Money & Debt: templates and forms

A written cancellation, sent to a bank in Cyprus, of a standing order or a direct debit from your account. It names the account, the payee and the mandate or reference number, asks that nothing be debited from the date you set and that the cancellation be confirmed in writing, and is copied to the payee, because a direct debit mandate is cancelled with the payee too. An authorised direct debit can be refunded if asked within 8 weeks, and an unauthorised one within 13 months.

The request by which an account holder in Romania stops a direct debit or a standing order: the payee, the mandate reference and the date the cancellation takes effect. Under Law no. 209/2019 a direct debit can be revoked until the end of the business day before the debit. The contract with the supplier, though, stays in force and is ended separately.

Your instruction to your own bank in Austria about a direct debit or a standing order: have a SEPA direct debit refunded, dispute a debit taken without a valid mandate, stop an announced debit, bar a payee's future debits or delete a standing order (Dauerauftrag). An authorised SEPA direct debit is refunded within eight weeks with no reason needed (§§ 70, 71 of the Austrian Payment Services Act, ZaDiG 2018), an unauthorised one within 13 months (§ 65 ZaDiG 2018). With payee, mandate reference, amount and date. In German.

A letter to the payee — a gym, insurer, club, mail-order shop or debt collector in Germany — revoking your SEPA direct debit mandate (formerly Einzugsermächtigung). It gives the mandate reference, the creditor identifier and your IBAN, forbids further debits from receipt, and says how payment continues: you will pay by transfer, the contract has ended, or you will pay from another account. Revoking the mandate ends neither the contract nor what you owe. If a debit still arrives, your bank refunds a SEPA core direct debit within eight weeks, no reason needed (§ 675x of the German Civil Code, BGB). In German.

For someone with an account in Spain who wants a company or a person to stop taking payments from it. Two letters: to the bank, revoking that creditor's direct debit mandate (SEPA mandate) so that no further debits are paid; and to the creditor, telling them so and saying how payment will be made from now on, or why the charges are disputed. The revocation applies to debits due after the business day on which the bank receives it (article 52 of Spain's Royal Decree-Law 19/2018). Send them by burofax, by hand against a signed copy or by registered post. In Spanish.

A written request from the account holder to a bank in Cyprus to end the account agreement and close a bank account. It gives the account's IBAN, the closing date and the account the balance goes to, and asks the bank to cancel the cards and end standing orders and direct debits, refund prepaid fees pro rata and confirm the closure in writing. The Payment Services Directive, in force in Cyprus through Law 31(I)/2018, lets a consumer end the agreement at any time, with at most one month's notice.

A letter to your German bank or Sparkasse to refund a direct debit, stop a debit that has been announced, refuse a payee's future debits, or cancel a standing order. A SEPA core direct debit can be reclaimed within eight weeks of the debit with no reason given (§ 675x of the German Civil Code, BGB), and a debit taken without a valid mandate up to 13 months later (§§ 675u, 676b BGB). A standing order or an announced debit can be revoked until the end of the business day before it is carried out (§ 675p BGB). With the payee, mandate reference, amount and date. In German.

Notice ending a personal account agreement with a Polish bank or other payment provider: the account number and contract date, termination of the linked card and service agreements too, the account for the remaining balance, and a request to confirm closure. It relies on the Payment Services Act: notice cannot exceed one month, and closing is free unless it happens within the first 6 months.

For the holder of an account with a bank in Spain who wants to close it and not be kept waiting. The letter asks for the account to be closed and the contract ended, the balance transferred to another account, the cards cancelled, new direct debits refused and written confirmation with the final statement. It points out that the holder may close at any time, that the bank must do so within 24 hours, and that it is free if the account is open-ended or over six months old (article 32 of Spain's Royal Decree-Law 19/2018). Hand it in at the branch against a stamped copy, or send it by burofax. In Spanish.

An instruction to a Polish bank cancelling a standing order or withdrawing consent to direct debits for a named payee — a telecoms firm, an electricity supplier, a club or a former landlord — with the account number, the payee's details and payment reference, and if needed a request to refund the last debit within 8 weeks. It reminds the reader that cancellation must arrive by the business day before the debit at the latest.

The letter by which an account holder in Greece closes the account and ends the framework agreement with the bank: the account, the closing date, the account to receive the balance, cancelling cards, standing orders and direct debits, a pro-rata refund of fees paid in advance, and written confirmation. It rests on Law 4537/2018, which transposed the EU Payment Services Directive; the letter asks for closing on the date chosen or when the notice period in the contract ends, if that is later.

A letter to your bank in Austria closing your current account (Girokonto), whether you are leaving altogether or moving to a new bank through the account-switching service. It gives the IBAN, the account holder and date of birth, the closing date and the account for the remaining balance, ends the cards, overdraft and online banking linked to the account, and asks for written confirmation. Under the Austrian Payment Services Act (§ 51 ZaDiG 2018) you may terminate at any time, on at most one month's notice, and free of charge for an open-ended account. A choice covers switching under §§ 14 ff VZKG. In German.

