Collecting a registered letter from court with a payment order is a highly stressful experience, which over 7,000 people in Poland face every day. Ignoring this letter means that within a few weeks, a bailiff will knock on your door, and your bank account funds will be frozen. We explain the key differences between the **payment order procedure** and the **order for payment procedure** and advise you on how much time you have to defend yourself.
💡 Key takeaways
- Payment order is a specific ruling issued on the so-called private meeting (without hearing), solely based on the claim filed by the claimant. At the time of its issuance, the court does not seek your opinion.
- From the order issued in Summary proceedings is due Objection within 14 days of receipt of the letter.
- From the order issued in payment order proceedings are due accusations, on which you have one month (30 days) to lodge an appeal. Remember, however, that this type of ex officio order constitutes a security title, which allows the bailiff to freeze your bank accounts even before a final judgment is issued!
Never underestimate a payment order. Even if the claim is clearly time-barred or completely fabricated, failure to lodge an appropriate objection within the deadline will mean the order takes on the force of a full-fledged judgment. You will have to pay a non-existent debt.
Compendium: I've received a payment order. What next?
A payment order differs from a court judgment in that a payment order is a simplified court decision issued without the defendant's participation. It is issued if the court finds the plaintiff's claim to be justified based on the submitted documents. A court judgment, on the other hand, is a decision issued after the court has considered all the evidence and arguments presented by both parties.
In a standard civil case, both parties meet in court for a hearing, present evidence, and following this, the judge issues a verdict. With payment orders, the case is entirely different. Proceedings (summary or payment order) take place in absentia – based private meetingThe reporting judge reads only the creditor's statement of claim, and if they deem the attached documents to be credible, they issue a payment order.
From the defendant's perspective, this may seem unfair – they receive a payment order for a debt, even though the court has not even asked for their opinion. The legislator introduced these procedures with the aim of massively relieving the courts of thousands of "undisputed" debts (e.g. unpaid invoices). However, you have full legal rights to defend yourself. The order loses its effect and turns into a normal trial, provided that you file the appropriate document within the given deadline.
Two modes for issuing payment orders
Before you start panicking, read the heading of the ruling carefully. It is essential to distinguish in which mode the Court issued the payment order.
Claim procedure (most popular)
This procedure is very common. The court issues an order ex officio in almost every monetary claim case where the plaintiff has argued their claim sufficiently strongly. Filing an objection overturns this order, and the plaintiff must prove their case in a traditional trial.
Summary proceedings (stringent)
For the plaintiff to obtain this order, they must emphatically prove the debt in their application with documents of the highest importance (e.g. a recognised invoice, a signed bill of exchange, an official document). For the debtor, it is tremendously dangerous because constitutes an automatic security titleThis means that the creditor – even if you don't agree with the debt – immediately sends an order to the bailiff, who freezes the amount in your bank account and registers a compulsory mortgage until the eventual court proceedings have been legally concluded.
How to defend yourself? Terms and appeals
Objection in summary proceedings (14 days)
From the moment you collect a registered letter with a reminder note from the post office (or the notice expires – so-called delivery by notice), the clock starts ticking. You have exactly 2 weeks (14 calendar days) for lodging with the court objection from a payment order. A correctly written objection nullifies the payment order in its entirety, and the court sets a hearing and hears the parties on standard terms.
Allegations in the payment order proceedings (30 days)
With a strict payment order in the order for payment procedure, the legislator gives month (30 days) to the answer, which is called accusations from a payment order. Simply sending objections does not automatically suspend the enforceability or security of the order – the court, after examining the document and conducting proceedings, decides on the fate of the debt. Importantly, objections must be strongly supported by evidence.
When does a bailiff intervene? Asset seizure
If you fail to file appeals (objections/complaints) within the specified deadlines, or if you draft them incorrectly in terms of form, the payment order will finally become legally binding and gain the status of a judgment. The creditor will go to court for an enforcement clause, and the bailiff will strictly initiate enforcement proceedings from which there is no escape.
In the case of the payment order procedure on a bill of exchange, the creditor sends the case to the bailiff with immediate enforceability generally straight away, literally days after you receive the document from the court.