Our bilingual legal team helps businesses and individuals collect overdue payments across France.
Recover personal debts in France with a lawyer-driven, strategic approach.
Private debts unpaid loans, personal advances, informal agreements, promissory notes, shared expenses, family loans, or unpaid reimbursements often become difficult to recover without legal support. We provide structured, efficient, and legally enforceable private debt recovery throughout France, ensuring your rights are protected from start to finish.
We assist international clients, expatriates, families, private lenders, and individuals needing fast and compliant recovery from French debtors.
Private debt recovery in France is highly regulated. Whether the agreement is written, informal, or partially documented, a French lawyer ensures the process is legally viable and enforceable.
We begin with a structured, lawyer-issued formal notice that immediately increases pressure on the debtor.
This often resolves private debts quickly.
Includes:
Goal: obtain fast, voluntary payment while preserving efficiency.
If the debtor may hide or dissipate assets, we can freeze them before litigation, sometimes without prior court approval.
Includes:
Goal: protect your ability to recover the debt before the debtor becomes insolvent.
For clear, well-documented private debts, this is the fastest judicial procedure in France.
Includes:
Timeline: usually 4–8 weeks depending on the court.
If the debtor contests the debt or refuses to cooperate, we initiate full legal proceedings before the judicial court.
Includes:
All litigation handled by qualified French lawyers.
From 650 € HT + success fee
→ Attorney demand letter + negotiation
From 1,450 € HT + success fee → Drafting, filing, monitoring, and enforceable order
From 2,900 € HT + success fee
→ Full representation until judgment
Quoted individually
→ Based on assets and procedural complexity
our services
We represent:
A private debt is a personal financial obligation between individuals rather than businesses. It may arise from:
Under French law, the creditor must prove that the debt is certain, liquid, and due (certaine, liquide et exigible) for recovery to proceed.
A lawyer-issued mise en demeure:
While informal reminders are often ignored, a legal notice signals imminent judicial action and often triggers settlement.
No, but written evidence is critical. French courts accept:
For amounts above €1,500, written proof is strongly expected unless exceptional circumstances apply.
In most cases, private debts are subject to a 5-year limitation period under Article 2224 of the Civil Code.
The period usually starts from:
Missing the limitation deadline can permanently bar recovery, regardless of the debt’s validity.
Send us your unpaid invoices and documents, and our lawyers will review your case at no cost.
You receive a clear recovery evaluation and an initial debtor check within 48 hours.
Our lawyers review your contracts and terms to add protective clauses—retention of title, penalties, guarantees—so you avoid future non-payment.
Strengthen your legal framework before issues arise.
Private debt disputes are handled by:
Unlike commercial disputes, private matters follow civil procedural rules and require stricter proof assessment by judges.
Yes. The injunction to pay is often the most efficient option when:
If granted and not opposed within one month, it becomes enforceable. If opposed, the matter moves into full civil litigation.
If the debtor raises a serious legal or factual dispute, the case shifts to standard proceedings. The court will examine:
This is where structured legal arguments and properly assembled documentation become decisive.
Yes. French law allows precautionary seizures (saisies conservatoires) if:
This may include freezing bank accounts or movable assets and is often a strong pressure tool for settlement.
A manufacturing company based in New Zealand, sourced custom lids from a French supplier. A large batch of lids was defective, causing a significant operational incident. We intervened on behalf of the New Zealand company and successfully negotiated with the French supplier’s insurer. The insurer ultimately compensated our client in the amount of €350,000.
A foreign company faced persistent non-payment of substantial invoices by a French customer. We initiated urgent debt-collection proceedings in France, obtained a freezing order over the debtor’s bank accounts, and secured full payment of the outstanding invoices — over €100,000 recovered.
A client purchased an online business from a French seller who had misrepresented the asset’s performance and future viability. After receiving the payment, the seller progressively abandoned operations and stopped responding entirely.
We pursued litigation, obtained a judgment against the seller, and ultimately recovered our client’s funds.
An international logistics provider suffered losses after goods transported through France were damaged due to improper handling by a subcontractor.
We established liability, coordinated expert examinations, and secured a €180,000 settlement from the responsible party’s insurer.
A European tech company delivered software and support services to a French distributor who stopped paying contractual licensing fees.
We issued formal notice, initiated legal action, and negotiated a structured settlement resulting in 100% recovery of outstanding sums plus late-payment interest.
A hospitality operator sought to terminate a French franchise agreement due to misleading revenue projections and undisclosed operational constraints.
We obtained a favourable negotiated exit and compensation for the client’s losses, allowing them to disengage without penalties.
A supplier outside the EU had shipped goods to a French client who refused to pay customs duties and final invoices. The goods were held in France and subject to storage costs.
We intervened rapidly, secured a court order authorising release of the goods, and forced the French client to settle all outstanding payments and fees.
A luxury goods brand purchased high-value materials from a French intermediary who delivered non-conforming and partially counterfeit items.
We coordinated the civil and criminal complaints, obtained seizure of the seller’s assets, and negotiated a full refund plus damages.
A consulting company engaged a French subcontractor who failed to deliver the agreed services, causing operational delays.
We obtained a judicial termination of the contract and recovery of paid advances through enforcement measures.
We offer a comprehensive range of debt collection services designed to recover outstanding payments efficiently and professionally. From amicable settlement negotiations and formal demand letters to legal recovery actions and enforcement proceedings, our team has the experience and resources to manage all aspects of the debt recovery process while maintaining strong client relationships.