Didim Today

Debt collection is an everyday issue for Turks. Almost everybody has some experience in the collection process. Even some very minor matters left forgotten or underestimated may come back as an order to pay some day. In my column last Wednesday I quoted an e-letter from an English family who is now facing a collection. For those who are interested, the complete e-mail is available on the web site of Today’s Zaman Legal Corner, along with many topics of Turkish law in English. “When we received the icra [letter], my father telephoned the number on it and said he didn’t want to come to any meeting as he hadn’t done anything wrong and didn’t owe anyone any money.

We now realize that we made a huge mistake by not going to the meeting.” Even if you would have gone to that meeting and challenged the order for payment, you should have submitted evidence that you had paid the rent. I already wrote about how and when you should challenge a payment order. However, this is not a “do it yourself” thing, and I would strongly recommend that you hire a lawyer to represent you in such a case.

What happens after challenging the order to pay? The collection process will be suspended for a period of one year in which the creditor can file a lawsuit to cancel your objection. Otherwise, the process will conclude at the end of the one-year period. What happens if I miss the deadline for objecting to a general payment order? If you miss the deadline, the outstanding amount becomes collectible via an official collection office.

What happens if I was abroad when the order for payment was delivered? Is there any extension? The law provides an extension for the debtor to make an objection in some extreme cases, including experiencing serious health problems or being abroad when the payment order is delivered.

What should I do if I don’t actually owe anything to the person demanding the payment but I missed the deadline? Since the outstanding debt became collectible, you must either pay the outstanding amount or declare your assets that the claimant can seize as your properties and liquidate these assets.

What happens if you miss the deadline? IMPORTANT: If you have already missed the challenge period, the claim is enforceable. You have to pay the debt, or you are obliged to submit a list of your assets (within the limit of the outstanding amount). Please consult a lawyer for deadlines and related processes. What if I missed the deadline for the disclosure of assets?

Will I be prosecuted? Yes. The charges for failing to disclose assets will be withdrawn upon payment of the outstanding debt. What should you do if you are under the threat of another party’s solicitor seizing your goods? You can go to court and file a lawsuit to prove that you don’t have any liabilities against the claimant and request a hold on the account to keep the process pending until the end of the court case.

Then you have to prove that you don’t owe anything “We signed a contract saying we would pay the landlord cash rent every month, and every month we did so, but unfortunately the landlord wouldn’t give us any receipts for these payments.” This is a very difficult case, but I will try to provide possible defense options. The fact is that there is no written evidence, so you have to find some other form of evidence proving that you have paid your rent.

You may not have any receipts, but the court may search the bank account of the landlord, and see if there is a certain amount paid into their account every month (it doesn’t matter who pays it, we are trying to prove that a sum equal to the rent payment is deposited by the landlord himself after receiving cash from you).

As I said, this is a very weak defense, but there seems to be no other way to defend your case. Please speak to a lawyer with all available documents in hand, and there might be a way to get out of this.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr/ The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it