A Polish contractor has not paid you?

You delivered building materials, rented out equipment or completed subcontracted works for a Polish construction company — and the invoice sits unpaid while the debtor keeps winning new projects. Construction is a payment-discipline problem industry in Poland: long chains of subcontractors, retentions used as an excuse, and contractors who pay whoever presses hardest. That is exactly the environment where local, visible pressure decides who gets paid first.

Public exposure hurts a contractor

Polish contractors bid for projects and rely on their reputation with investors and general contractors. A listing in a public debt registry, indexed by Google, appears exactly when a new client checks them — a strong incentive to settle.

Credit and bonding pressure

Construction companies depend on bank credit lines, leasing for machinery and insurance bonds. A BIG InfoMonitor entry is visible to all of them and is removed only after payment.

Retentions and set-offs are checked, not assumed

Debtors in construction often claim set-offs for alleged defects. We review the documents first; the undisputed part of the claim proceeds without waiting for the dispute to resolve.

How the recovery works

Four stages, the first costs nothing: (1) you submit the claim online; (2) we send registered demands from Poland, in Polish, with Polish legal consequences attached; (3) the debt is listed in our national public registry and reported to the BIG InfoMonitor credit bureau; (4) if needed — and only on your decision — the Polish e-court payment order and bailiff enforcement. Details on the how it works page; fee brackets in the pricing table.

Frequently asked — a polish contractor has not paid you

The debtor says the investor has not paid them. Does that excuse them?

No. In Polish law your contract is with your customer — their cash-flow problems upstream do not suspend their obligation to pay you. It is, however, a signal to act before other creditors do.

Part of my invoice is held as a retention (kaucja). Can you recover the rest?

Yes. The due, unretained part is recovered normally. Retention terms are reviewed separately — many "retentions" in Polish practice turn out to be contractually due for release.

The works were accepted without objections. Does that help?

Very much. A signed acceptance protocol (protokół odbioru) is decisive evidence in Polish proceedings and usually removes any defect-based defence for the accepted scope.

How long do I have to act?

Standard B2B claims in Poland are time-barred after 3 years, but construction chains deteriorate quickly — insolvencies cluster in this industry. Earlier action means recovering before the queue forms.