000, we have been providing legal services to Polish and foreign entrepreneurs with particular emphasis on the infrastructure, financial and industrial sectors.
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Our legal firm is your one-stop shop for all of your attorney needs - whether you require a lawyer, attorney at law, barrister (advocate), or solicitor. You can trust our experienced and knowledgeable team to provide the highest quality services that meet and exceed expectations. Our headquarters are based in Gdansk, yet we proudly serve clients across Poland with court cases as needed.
A law firm with offices in Cracov and Warsaw, specializing in legal help for foreigners. We have over ten years experience in debt colecting and we provide full service in English.
The Law Office of Advocate Tomasz Staszak was established to provide comprehensive legal services to entrepreneurs.
The ultimate guide about debt collection in Poland
If you have a financial claim against someone in Poland, we can help you. We have helped hundreds of businesses get their money back from people in Poland.
Collecting a debt in Poland can be hard. Things like different languages and customs, as well as being far away, can make it difficult.
It is easier to get money back from someone who owes you money when you use a collection agency that knows the laws and customs of the country where the debtor lives.
At Debitura, we always put people first. We try to get your money back while still keeping a good relationship with your customer. Our PR efforts are always fair but firm- ensuring your reputation is always our top priority! If you want to understand the Polish debt collection process from start to finish, keep reading this guide. But if you would rather work with a local law firm that specializes in debt recovery in Poland, we can help you with that too.
Debitura makes it easy to collect your debt in Poland and other countries. To get started, upload your claim today. We'll take a look at it and give you 3 free quotes from local debt collection lawyers in Poland within 24 hours. We use technology to help us manage our contact with people and get the results we need. We also have a lot of different relationships with people who help us get things done, like debt collectors, attorneys, suppliers, and vendors. We appreciate all of these relationships and think they are all important.
Upload claim
Begin your debt collection process in Poland today at no cost. Simply create a free profile and upload your case in just two minutes.
Pre-legal
We will attempt to recover your claim using our effective pre-legal recovery process for the initial 3 months. You only pay if we are successful in recovering your funds.
Legal
If your claim remains unpaid during the pre-legal stage, we'll furnish you with three quotes from our nearby debt collection attorneys.
24/7 updates
You get access to our online portal where you can track your case in real-time
Introduction to collecting debt in Poland
Do you have a hard time collecting debt from your Polish customers? Do not worry; we will help you get paid.
When someone owes money in Poland, the person who owes the money is called "the debtor." The person who gave the money or bill is called "the creditor." If the original creditor collects the debt, this is called "first-party collection." If the creditor gets someone else to help collect the debt, this is called "third-party collections."
- The payment behavior of domestic firms got slightly better in 2018. This is because the economy was doing well and there were stricter rules about late payments.
- Legal action in Poland is more predictable than before but long and therefore formal proceedings should only commence when all amicable and pre-legal collection opportunities have been exhausted.
- Collecting money from people who can't pay is hard. Although there are ways to try to get the money, it is still rare that you will be able to collect everything that is owed.
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
The average time it takes for businesses to pay their invoices improved slightly to 59 days in 2018, with variances across sectors. For listed companies, the time it takes to pay their invoices has remained stable over the past few years, but slightly decreased in 2021. The payment behaviour of domestic firms overall remains poor even though businesses increasingly ensure that payment is made (and received) on time. The tactic of delaying payments to exert pressure on suppliers is also becoming less common.
Common payment types in Poland
The most common payment methods are bank transfers, which are becoming more popular because they are fast and secure. Another reason why bank transfers are becoming more popular is that there is a growing number of banks both domestically and internationally that support this method of payment.
It is important to know that even though people do not usually use checks, bills of exchange, and promissory notes, they are still considered debt recognition titles or debt securities. This means that if someone does not pay them, the court can make them pay through fast-track proceedings.
Main corporate structures
Liability for business debts means that someone is legally responsible for the debt. This is usually determined by the business's legal structure.
- A Sole Proprietorship is a small business that is run by one person. That person is responsible for any debts the business has. Two or more people can also own a business together. This is called a Partnership. Under a Civil Partnership or General Partnership, the people who own the business may be held responsible for what the other partners do. A Limited Liability Partnership (Spółka Partnerska sp. p.), Limited Partnership (Spółka Komandytowa, Sp.K.) and the very common Limited Joint-Stock Partnership (Spółka Komandytowo-akcyjna, Sp.K. A.) have different rules for how much money the partners owe if something goes wrong. In these types of partnerships, the partners' liability would be limited, which means they would not have to pay as much money if something goes wrong.
