Formal demand to perform and notice of default to a trader (Italy)
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This document is in Italian
The PDF you download is in Italian — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For a consumer in Italy who paid a trader – a shop, a tradesman, a service company – and did not get what was agreed, or was charged sums not owed: you formally call on the trader in writing to perform within at least 15 days, put it in default (Article 1219 of the Italian Civil Code) and interrupt limitation (Article 2943). You choose whether, once the deadline passes, the contract ends by law (Article 1454) or you will sue for performance. Energy, phone, bank and insurance disputes also have a free sector route. Send this Italian letter by registered post with proof of receipt or by PEC to the trader’s certified address.
- Made for use in Italy
- Last updated October 14, 2026
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When to use this document
- You paid a deposit to a tradesman in Italy and the work was never finished.
- A service company keeps charging you for something you never ordered.
- The shop has been promising a refund for months and it never comes.
- You want to send the trader a formal demand with a final deadline before taking other steps.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Customer
- Customer's address
- Sender's codice fiscale (Italian tax code)
- How the letter is sent (printed above the recipient)
- Trader
- Trader's postal address (street and number; postcode, town and province)
- City
- Date
- Contract, order or invoice the demand is about
- Description of the breach
- Days given to comply (at least 15)
- What you ask of the trader (performance, refund, amount)
- What follows if the deadline passes
Common questions
- What does a formal demand to perform sent to a trader achieve in Italy?
- The written demand puts the trader in default (Article 1219 of the Italian Civil Code), so it also answers for the damage caused by delay, and it interrupts limitation (Article 2943). If you choose the Article 1454 wording and allow at least fifteen days, the contract ends by law when the deadline passes without performance, and you can ask for what you paid back and for damages. If you still want the service or goods, choose the other wording: the contract stays alive and you can sue for performance.
- If the trader does not respond to the demand, what comes next in Italy?
- For contracts between a consumer and a trader, assisted negotiation (negoziazione assistita) is not compulsory (Article 3 of Italian decree-law no. 132 of 12 September 2014). Regulated sectors have a free route first: ConciliaWeb for phone and internet, the ARERA conciliation service for electricity and gas, the Arbitro Bancario Finanziario for banks, the Arbitro Assicurativo for insurance. For a trader based in another EU country, the European Consumer Centre Italy helps. Some contracts, such as a contract for work by a self-employed tradesman (contratto d’opera), first require an attempt at mediation (Article 5 of Italian Legislative Decree 28/2010); otherwise a court claim remains.
- Can I report an unfair commercial practice to the Italian competition authority, and will it get my money back?
- You can report it free of charge to the Italian competition and market authority (AGCM), with the online form on its website or by PEC, without needing anyone’s help. The AGCM can ban the practice and fine the trader, but it does not decide an individual consumer’s dispute and does not order refunds: to get your money back you need this demand and, if that fails, the sector routes or the court. Italian consumer associations offer help and free models for both.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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