It’s been 3 years since the introduction of the RUD procedure. Happy Birthday!
In July 2019, the procedure for the recovery of undisputed debts, also known as the RUD procedure will have existed for 3 years. This legislation forms the basis for everything we do at Unpaid. Thanks to this law, companies now have the ability to collect undisputed, unpaid invoices through a fast, simple, streamlined procedure. Unpaid has specialised in facilitating this procedure and it hasn't gone unnoticed. Already in 2017, we won the prestigious European “innovative Lawyers award” from the Financial Times.
The recovery of undisputed debts: taking stock.
Recently, a constructive, critical analysis of RUD by Tijl De Jaeger and Joke De Paepe was published in Intersentia1. Unpaid has picked out the key points of the article for you.
Purpose:
The purpose of the law was twofold. On one hand, legislators wanted to reduce the workload for the commercial courts (on 1 November 2018, the name was changed to business courts) and on the other hand, the aim was to be able to offer a faster and cheaper alternative to the traditional collection process through the courts.
When can you use this procedure?
The procedure can be used for all monetary debts between professionals who are registered in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) as long as the debt is undisputed, clearly established and claimable. The law does not set any minimum or maximum amount.
The collection of undisputed debts in practice
The new procedure for the collection of undisputed debts quickly became a success. Not least because certain presidents of the business courts heavily promoted its use. In less than 2 years (2 July 2016 to 15 February 2018), no fewer than 40,986 claims were submitted. Also positive is that just 1.7% of the cases filed had to be stopped due to protest;
Moreover, a comparison of the figures from 2015 with those from 2017 shows a reduction in the number of new procedures for collecting undisputed debts through the business courts by no less than 44.9%.
Conclusion
In their analysis, the authors conclude that the overall impact of the RUD is clearly favourable. Only very few cases (1.7%) have to be stopped due to protest, a great many of the debts claimed through this procedure end up being paid, and finally, there is a significant reduction in the workload for the business courts.
Do you need assistance with collecting outstanding invoices?
Do you have customers who do not pay their invoices? Then, at Unpaid, you have come to the right place. We have fully automated the process for making use of this procedure. Enter your VAT number below and, in under 10 minutes, our system will guide you through the various steps. And that's all you have to do. We'll get started right away and we’ll keep you informed, step-by-step, of the status of your claim.
Do you have an unpaid invoice or do you have questions about how Unpaid works? Call +32 9 396 34 00 or let us know when you want to be called.
- 1. De Jaeger, Tijl, and Joke De Paepe. 2019. “Een Constructief Kritische Analyse Van IOS.” (A constructive critical analysis of IOS) In Het Burgerlijk Proces Opnieuw Hervormd (The further reform of the civil lawsuit), ed. Piet Taelman and Benoît Allemeersch, 215–243. Intersentia