- Incorporated entities are available. Limited Liability Companies (spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością, sp. z o.o) are in practice the most favoured legal entities since they require reasonable minimum capital funds (approx. EUR 1,000) while the partners’ liability is limited to their contribution. Joint-Stock Corporations (spółka akcyjna, SA) are rather used for larger structures and require a minimum capital amount of approx. EUR 21,000 which must be divided into tradable shares. In these entities, the shareholders’ liability is limited to the value of their shares.
- Foreign businesses can set up a Branch Office or Representative Office in Poland to promote their business, but these entities are not separate from the parent company’s legal structure and thus offer no liability limitations. Joint Ventures may also be set up by contract without any incorporation required.
The debt collection process in Poland
The debt collection process in Poland usually happens in several steps. The picture below shows the standard way to collect debt in Poland:
1 Upload your claim:
If you want someone to help you get your money back, you will start by finding a debt collection partner. You will give them some information about the money you are owed, and they will work to get the money for you. Debitura will help you find a local partner in Europe, and this service is free.
2 Amicable collection:
The collection process begins with sending reminders to the person who owes you money. This is called a campaign. The goal is to get the debtor to pay or acknowledge the debt and start a payment plan. Debitura offers a no-cure-no-pay solution, which means you only pay a small success fee if we recover your debt. Amicable collections with Debitura are 100% risk-free!
3 Evaluation:
If you haven't received payment from the debtor after trying to work things out, it's time to look at what to do next. We will look at how much money you are owed, the chances of getting paid and other factors to help you decide what step to take next. There are three typical next steps:
A Surveillance:
If you owe someone less than 2,000-5,000 Euros, it is often not worth taking any legal action. In this case, we recommend "debt surveillance." This means that we will keep trying to contact the person you owe and try to reach an agreement about paying the debt back.
B: Legal collections:
It's a good idea to go through legal steps if you want to claim something big. How you do this will depend on what you're claiming and how much it's worth. Usually, it takes around one and a half years to finish this process.
Basically, if you want to claim something big and valuable, you should start a legal process, which typically last 12-18 month. However the steps you take, would depend on what you are claiming and how much it is worth.
C: Debt enforcement:
If the person you are claiming money from has said that they owe you money or if there is a court order, you can go to the bailiff's court to get your money.
At Debitura, we can help you with all three steps in Poland.
Amicable collection in Poland
At Debitura, we offer a 100% risk-free and efficient process for Amicable collections. This means that you can submit your claim to us, and we will get started within 24 hours.
We will contact your debtor through different channels in Poland. This might include email, text messages, letters, phone calls, and social media.
The goal of this process is to:
A) get the debtor to pay the full amount or
B) get the debtor to agree that they owe money and start a plan to pay it back
If the person you are trying to get money from has said your claim is not true, you cannot try to resolve this peacefully. You must go directly to legal collections.
Late Payment Interest
The EU Directive 2011/7/EU, which means payments in the EU must be made within 60 days, has become Polish law through the new Act on Counteracting Excessive Delays in Commercial Transactions (previous title: on Time Limits for Payment in Commercial Transactions) of 8 March 2013 (Journal of Laws 2021 item 424). The rules in Poland are stricter than the EU requirements. This means that usually businesses have to pay for what they buy within 30 days. But sometimes people agree to extend the payment terms to 60 days. This is only fair if it does not become unfair to one of the parties involved. Unless the parties agree on a higher interest rate by contract, the creditor is entitled to receive late payment interest calculated based on the National Bank of Poland interest rate.
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Get started with
amicable debt collection
Upload your claim and get started with our 100% no-cure-no-pay collection solution.
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Legal collection in Poland
If we have not been able to pay you during the friendly phase or the person you are claiming money from disagrees with your claim, we will give you 3 free quotes from our local lawyers. In the legal phase, our lawyer will try to negotiate a payment with the person you are claiming money from. Our partners can also go to court and get an order that says the person owes you money. This order can be used to make the person pay you via enforcement court.
Ordinary proceedings
If the debt is certain and unquestioned, the creditor may first request payment from the courts through prescription proceedings or electronic Payment Orders. If there is a dispute at this stage, it would be transformed into an ordinary lawsuit.
If the person who owes money has assets in other European Union countries, there is a way to get the money that they owe. This is called the European Payment Order procedure. If the person who wants the money asks, a District or Provincial Court can issue an Order to Pay. This means that the person who owes money will have to pay it back. The Order to Pay is valid in all European Union countries (except Denmark) without any other proceedings.
If a debt is disputed and the creditor wants to start legal action, they must file a claim with the court. The court would then give the debtor 14 days to file a defence. If the debtor does not do this, the creditor can ask for a default judgment from the court. This means that the court would make a decision without hearing from the debtor.
