The "Betreibungsamt" is only the messenger. It is the recipient of the money ie the endebted that you need to contact to ensure they do not enforce the Betreibung. If you don't do that then the company may well start legal proceedings against you. This is very much dependent on the circumstances of the debt and the amount owing. However if that step is started then the costs can easily increase by several hundred Francs. Again very much dependent on the amount owing.

Usually the best step is to talk. I would also suggest looking at why you have received this Betreibung - is this an oversight or a dispute. If it is a dispute you can elect for "Rechtsvorschlag" where the endebted must prove the money is owed. This usually is done in the first instance by a "Friedensrichter" who is appointed by the court and makes no/minimal charge. Again dependent on the amount owing.

Of course the ultimate question is why can you not pay a bill that has been owing for many weeks and that you have known about for a long time until your next salary in two weeks? I would suggest taking a serious look at your income and outgoings because it does sound like you are spending more than you should be in relation to your income.

Quick question to whom might know the answer: I had an item (faulty one) exchanged in one of the online shops from Germany and they sent it back to me in July. Today came the letter from the UPS to pay MWST CHF32.40. My guts feeling tells me that I shouldn't pay the MWST twice on item that has been exchanged under warranty? What is the course of actions?

You are correct. You need to be able to demonstrate that you have already paid it and send a copy of the payment with an explanation to UPS. Note they might well ignore you but you do not need to pay so can let them take whatever action they so which. Note also you must keep the orginal payment for the item and have the online shop in Germany on your side ie that you did return the original. Also helps to have the documentation returning the original set to one side as well...

Just as an aside this is not an unusual situation and the Swiss Post are good at dealing with it. Couriers are less good though and will usually start getting very stroppy about the outstanding amount. Be warned...

Thanks for your prompt answer. Indeed, I've kept all the receipts up to date which common sense told me to do so and if the push comes to shove I will produce all the proofs. Otherwise, I like the idea of the guy from this thread: Import duties for online purchases - Some helpful tips which I will try to experiment with next time around.

what happen if you never pay the bills ?

thx

is this a case of can't or won't?

Thank you for answering:

It is a "can't" case

but I am also curious to know the "won't" case

best

The issue is the following:

I have this crazy girlfriend that likes to buy stuff in the internet and never pay for them. She also has a huge debit in her credit card and other stuff.

She is not Swiss. What happen if she does not pay the bills .... will they kick her out of the country or arrest her?

What happen if I marry her? Will I be forced to pay her debits?

THANK YOU

the rule is that the debts people have before marriage remain their own. however, try explaining that to your new wife.

Thank you very much.

So if she never pay for her debits will they kick her out or anything extreme besides including her in the black list of credit?

best

Hi all,
This post has been extremely helpful but I do still have some questions. I went to an acupuncture practice for acupuncture to relieve migraines. They said they could treat me using a variety of methods during the one hour session. I went for 9 treatments before a friend (and her husband who was seeking treatment for a completely different ailment), whom I had referred to this practice, discovered that we were all receiving the exact same treatments. We immediately canceled our future appointments and said that we were unhappy with the treatment methods. Of course, in typical Swiss fashion, I received my first bill from the practice only after these 9 sessions, and I found out that they charged 60 CHF more per session than their list price for acupuncture. The extra charges were for the other methods (heat lamps, cupping, etc) that they used DURING the acupuncture session, which I of course, never knew would have extra charges or I would have refused them. So, I have long since paid what I believe I owed and now after many discussions and emails, they are threatening to send my outstanding debt (420 CHF) to the collection agency. I would most definitely like to dispute these charges as it is absurd they can charge whatever they would like without the consent of the patient.
Will the ""Rechtsvorschlag" where the endebted must prove the money is owed" just use the practice's bill to prove that I owe them more? How can I dispute the extra services that I never agreed to?
What is my best move this late in the game? I don't want to pay for a lawyer but I just don't want to pay these people out of principle as their business is a total scam! Help

I just wanted to say (maybe again? I did read through but might have missed it) that ANYONE can decide to send you a Betreibung, regardless of whether you owe them money or not. Just like ANYONE can send you a bill and a threatening letter saying that you have to pay or else you will get a Betreibung.

I was wondering whether getting threatening letters with no actual basis would consist as "Nötigung"? And would this stop the person going on to the "Betreibung"?

You have to actively fight these people. If you just ignore the problem then the fees increase.

You cannot raise a "Rechtsvorschlag" against a debt collector.

You need to find some consumer advice, or a lawyer, or pay up and put it down to experience.

We have received a reminder notice for a bill that a) we did not receive and b) that we believe we do not owe as our payments are up to date according to the information we have. The company refuses to explain exactly what the bill is for and how it was calculated. Where do we go from here? What happens next? We have already received the 2nd reminder + threat but we are as sure as we can be that we do not owe this money.