KRS Law Firm · Debt Recovery
Objections to Payment Orders
Receiving a payment order from a court can come as a surprise, especially when it concerns a claim you dispute or have already paid. The most important thing is to act promptly: there are usually only two weeks to lodge an objection; once that period expires, the order becomes final and can form the basis of bailiff enforcement. KRS Kancelaria helps businesses and individuals who have received a payment order prepare an effective defence within the deadline.
Practice Area
See Also
In payment disputes, we support both creditors seeking to recover debts and defendants facing unfounded or excessive claims.
KRS
01
How Much Time Do You Have? The Deadline Is Crucial
The time limit for defending a claim depends on the procedure in which the order was issued. In ordinary and electronic payment-order proceedings (EPU), an objection must be lodged within 14 days of service of the order, or within one month if served in another EU country and three months if served outside the EU. In documentary payment-order proceedings, the appropriate remedy is a challenge known as “zarzuty”, which must be filed within one month of service where service takes place within the European Union. Time runs from receipt of the court documents, so retaining the envelope showing the service date can be important.
If you missed the deadline through no fault of your own — for example, because the order was sent to an outdated address — remedies may still be available. Within seven days after the reason for missing the deadline ceases, you may submit an application for reinstatement of the time limit, together with the objection or challenge. We assess the prospects of such an application and prepare it alongside the appropriate remedy.
02
How Can We Help with a Payment Order?
- Reviewing the payment order.
- Reviewing the statement of claim.
- Preparing an objection or challenge.
- Representation in subsequent proceedings.
03
What Should an Effective Objection Contain?
In electronic payment-order proceedings (EPU), a statement that you challenge the order is sufficient to meet the deadline. In other procedures, however, the objection must be a complete procedural document, which presents a number of potential pitfalls. It should include the court and case details, whether the order is challenged in full or in part and, above all, the grounds of defence and supporting evidence. Crucially, certain defences, such as set-off or limitation, must be raised in the objection, as the right to raise them later may be lost.
An objection should therefore be more than a document filed merely to meet a deadline. An incomplete or defective submission may be rejected, causing the order to become final, at which point the avenues of defence are effectively closed. A properly drafted objection is also the first and most important step in defending the subsequent proceedings.
04
Two Different Remedies: “Sprzeciw” and “Zarzuty”
This distinction is often overlooked, yet has serious consequences. An objection (“sprzeciw”) is available against an order issued in ordinary or electronic payment-order proceedings. A valid objection causes the order to lose effect and the case to proceed under the ordinary procedure. In EPU, the proceedings are discontinued and the creditor must bring a new claim before the appropriate court. A challenge (“zarzuty”) is filed against an order issued in documentary payment-order proceedings. The important difference is that filing it does not itself deprive the order of effect, and a court fee is payable. Choosing the correct remedy and meeting its requirements are essential to an effective defence.
05
How Do We Help?
We act promptly because time matters. We review the order and statement of claim, assess whether the claim is justified, identify available defences and prepare the appropriate objection or challenge within the deadline, then represent you in the subsequent proceedings with a view to having the claim dismissed or appropriately reduced. Where the case arises from a business dispute, we handle the defence as part of our broader legal support for businesses, considering the underlying relationship from which the dispute arose.
We also act for creditors: if your business is pursuing payment and the debtor has objected, we continue the case as part of our court debt recovery service.
Contact
Contact Us
Have You Received a Payment Order and Are Unsure What to Do Next? Please Contact Us as Soon as Possible — the short deadline means that every day matters. We will review the order, explain your options for defending the claim and prepare the appropriate challenge.