Debt and Collection

A bank impersonation scam has drained your account? Block your card, write to your bank and claim a refund: French law requires it to refund an unauthorised payment unless it proves gross negligence on your part.

Money lent to a friend who will not pay you back: gather the evidence, send a formal demand, try a free conciliator, then apply for an order for payment. Written proof required above €1,500, five years to act.

A debt collection agency chases payment for the creditor, but it cannot seize anything and its fees are not yours to pay. The required letter, banned practices, orders for payment and limitation periods.

A wage garnishment in France follows a scale set by decree: in 2026, seven brackets, €145 more per dependant and €651.69 always left to you. Enforcement officers since 2025, one month to react, challenges.

A debt write-off through personal recovery wipes out debts when there is no way out. With or without court liquidation, conditions, debts that survive, the 5-year FICP listing, court challenges and free help.

The debt limitation period sets how long a creditor has to act: 1 year for phone bills, 2 years between a business and a consumer, 3 years for rent, 5 years in general, 10 years for a judgment. What stops the clock and how to rely on it.

A payment plan with your creditors, court grace periods of up to 2 years, a tax payment schedule, the 2026-2027 winter truce, the FSL for rent: the ways to spread out a debt in France.

An over-indebtedness file is lodged free of charge with the Banque de France. Conditions, online filing, admissibility, effects on seizures and the FICP, repayment plan, imposed measures and appeals.

Couple debts follow different rules depending on whether you are married, in a PACS or cohabiting. Household solidarity, joint loans, release from a loan, taxes and tax solidarity relief: who pays after a separation.

An enforcement officer can only seize your belongings with an enforceable title and after a formal order to pay. The 8-day deadline, protected goods, entry into your home, 2026 fees, sale and remedies.