Many banks let you revoke a direct debit free of charge in online banking or at the branch. This document, in Italian under Italian law, is for doing it in writing, with proof: it holds two letters to send on the same day, one to the creditor revoking the SEPA mandate and one to your bank asking it to stop executing that creditor's debits (legislative decree no. 11/2010). Revocation does not cancel sums owed: the letter asks how to pay them another way.

For stopping a creditor's direct debits from your account in France: a subscription, a supplier, a lender. The document, in French under French law, holds two letters to send the same day: the revocation of the SEPA mandate, to the creditor, and the opposition, to your bank, which then refuses every debit from that creditor (article L. 133-7 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). A debit presented afterwards is no longer authorised and is refunded. Revoking the mandate does not end the contract.

A letter to a German bank or savings bank (Sparkasse) closing your current account (Girokonto), whether you are leaving altogether or switching to a new bank. It gives the IBAN, the account holder and date of birth, the closing date you want and the account for the remaining balance, ends the linked cards, overdraft and online banking, and asks for written confirmation. Under § 675h of the German Civil Code (BGB) you may close the account at any time without notice, unless a notice period of at most one month was agreed, and closing is free. A choice covers switching through the statutory switching service (§§ 20 ff. ZKG). In German.

The letter by which an account holder in Greece stops a standing order or a direct debit: the account, the payee, the mandate reference and the date the revocation takes effect. Under Law 4537/2018 a payment made after consent is withdrawn is unauthorised, and the bank refunds it. The letter works even if it arrives too late for the next debit: it then counts for all later ones. The contract with the supplier is not ended by it.

If you open an account with another bank in Italy, the new bank offers a free switching service that moves transfers and direct debits and closes the old account if you ask. This letter, in Italian under Italian law, is for closing the account only: it gives notice of withdrawal without penalty or charges (article 120-bis of the Italian Consolidated Banking Act), asks for linked cards and services to be closed, the balance transferred and a closing statement sent. Send it by registered post, by PEC or hand it in at the branch.

A Polish settlement that ends a dispute without going to court — over a payment, damage, a tenancy account or a service: the parties with PESEL numbers, the dispute, what each side concedes, the amount, deadline and account for payment, and a statement that performing the settlement exhausts the claims concerned (art. 917 of the Civil Code). It explains that such a settlement is not enforceable on its own, and how to make it so if the other side fails to perform.

For a creditor and a debtor in Italy who agree to settle a debt in instalments: a private loan, a fee, rent arrears. The contract, in Italian under Italian law, acknowledges the amount owed and where it comes from (article 1988 of the Italian Civil Code), sets the number and amount of the instalments, any interest rate, the creditor's undertaking not to act while the plan is kept and what follows missed instalments. Both sign two copies. It is not for debts to the Agenzia delle Entrate-Riscossione.

The request by which an account holder in Romania closes a current account and ends the framework agreement with the bank: the account, the closing date, the cards attached, the account to receive the balance, and the cancellation of standing orders and direct debits. The agreement can be ended at any time with at most 30 days' notice, and closing is free at the latest once the account is 6 months old (Law no. 209/2019).

For closing a current account or a savings account at a French bank. If you are moving to another bank, its free account-switching service (aide à la mobilité bancaire) can do it for you. Otherwise this letter, in French under French law, asks for the account to be closed and the card, chequebook and overdraft ended, the balance transferred to the account you choose and a closing statement sent. Closing is free (article L. 312-1-7 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). Send it by registered post or hand it in at the branch.

For someone in Spain who owes money to a bank, a lender, a utility or a debt collector and wants to offer a smaller lump sum (quita) or instalments (espera) to close the debt. The letter states the amount claimed and the amount offered, the schedule, and makes everything subject to written acceptance stating that, once paid, the debt is settled, with a receipt in full and removal from bad-debtor files. Nothing is paid before that acceptance. Send it by burofax or through the creditor's written channel. In Spanish.

For a creditor in Spain who has been paid a debt (a loan, an acknowledgement, a payment agreement) and for the debtor who needs proof. With the creditor's signature, it states that the amount, in words and figures, was received as full payment or as the last instalment, and that the debt is settled with its interest and costs, with nothing more to claim (articles 1110 and 1156 of the Spanish Civil Code). It can list the documents returned and the undertaking to have bad-debtor file entries removed. The signed receipt is handed to the debtor. In Spanish.

Your application to the enforcement court in Austria when your bank account has been garnished and your wages, salary, pension or other income that is only partly garnishable is paid into it. Austria has no special protected account: on your application the district court lifts the garnishment under § 292i EO as far as the balance matches the protected part of your income until the next pay date, and if asked, in advance for what you urgently need. With the case number, bank, IBAN, income and pay dates. By post, in person or through JustizOnline — not by e-mail; you can also apply orally at the court. In German.