An Enforcement File Was Opened. What Should I Do?

In short

A file appearing on UYAP or on e-Devlet does not mean that the service was completed or that the attachment started. First the party capacity, the route of the proceeding, the list of papers, and the balance are read. The moment the payment order reached your hand is in the article the payment order arrived. If you are the creditor, the other face is under the heading my claim is not being paid.

A first practical order

1. Learn the kind of the file and the underlying document.
2. If there is no service, do not assume an attachment. If there is service, do not miss the period.
3. If you are the creditor, read the other face of this article on the page my creditor is not paying.

If you saw a new enforcement file in your name on the e-Devlet or UYAP screen, first check your party capacity: are you recorded as debtor, creditor, surety, third person, or representative? Then download the file number, the kind of the proceeding, the principal amount, and the last paper. The result that an attachment was made at once, or that the debt became final, does not come out of the information "a file was opened".

An enforcement file is a record of a process. The stages of opening, the payment order, service, objection, becoming final, attachment, sale, and closing can appear on the same screen on different dates. For the correct reaction, which stage the file is at should be understood. This article is for general information. An exact view about the concrete file cannot be given without the route of the proceeding and the papers being seen.

Read the basic information on the file screen

When you open an enforcement file for the first time, you may see a large number of technical fields. The following information has priority:

• The enforcement office and the principal number
• The information of the creditor, the debtor, and the surety if there is one
• The route of the proceeding and the underlying document
• The items of principal, interest, and expense
• The date the payment or enforcement order was drawn up
• The service address, the date of service, and the person who received it
• The papers of objection, of becoming final, of attachment, and of collection
• The current file balance and the date of the last act

Looking only at the phrase "file status: open" is not enough. A file that stopped because of an objection may also appear open for years. Even if the creditor has not carried out a new act, the file may not have closed technically. Against this, in a provisional attachment or in enforcement upon a judgment, there may be important acts at an early stage.

Why does the party capacity matter?

You may not necessarily be the debtor in a file that appears in your name. You may have been recorded as an officer of a company, an heir, a surety, a third person, or the addressee of an attachment notice. The rights and the obligations change according to the capacity. For example, a company debt is not in every situation the personal debt of the company officer. The surety's responsibility is also subject to the limits of the contract.

If the identity number, the title, and the address information are wrong, the possibility of a similarity of names or of a record error should be researched. If this kind of error is not corrected early, a broader problem can arise in correspondence with the bank and with the employer.

Classify the kind of the proceeding correctly

In enforcement files, the route of application changes according to the kind of the proceeding. The main separations are these:

• Enforcement without a judgment by the route of general attachment
• A proceeding based on a court decision, or on a document that has the character of a judgment
• The route of attachment peculiar to negotiable instruments
• A special proceeding relating to leased immovables
• The route of conversion of a pledge into money
• Special acts based on a judgment, such as a maintenance or a delivery obligation

In enforcement without a judgment by the route of general attachment, the creditor can open the file without presenting a court decision in advance. The possibility of objection is granted to the debtor with the payment order. In enforcement upon a judgment, there is a court decision or a document that has the character of a judgment, and the logic of "an objection to the debt" works more differently. In negotiable-instrument proceedings, the period and the competent authority are subject to special rules.

For this reason, a single-type petition taken from the internet should not be used before the difference between enforcement upon a judgment and without a judgment is understood.

The check of service and of the period

The date the file was opened and the date of service on the debtor are not the same. Many application periods start with a service in accordance with the procedure. The service may not yet have been made, it may have been returned, it may have been sent to the electronic-service account, or it may have been completed by a different procedure over the address-registration system.

The documents that should be checked:

• The service envelope, or the electronic-service record
• The service certificate
• The address query and the reasons for return
• The capacity of the person who received the paper
• A bank or employer notification that shows the date of learning in fact

Seeing the file on UYAP does not, in every situation, give rise of itself to all the results of an official service. It can gain importance in the assessment of learning in fact and of good faith. For this reason, examining the papers is safer than staying passive by saying "I will wait for the service".

If there is a claim of irregular service, the date of learning and the time of the application become critical. Rather than saying "I did not know" months later, a record should be taken on the day the file was seen, and the suitable route should be researched.

Does the debt really belong to you?

The source of the claim written in the proceeding should be checked. There may be different bases, such as a loan, an invoice, rent, an instrument, a contract, a court decision, or a tort. The following questions are useful:

• Do you have a legal relationship with this person or company?
• Does the signature on the underlying document belong to you?
• Was the debt paid earlier, wholly or in part?
• Are the period and the amount that were requested correct?
• From which date, and at which rate, was the interest calculated?
• Is the same claim being proceeded for in another file?

The payment slips, the contracts, the invoices, and the correspondence should be placed in date order. If a part of the debt is accepted and a part is refused, the scope of the objection should be written openly. The proceeding may continue as regards the part that was accepted.

Which stage is the file at?

It is possible to read the enforcement process like a road map:

Opening, and the payment order

The creditor submits the request for the proceeding. The enforcement office draws up the suitable payment or enforcement order. At this stage the file has been opened. The service and the becoming final may not yet have been completed.

Service and objection

The debtor uses the right of payment or of objection according to the kind of the proceeding. In enforcement without a judgment by the route of general attachment, an objection within the period can stop the proceeding. For the detailed procedure, the article an objection to the enforcement proceeding can be examined.

