Reclaiming money from EU suppliers

Did you buy an item in another EU country, but did your supplier not deliver as agreed? Then you may get your money back. For amounts up to €5,000, you can make use of 1 of the following procedures:

• European Small Claims Procedure (ESCP)
• European Payment Order (EPO)
• European account preservation order (EAPO, freezing money in a foreign bank account)

The procedures apply in all EU countries, except for Denmark.

European Small Claims Procedure (ESCP)

With the European Small Claims Procedure (ESCP), you send your complaint to the court in your supplier's country by using a small claims form. This form is available in all languages of the European Union. The whole procedure is carried out in writing.

You can submit the form digitally. Then the European Commission will see to it that your form is sent to the correct court. You can also submit the form by post. Which court you should send the form to varies per country.

European Payment Order (EPO)

In the Netherlands, you can have a judge force your supplier to pay back your money. This is done with a European Payment Order (EPO). This is possible if:

• you want to claim money from someone who still owes you (the debtor),
• this debtor has a bank account in another EU country, and
• this debtor does not contest the claim.

You submit your request to the District Court of The Hague using Form A. The payment order is executed by a court in the country where the debtor's money is in the bank.

European Account Preservation Order (EAPO)

If you are owed money by a debtor who has money in a bank account in another EU country, you can ask a Dutch court of law to issue a European account preservation order (EAPO) for this account. This means that the money will be ‘frozen’ under the management of the Dutch court, until it has been decided if your claim is good. You can have this order executed even before you have started a legal procedure in the country concerned.