How do I write off a lawsuit?

How do I write off a lawsuit?

"Three years ago, I was served with a summons to pay, to which I lodged an objection. No action was taken on this objection by the creditor, and despite this, the debt is still on the register of the Debt Collection Office.

Is it possible to have it struck off?

In matters of debt collection and bankruptcy, the offices draw up minutes of their operations, as well as of the requisitions and declarations they receive; they keep registers which are public.

Any person may consult them and have extracts issued, provided that they can demonstrate a plausible interest, which is particularly the case when the request for an extract is directly linked to the conclusion or settlement of a contract. However, the Office may not inform third parties of invalid debt collection proceedings, proceedings that have been cancelled following a complaint or a court ruling, proceedings for which the debtor has won an action for recovery of undue payments, or proceedings that have been withdrawn by the creditor.

When a request for proceedings is sent to the competent office, it is registered and becomes public for a period of five years. If the debtor lodges an opposition to the summons to pay served on him, it is up to the creditor to have it lifted by legal proceedings for acknowledgement of debt or discharge. Sometimes, however, the creditor abandons the claim after the objection has been lodged, but the claim remains registered even if it lapses after a year's inaction, which can damage the debtor's reputation. This is an undesirable effect of the Swiss debt collection system, which is designed to be simple and fast. It is a well-known fact that debt-collection agencies or employers often ask for an extract from the debt-collection register to verify the solvency of an applicant, and a debt-collection action, even one that is paralysed because the creditor has not acted on it, rarely makes a good impression. The debtor concerned can therefore bring an action before the Court to establish that the debt does not exist, asking the judge to have it removed from the Debt Collection Office's records.

However, this procedure can be complicated and costly, so the best way to remove such an entry from the public registers immediately is to reach an agreement with the creditor, who can then send the debt-collection office a counter-order to have the debt removed altogether.