Becoming final, and attachment

If no objection is made, or if the objection is lifted, the creditor may ask for attachment. A bank account, a wage, a vehicle, an immovable, and claims that are with third persons can be targeted. The heading how does attachment happen? explains this stage in more detail.

Sale and collection

For the attached goods, a sale can be asked for within the frame of the statutory conditions. The sale price enters the file and is distributed according to the order, the expense, and the account of the claim.

Closing

When the debt and the accessories are paid entirely, when the creditor waives the proceeding, or when the proceeding ends in law, the file can be closed. The lifting of the attachment and register records is followed separately.

If you accept the debt

If you want to close the file, do not make a payment directly of the first amount on the payment order. Take the current cover account. Interest, fees, service and attachment expenses, and the attorney fee may have changed the balance.

Safe payment steps:

• Ask the date of the current balance and its period of validity.
• Confirm the official file-payment channel.
• Write the file number and the debtor information on the slip.
• If it is a partial payment, learn the manner of appropriation.
• Afterwards, check that the file balance was reduced to zero.
• For open attachments, confirm that a lifting writing was sent to the relevant bank, employer, or register.

If a restructuring is to be made with the creditor, the payment calendar, the interest, the expense, and the state of the attachments should be put in writing. An instalment agreement does not lift the file or the attachments automatically.

If you have an objection to the debt

The period, the authority, and the effect of the objection change according to the kind of the proceeding. In enforcement without a judgment by the route of general attachment, objections relating to the debt, the signature, and jurisdiction may come onto the agenda. In a negotiable-instrument or a judgment-based proceeding, there are different routes of complaint and of objection.

In the application, showing a concrete reason is useful, rather than only saying "I have no debt":

• A slip showing that a payment was made
• An objection relating to whom the signature belongs to
• The claim that the claim is not yet due
• A wrong interest or a wrong calculation
• An enforcement office without jurisdiction
• The same debt having been put into a proceeding earlier
• Irregularity of service

It should be confirmed that the application was recorded on the file and received a document number. Calling the creditor by telephone, objecting to the bank, or taking a screenshot of the UYAP screen does not take the place of an official objection.

How is the file amount read?

The total in an enforcement file is generally not a single item. There may be the principal, interest that has accrued, interest after the proceeding, the attorney fee, application and collection fees, service expenses, and attachment expenses. The legal basis and the calculation of each item are checked separately.

The following mistakes in particular may be met:

• A payment made earlier not being deducted
• Interest being started from the wrong date
• An interest rate contrary to the contract
• The same expense being added twice
• The balance account not being updated after a partial payment

The first amount on the cover of the file and the current cover account should be compared. It should not be assumed that every item became final and is not in dispute because the creditor's request was written to the enforcement office.

Duplicate files, or files you do not recognise

Two files appearing from the same creditor does not always mean a duplicate proceeding. There may be different invoices, instalments, instruments, or debtors. In the examination of duplication, the underlying document, the period, the principal, and the parties are brought side by side.

In a file you do not recognise at all, whether the identity information is correct, and the signature and communication records, should be examined. If there is a suspicion of misuse of identity, not only the enforcement objection, but also the dimension of forgery and of personal data, may come onto the agenda. The official application should be planned without the evidence being deleted.

Access to the file, and the acts, in Ankara

Even if you live in Ankara, the file may have been opened in another city. The place of the application is determined over the file number, the office, and the route of the proceeding. If there is an objection to jurisdiction, elements such as the contract, the place of performance, and whether the parties are merchants are examined.

The workload of the enforcement offices in Ankara may affect the calendar of service or of correspondence. It does not change the statutory periods. If a physical act is needed, the current office address and the method of accepting papers should be confirmed. Even if a document was uploaded from UYAP, it should be checked that the record on the file took place.

Frequent mistakes

The main conducts that persons who see a new file should avoid are these:

• Taking the phrase "an open file" for an attachment that has become final
• Calculating the period without examining the service papers
• Giving a standard petition without knowing the kind of the proceeding
• Sending a payment without taking the current balance
• Not following the closing and the lifting acts after the payment
• Counting every file belonging to the same creditor as a duplicate
• Paying money to the IBAN in an SMS without verifying the official file

The key to managing an enforcement file is to place the papers in date order and to keep the current file summary after every act. For the general legal frame, the page enforcement and bankruptcy law can be examined.

A last assessment

The opening of an enforcement file does not, on its own, mean that the debt became final, that the attachment started, or that all the objections ended. The party capacity, the route of the proceeding, the service, the file balance, and the last act should be read together. If the debt is accepted, a safe payment and a closing are planned. If there is a dispute, the defence is planned over the correct period and the correct authority.

This content carries the purpose of general information. Each enforcement file proceeds differently according to the underlying document, the kind of the proceeding, and the history of the acts. The current legislation and the concrete papers should be assessed together.

Where the file screen is read from

This article separates the open-file record from the service annotation. This article does not write the day of service. An Ankara lawyer reads from the file number that the office being in Çankaya does not choose the competent enforcement office. This article does not treat the attachment annotation as the same as the opening record.

Conclusion

The file screen is a list of papers. The phrase "open" is not permission for an attachment. The period is not calculated without the capacity, the route of the proceeding, and the service record standing side by side. If the service arrived, it is in the payment order. The procedure of the objection is in the article an objection to the enforcement proceeding. There is no day or amount from memory.