Debt Collection Slovenia

Our debt collection agency in Slovenia.

We are pleased to introduce Pro Kolekt d.o.o, our local collection agency in Slovenia. They are the ones who will recover debts from your Slovenian debtors. 

Information on debt collection in Slovenia.

Below is a brief presentation of the collection process in Slovenia and the slovenian legislation regarding their legal system when you need to take a case to court due to the fact that a debtor fails to pay.

From attempted collection in the out-of-court stage, to legal action and insolvency proceedings.

– Amicable debt recovery in Slovenia.
– In-court collection.
– Enforcement of judgments in Slovenia.
– Insolvency proceedings.

     Debt collection in Slovenia at the extrajudicial stage.​

The first step in the debt collection process against a Slovenian debtor is for the debt collector to try to get the debtor to pay without the need to take legal action. What does this mean? This process often starts with an assessment of the debtor’s assets to see if there is any ability to pay. The debt collector sends a demand for payment to the debtor. This is followed up by contact by telephone and email, for example. At this point, the debtor is made aware that the debt collection agency may take the matter to court if payment is not made.

At this stage, the threat of legal proceedings, together with the debt collector’s expertise in negotiation and persuasion, ensures that cases are resolved. In the vast majority of cases, debts are paid at this pre-legal collection stage without the necessity to start a litigation procedure.

    Going to court with your Slovenian debt collection case.

In Slovenia, there are various courts that may be involved in civil cases in legal proceedings.

These are:
– local courts (okrajna sodišča),
– district courts (okrožna sodišča),
– courts of appeal (višja sodišča),

For a court procedure in Slovenia, when both the debtor and the creditor are a company, it is the district court that is the competent court.

Should either party wish to appeal against the judgment, the court of appeal will hear the appeal.

A writ of summons is sent by post to the district court where the debtor is domiciled. In cases where the debtor is a company, this is where the company has its registered office.

As a rule, the documents must be in Slovenian. In specific areas with Hungarian and Italian minority populations, these languages are also acceptable.

Are there any court fees or a legal fee that must be paid when using legal services in Slovenia? Yes, bringing a case to court means that the creditor has to pay a court fee to the court to start the case. These court fees are usually paid by the losing party.

The order for payment procedure in Slovenia.

There are two different order for payment procedures in Slovenia.

An order for payment procedure is a legal process that is simplified in relation to the ordinary civil procedures. It is supposed to be cheaper, faster and simpler. The aim is to save the resources of the courts and to make it easier for creditors. The starting point of these procedures is that uncontested cases are dealt with in a specifically simplified legal manner. Most countries have some form of this simplified procedure.

In Slovenia, there are two different procedural variants of the order for payment procedure:

– An order for payment procedure regulated by Articles 431-441 of the Civil Procedure Act (Zakon o pravdnem postopku, ZPP).
– An enforcement procedure based on an official document.

These procedures can be used irrespective of the amount of the claim that the creditor has on the debtor.

A creditor needs to clearly state the basis of the claim and what evidence there is to support the claim. If the process is based on an official document, the claim does not need to be proven beyond the submission of the official document.

So what is an official document? Examples include: public documents, bills of exchange and cheques, extracts from certified account books, invoices and documents that are considered official documents under special laws.

A defendant is given a short time to consider the creditor’s claim. A contestation must be thoroughly justified. If the debtor contests with a reasonable objection, the case is referred to an ordinary civil procedure.

If no objection is made, a decision is issued which becomes final and enforceable.

Small claims procedure.

In addition to the order for payment procedure, there is another civil simplified process. This concerns cases where the amount of the claim is not very large.

If the dispute between two companies concerns a claim of less than €4 000, this small claims procedure is used and is simplified compared with the ordinary civil-litigation proces. For example, there are only written hearings.

Enforcement of judgments in Slovenia.

In short, enforcement of a judgment means that a creditor who has taken legal action against a Slovenian debtor subsequently seeks the help of the authorities to transfer assets to him from the debtor.

This happens when a debtor continues to default on payment of his claim after a judgment has been given against him. The judgment can then be used as an enforcement title, which means that it is enforceable.

Enforcement of judgments is regulated by the “Act on Enforcement and Security of Civil Claims” (Zakon o izvršbi in zavarovanju – ZIZ). Local courts are primarily competent to grant and enforce enforcement.

Special enforcement officers are employed officials who carry out direct enforcement measures. Enforcement officers are public officials who exercise an independent function and are appointed by the Minister of Justice.

What are the different ways of taking property from a debtor? These include the sale of immovable or movable property or the assignment of the debtor’s monetary claims, etc.

Insolvency proceedings in Slovenia.

Finally, it should also be mentioned that insolvency proceedings may be involved in the Slovenian debt collection process.

These are cases where the debtor is so insolvent that it cannot repay all its debts to creditors.

For a debtor company, the following two procedures may be involved.
– financial reorganisation procedures – reorganisation, and
– Bankruptcy proceedings.

A reorganisation aims to have a trustee try to make the company survive by writing down claims with creditors.
Bankruptcy proceedings aim to dissolve the company with all creditors being treated fairly with the assets that remain. In this procedure, too, a liquidator takes over the running of the company.

The district court handles insolvency proceedings led by a single judge.

This is how our debt collection service works.