Your Debtor Has Disappeared to Poland – What Can UK Creditors Do?

A customer owes you money. The invoices remain unpaid. Letters are returned, emails are ignored and the address you have on file is no longer valid.

Then you discover one important detail:

The debtor has moved to Poland.

For many UK businesses, this is the point at which a straightforward debt recovery matter suddenly becomes a cross-border problem.

But a debtor moving to Poland does not necessarily mean that the debt has become unrecoverable.

It may simply mean that the strategy needs to change.

The first problem is often finding the debtor

Before considering further legal or enforcement action, it is important to establish what happened to the debtor.

• Did they permanently move to Poland?

• Are they still operating a business in the UK?

• Have they established a company in Poland?

• Are they working or conducting business there?

• Do they still have assets or financial connections in the UK?

• Or did they simply leave without providing an updated address?

These questions can make a significant difference to the recovery strategy.

This is where skip tracing and debtor tracing can become an important first step.

The objective is not simply to collect as much personal information as possible. The objective is to identify reliable, lawfully obtained information that can help establish where the debtor is and what options may realistically be available to the creditor.

A Polish address can change the entire recovery strategy

A common mistake is to treat a debtor’s move abroad as the end of the recovery process.

In reality, it can be the beginning of a different one.

If the debtor is now living in Poland, it may be possible to investigate their current location, business activity and other relevant information before deciding what legal steps should follow.

For a UK creditor, this can be particularly important where the original debt arose in the UK but the debtor is now based in Poland.

The key question becomes:

Where is the debtor now, and where can the debt realistically be pursued?

Already have a UK judgment?

This is an important distinction.

If you already have a judgment from an English or Welsh court, the situation is very different from simply having an unpaid invoice.

The UK Civil Procedure Rules contain specific provisions dealing with the enforcement of judgments in foreign countries, including procedures for obtaining certified copies of judgments for enforcement abroad.

There are also international rules governing the recognition and enforcement of certain civil and commercial judgments between the UK and EU countries. The applicable route depends on factors such as the date and nature of the proceedings, the jurisdiction clause and the circumstances of the particular case.

This is why the stage of the debt recovery process matters.

An unpaid invoice, an existing County Court Judgment and a judgment requiring enforcement in Poland are three very different situations.

What if you do not have a judgment?

That does not necessarily mean that you are too late.

The first step should be to establish the facts.

For example:

• Who is the debtor?
• What is the amount owed?
• When did the debt arise?
• Is there a written contract?
• Were invoices issued?
• Has the debtor ever acknowledged the debt?
• Where was the debtor based when the contract was entered into?
• What jurisdiction does the contract specify?
• What information do you have about their current location in Poland?

These details can determine what options are available.

In some cases, the most sensible first step may be a professional pre-action approach. In others, it may be appropriate to investigate the debtor’s location before taking further action.

The right approach depends on the individual case.

Poland is not simply “out of reach”

The UK no longer has the same EU-wide civil procedure framework with Poland that existed before Brexit. The UK Government confirms that, for new cross-border disputes, jurisdiction and recognition/enforcement issues can depend on domestic law and applicable Hague Conventions.

That does not mean that a UK creditor has no options.

It means that cross-border recovery needs to be approached properly from the beginning.

A creditor should consider not only whether the debtor can be found, but also what should happen once the debtor has been identified.

That distinction is crucial.

Finding the debtor is only the beginning

A successful tracing exercise should ultimately answer a practical question:

What can the creditor do with the information obtained?

Knowing that someone lives somewhere in Poland may be interesting.

Knowing a reliable current address and understanding the debtor’s circumstances can be considerably more useful.

It can potentially allow the creditor to move forward with the appropriate correspondence, legal assessment or enforcement strategy.

This is why debtor tracing should be viewed as part of a wider cross-border debt recovery strategy, rather than as a standalone search for an address.

When should a UK creditor consider tracing a debtor in Poland?

It may be worth investigating further if:

• a debtor has disappeared after accumulating a debt in the UK;

• letters are being returned;

• the debtor’s UK address is no longer valid;

• you have information suggesting that the debtor moved to Poland;

• a former customer has stopped communicating;

• a sole trader or company director appears to have relocated;

• you have a UK judgment but cannot establish where the debtor is now;

• you have reason to believe that the debtor continues to work or conduct business in Poland.

The earlier the situation is assessed, the more clearly the available options can usually be identified.

The most important question If someone who owes your business money has moved from the UK to Poland, do not automatically write the debt off simply because you cannot find them.

The first question should be:

• Can the debtor be located, and what can realistically be done once they are?
• That is where specialist cross-border knowledge can make a difference.

If you are a UK creditor dealing with a debtor who has disappeared to Poland, contact us before assuming the debt is unrecoverable.

We can assess the information you already have, consider whether the matter is suitable for debtor tracing in Poland and help you understand what the potential next steps may be.

The debtor may have left the UK. The debt did not.

Daniel Liszewski - Cross Border Debt Recovery