How do you check your debts?

Has it happened that a bailiff knocks on your door and tries to sell your assets? Or maybe you are being harassed by debt collection companies? Sometimes such companies will contact you out of the blue and you will not know what to do. It may happen that you forget about your debt and the creditors will not remind you, but will immediately take legal action or debt collection. Below we present how to effectively check your debt and what to doto avoid such unpleasant surprises.

Contents:

Where do the debts you don't know about come from?

Anyone can find themselves in a situation where they are unaware of their debt. These debts can arise for a variety of reasons - from old fines to unpaid subscriptions to financial fraud. This is why it is a good idea to regularly check the status of your debts. So that you can react quickly and protect yourself from an unexpected reaction from your creditors.

How do you find out if you have debts?

As mentioned above, it is a good idea to check your debts regularly to avoid financial problems. In an age of widespread access to financial services and frequent automation of transfer payments in banking systems, it is easy to forget to pay some obligation, even for a token sum, which over time can grow to a size that we cannot cope with. It can also happen that it is the authorities who make a mistake, and it is we who suffer the consequences. This is why checking your debt regularly is so important and helps us to act preventively before the debt grows to an amount that will be a problem for us.

How to check your debts with BIK - Credit Information Bureau

The Credit Information Bureau collects information on credit history based on bank data and companies parabanks. It is an essential tool by which we will be able to check whether we have any maturing liabilities.

You should first register on the BIK website and order your credit report. Once you have received your report, it is important to take note of all your debts, especially those you have forgotten about or did not know existed.

Regular checking of BIK reports is therefore crucial if unpleasant surprises are to be avoided.

You can also use the BIK Alert system, which will send information about new BIK enquiries about us to our phone or e-mail on an ongoing basis. This can tell us who is interested in us and why.

How to check your debts with BIG - Business Information Bureau

The Economic Information Bureau holds data on the debts of individuals and companies. In the case of consumers, in order for a debt to be placed in BIG without a court judgment, the debt must be at least PLN 200 at the time of entry and be due for 30 days. The BIG report may contain data from the BIK as well as information from the The Banking System Committee run by the Polish Bank Association. If an individual appears in these databases, information will appear in the report:

1. Summary of business information - all information on repaid and unpaid debts;
2. Information from data in other databases - BIK and ZBP;
3. Negative business information in the BIG InfoMonitor database - creditor identification data and details of the data provided by the creditor, such as the legal title, enforcement title number, adjudicating authority, date of issue of the title, amount of arrears, details of the statute of limitations;
4. Positive business information in the BIG InfoMonitor database - identification data of the creditor and details of the data provided by the creditor such as the amount of the liability, the amount of the instalment. Repaid with a delay of less than 10 or 60 days, date of payment, date of fulfilment;
5. Information about enquiries in the BIG InfoMonitor database;
6. System information on enquiries

Checking that debts have not gone to the debt exchange

Debt exchanges are places where creditors put unpaid debts up for sale. Checking whether our debts have been listed on a debt exchange will help us to identify an unknown liability and prevent it.

To do this, go to a debt exchange website such as Krajowa Giełda Długów and search the site by your name or PESEL number.

It is worth monitoring your dealings with the National Debt Register

Visiting National Register of Indebted Persons will help us find out if there are any restructuring or bankruptcy proceedings pending against us. Please note that a bankruptcy petition may also be filed by a creditor in addition to the debtor. Checking the KRZ will allow us to exercise our rights if our creditor files a bankruptcy petition against us.

How do I check the debt of another individual?

For the security of transactions between individuals, we may come to the conclusion that we should check the financial situation of our counterparty before acting. Unlike checking one's own debt, checking another person's can be more complicated and requires compliance with the law. This can be done after obtaining consent from that person in order to act transparently and within the limits of the law.

We can also - as in the case of checking one's debt - use the notice board of the National Register of Debtors. There we will find information on whether there are restructuring or bankruptcy proceedings against these persons. The relevant institutions can also provide us with the information we need if we demonstrate a relevant legal interest.

The most common case where people need to check the debt of another individual is when they rent a flat or other space. With the consent of potential tenants, we can check the financial credibility of prospective tenants through business information offices.

How to do it?

Before signing a contract, be it a flat lease or any other contract, it is worth checking our counterparty's financial credibility. We will do this in a few steps:

1. Drawing up a debt verification consent document and having it signed by the person concerned. Such a document should clearly state for what purpose it is issued and should include a directory of institutions/business offices that will provide information on the financial situation

• Submission of an application to the relevant institutions such as BIG or BIK together with a signed consent document

• Awaiting a response - institutions will review the application submitted and, if there are no deficiencies, provide debt information and credit reports.

Summary

Forgotten debts can pose a real threat to our financial situation. They can arise for a variety of reasons. We may forget to pay an instalment of some obligation or fall victim to financial fraud. Whatever the reason, it is worth checking databases on a regular basis to see if we have any outstanding debts that we did not know about or were not aware of. This will help us avoid unpleasant surprises in the form of bailiffs or debt collectors knocking on our door and help us protect our assets.

Daniel Anisimowicz

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