In Poland, the rules are provided by statutes instead of case law. This means that the court system in first instance is divided between District Courts and Provincial Courts. These courts have divisions that are specialized in dealing with commercial disputes. Claims that are more than PLN 75,000 would fall under the jurisdiction of Provincial Courts. Administrative Courts would deal with administrative disputes. The Supreme Court is the court of final jurisdiction, which means it makes the final decision on a case.
The amount of money you will need to pay a lawyer varies depending on how complicated your case is and how big your claim is. To get the best price, it is a good idea to get multiple quotes from different lawyers. You can do this easily by using Debitura.
Get started with
legal debt collection
Upload your claim and get 3 FREE quotes from our local collection partners.
Debt enforcement in Poland
If you have gotten a written acknowledgement of your claim from the debtor, or court order, you can go to the bailiff's court in Poland to make the debtor do what the court says.
A judgment is final when all appeal venues have been exhausted. If the debtor does not satisfy the judgment, it is possible to request that the court orders the compulsory enforcement of the decision through a bailiff.
Court decisions remain in place for six years. This means that people have to do what the court says. For example, if the court says someone owes money, they have to pay it back.
The process and how much it costs depends on your situation. You can upload your case to Debitura. They will give you 3 specific quotes based on your claim within 24 hours.
Get started with
debt enforcement
Upload your claim and get 3 FREE quotes from our local collection partners.
Insolvency proceedings in Poland
If the person you owe money to cannot pay you back, you can start a process called insolvency. This is when we sell their things to pay back the people they owe.
- Out-of-court proceedings: The law provides no specific mechanisms for reaching an out-of-court composition agreement between the debtor and creditors.
- Restructuring the debt: A debtor is entitled to commence restructuring proceedings when it is – or is in danger of becoming – illiquid. The main purpose of restructuring proceedings is to avoid bankruptcy of the debtor. If restructuring proceedings are pending, commencement of an insolvency procedure is prohibited.
- Winding up proceedings: A debtor is considered insolvent when itis unable to pay its outstanding debts, although illiquidity may also be characterized when the debtor’s assets cannot satisfy all company liabilities.
- As soon as court declares a state of bankruptcy, liquidation proceeds are conducted by a liquidator who manages and liquidates estate under supervision with approval from administrator.
- Within two weeks after list submission, creditors may object concerning lack acknowledgement of their claims before judge commissioner notifies public . Proceeds from sale distributed among creditors according to priority ranking.
European Late Payment Directive in Poland
Poland is in the European Union, so the Directive 2011/7/EU on combating late payments across Europe applies to us.
The directive includes the following main provisions:
- Public authorities can't require payment terms of more than 30 days.
- Private businesses cannot require that people pay them back in more than 60 days.
- If the person you lent money to is a business, you can charge them an extra fee of €40 for paying late.
- The status interest rate for late payments must be at least 8% higher than the European Central Banks reference rate.
As part of the EU, the Danish government can not implement local rules less favorable for creditors than the above-mentioned EEU-wide rules.
Credit risk and payment behaviour in Poland
- The average DSO in Poland is the longest of all the countries surveyed in Eastern Europe.
- 30.7% of domestic sales and 25.6% of foreign B2B sales are made on credit, lower than the averages for Eastern Europe (42.9% domestic and 38.4% foreign) and Western Europe (44.9% domestic and 37.7%).
- Domestic B2B invoices in Poland are more likely to be paid late than foreign invoices are, with an average of 35/5% of domestic B2B invoices and 29./3$ offoreign ones remaining unpaid after the due date - both figures lower than the averages for Eastern Europe and Western Europe.
Our analysis concludes that the risk of doing business in Poland is medium-low. Based on this medium-low score, we recommend being careful providing credit and considering charging upfront payment or using credit insurance when trading if you don't know the customer in Poland well. If possible, provide a short credit period or even better upfront payment. The medium-low risk score is based on the following factors:
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The economic risk in Poland
Our conclusion based on the economic risk factors, is that the economic risk in Poland is medium (3 out of 6). An economic risk of 3 out of 6 is pretty average in Europe.
GDP and economic growth are critical drivers for economic risk.
The GDP of Poland is 674,05 bn. USD (2021), growing by 5,73% per year.
In terms of the size of its economy, Poland ranks #22 out of 183 countries and has a large economy.
Having a view at the growth rate, it is ranked #63 out of 183 countries and is therefore considered a fast-growing economy.
GDP per capita is 17841 USD, ranking Poland number #45 out of 183 countries. The result of this is purchasing power of citizens in Poland is high compared to the rest of the world.
You can see a more throughout picture of GDP and economic growth in Poland in the table below:
Another critical driver for the economic risk score is the inflation rate and the interest rates. You can see a more throughout picture of monetary KPIs in Poland in the table below:
The business environment risk in Poland
Our analysis shows that the business environment risk in Poland is low (2 out of 6), which is a pretty average risk score in Europe.
