PEPEX, the new ‘pre-executive extra-judicial procedure’ that enabled creditors to find out in advance whether debtors have assets, has been used to good effect by Portugal’s un-loved telecommunications companies.
Operational since November 2014, the extra-judicial procedure that allows creditors to know whether those who owe them money have assets to nab, and evaluate whether it is worth going to court, so far has kept 30,000 customers out of court as there have been no assets registered to seize and liquidate.
In a report in today's Jornal de Notícias, José Carlos Resende, the president of Portugal’s Chamber of Solicitors, says the new process is working well.
Resende also said that the largest customers of this simplified procedure are telcoms companies which have been benefiting from the accurate information provided about customers’ property and goods.
If there are no assets worth collecting, the companies have been avoiding the court process and writing off the sums involved, enabling them at least to get a VAT refund on the sums owed.
In the first six months of operation, Pepex already has been used to in assessing €33 million owed, in 93% of cases the amount of debt was less than €2,000.
