Dunning Collection agencies start dunning after their clients have completed their internal dunning procedure (generally one to three computer based reminders) also by applying one to three computer-based demands for payment, either in writing or by telephone. Street Collection/Field work If after written requests for payment still nothing happens, and the
debtor cannot be reached by telephone, field work is often arranged for.
The ladies and gentlemen employed for field work visit debtors who assert claims based on warranties, guarantees or on any other breaches of contract generally state their position directly or by means of a third party (lawyers, ombudsman offices). On their visits during external duty collection agents often discover
seizable items that were not registered in the last established list of
assets. Often income sources are ascertained (usually from illicit work)
which enable the debtors to settle their liabilities in instalments. Sometimes it even becomes possible to arrange for relatives to promise to answer for the debt personally. Naturally, executors cannot conclude the agreements previously mentioned in detail, this not being their job. Investigation measures to ascertain the address of a natural or legal
person/company to which service can be effected: - In written form through registration offices or post offices or any other public offices or public corporations in order to locate an address for service, to ascertain the proper address of an entrepreneur, to find out whether business people have a trading licence at all or run their business under a "firm".
- Checking of orderers who have placed orders by using a company-like name but do not, in actual fact, appear in the commercial register.
- Checking whether certain orderers where at all legally authorised to represent or whether they acted without power of representation. These kinds of check-ups are also done by phone or on the site.
Further Investigation measures Investigation measures to ascertain an address for service of a summons to a person who while being registered with the registration office at an address is not or not always resident there or the location of service addresses of people who are officially not registered at their actual residence - either in writing, by telephone or by field work. Ascertaining of income and financial situation: In written form (self information), by telephone or by field work. General remarks The number of people who supply false names and addresses is
remarkable. The number of people who - contrary to their contractual obligations - do not notify changes of their address is very high.
It happens very often that "firm names" are invented freely without corresponding with any entries in the commercial register. In trades where tenancies are common (primarily in the catering industry, with professionals etc.) it happens that before the commencement of action it must first be clarified who the actual debtor is (i.e. the leaseholder at the time of the order) including his address. It repeatedly occurs that employers cannot be located by an enquiry according to article 294 a EO (regulations governing distraint) because the notice that went to the respective health insurance agency and, accordingly, to the main social security authorities partly contained false details regarding the employee (e.g. different spelling of the second name "Maier" or "Schmid") or obsolete addresses or false birth dates or names and addresses of employers that do not represent any addresses to service. Difficulties like these require repeated and painstaking investigations. Particularly in the mail-order business it very often happens that people who notice they are no longer being supplied decide to change first names, birth dates, clothes size and addresses so as not to be blocked any more. In spite of an altered address they still tend to receive the goods from the mail-order company due to the postman's knowledge. It is not uncommon for women to supply names of their daughters who are
still infants. In the case of service difficulties the computer programme applied at courts only provides a so-called "Zustellanstandsverständigung"
(a formal notification of a service attempt); so it basically remains up to the complaining/prosecuting party as to how to obtain an address to service. This applies both in action procedure and in execution procedure. Compared with the former "Oath of Disclosure" the "List of Assets" is
considerably more inexact and incomplete and contributes to the fact
that debtors tend to "forget" parts of their income or assets. For
most enforcement authorities the amendment to the "Exekutionsordnung" (regulations governing distraint) 1995 has not contributed to pursuing a debtor in the next district (e.g. on the opposite side of the road) or in the neighbouring judicial district if debtors happen to move there. They will sooner return the case to the execution department; as a next step the "responsible enforcement officer" receives the case to work on. Obviously, this leads to considerable delays. Not all employers register their employees with the respective health insurance agency within three days, which is why the health insurance agency cannot pass the registration on to the main social security authorities. The main social security authority's computer system is not compatible with all health insurance agencies. This results in considerable delays in passing on the data or registering new entries with the main authorities. An application to section 294a of the EO can also be problematic when the main authorities have not yet been provided with the necessary information leaving them unable to act at all. Since, in Austria, courts are responsible for legal enforcements and not - as, for example, in Switzerland - the collection and bankruptcy offices belonging to municipalities or parts of municipalities, recovery very often remains ineffective. In the case of unknown income, mainly from illicit jobs, judicial collection regularly fails; in cases where assets "did not make it" into the list of assets judicial collection is considerably less efficient.
In this respect, neither a computer-based lawyer's office nor a company can afford to do the work of collection agencies except for only very large companies/ company groups who generally run their own collection agencies on account of the above mentioned reasons. Even if due to the cause the Austrian legislation in the so called "Zinsenrechts-Änderungsgesetz" (ZinsRÄG), Federal Law Gazette I 118/2002, which came into force on August 1st, 2002,considers
the costs of collection agencies as claims for damages from the debtor's default, a regulation is definitely needed regarding the amount such as in the Inkasso-Verordnung (Collection Decree) Federal Law Gazette 141/1996 of the Federal Ministry of Commerce on the basis of a general
standard (either decree or law). Dr. Helmut Liegl, 2003 ............................................................[back to FAQ] | 