Economic freedom and rights determine the business environment risk in a country. Take a look at the important facts for Poland in the table below:
As you can see in the table, the property rights index is 63 in Poland, which is considered quite low in Europe.
The business freedom index is based on 10 indicators, using data from the World Bank’s Doing Business study. The Index is 62 in Poland, a quite low score for a country in Europe.
Poland's overall economic freedom index is 70 out of 100 and is based on factors such as the rule of law, regulatory efficiency, and market openness.
The political risk in Poland
The political risk in Poland is low, with a score of 2/6. This is a pretty average political risk score in Europe.
The governance and political stability indicators are critical drivers for political risk. An overview of Poland can be seen in the table below:
The rule of law index analyses to which extent agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, in particular the quality of contract enforcement, property rights, the quality of the courts, and the police's ability to enforce court orders.
When doing business in a country, the rule of law index is critical as it describes your ability to enforce commercial contracts.
In Poland, the rule of law index is at 0,44 points, with the score going from -2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong). Poland has, therefore, a high rule of law index, which means you should have a good chance of enforcing your contracts. If your individual customers have good creditworthiness, you should therefore feel relatively safe when providing credit.
Other drivers for the low political risks are the weak control of corruption, the weak political stability index, and the normal shadow economy that is 16,67% of Poland's GDP.
The commercial risk in Poland
In Poland, the commercial risk score is 2/4, which in our model is a low score. This low commercial risk score is relatively low compared to the average in Europe.
The commercial risk is impacted by a country's international trade relationships. You can see some of the key facts for Poland in the table below:
Poland has a foreign exchange reserve of 166.03 bn. USD.
Poland has a positive trade balance of 4,2% of GDP. This means that Poland imports fewer goods and services than the country exports.
The annual growth of exports of goods and services has been growing 11,97% annually - now 60,91% of GDP. Import of goods and services represents 56,71% of the GDP in Poland.
The financing risk in Poland
We have calculated the financing risk to be 2/4, which equals a low risk. A low financing risk score is pretty average for countries in Europe.
The country's banking system, efficiency, and stability influence the financing risk. You can find the extra information for Poland in the table below:
In Poland, the credit information sharing index is 8 on a scale from 0 (low) to 8 (high). The result of this is accessibility and quality of credit information available in Poland is high.
This makes it easy for you to understand the credit risk of your counterpart in Poland. You would be able to find a good local credit rating agency that can help you analyse the creditworthiness of your specific customers.
Your rights as a creditor are 7 out of 12 and, therefore, medium.
Debt Collection in Poland: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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When someone owes money in Poland, they're called "the debtor," and the person to whom they owe money is called "the creditor." Debt collection in Poland typically involves first-party or third-party collections. Legal action is more predictable in Poland, but formal proceedings should only begin after amicable and pre-legal collection opportunities have been exhausted. Common payment methods in Poland are bank transfers, and debt recognition titles like checks, bills of exchange, and promissory notes are enforceable in court. Debt collection usually happens in several steps, including uploading the claim, amicable collection, evaluation, and debt enforcement.
The debt collection process in Poland typically involves three steps: pre-legal collection, legal debt collection, and debt enforcement. Pre-legal collection involves sending reminders to the debtor to pay or acknowledge the debt. Legal debt collection is initiated if the debt remains unpaid after the pre-legal phase. Debt enforcement involves going to a bailiff's court if there is a court order or if the debtor admits to owing the money. Debitura can assist you with all three steps in Poland.
In Poland, if a debt is certain and unquestioned, the creditor may initiate prescription proceedings or electronic Payment Orders. If the debt is disputed, a civil lawsuit is required. Debt enforcement and insolvency proceedings are also options, requiring a local lawyer. District and Provincial Courts specialize in commercial disputes, while Administrative Courts handle administrative disputes. Insolvency proceedings involve selling the debtor's assets, and a debtor can also commence restructuring proceedings to avoid bankruptcy. The cost of legal representation depends on the complexity and amount of the claim. Debitura can provide multiple quotes from different lawyers.
Debt collection costs in Poland vary depending on the case and desired actions. At Debitura, we offer a no-cure-no-pay model for pre-legal collection with a success fee between 10-20%. For legal actions, we can provide 3 quotes from the best debt collection lawyers in Poland. Contact us for more information.
The time taken for debt collection in Poland depends on the debtor and the case. If it can be resolved in the pre-legal phase, it usually takes 3-6 months. But if the case requires legal actions, then it can take 12-18 months. The duration may vary based on the complexity of the case and the willingness of the debtor to cooperate.
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