Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice from people familiar with the Swiss Betreibung process. Last year, I moved from Switzerland to Luxembourg. Before leaving, I sold some furniture (CHF 820) to the people taking over my apartment. We had a written agreement on WhatsApp, and the buyer repeatedly acknowledged the debt and promised to pay “next month”, but after almost a year of excuses and eventually ignoring me, I started a Betreibung in Basel-Stadt. The move was done in a rush, but i shouldn’t have accepted the payment to be done “later”. But the circumstances were a bit hard. Timeline: Registered letter sent before filing the Betreibung. Swiss Post attempted delivery, left a pickup notice, but it was never collected. Betreibungsbegehren filed via EasyGov. Advance fee paid on 23 February 2026 . Around mid-March, the Betreibungsamt told me the Zahlungsbefehl was still being delivered (“befindet sich noch in der Zustellung”). Later they explained there were Betreibungsferien over Easter and also mentioned that delivery can take up to 4 months . I also contacted the former property management to check whether the debtor was still living there, but they refused to provide any information due to privacy laws. Today , I still haven’t received: a copy of the Zahlungsbefehl, confirmation that it was delivered, notice of a Rechtsvorschlag, or any other update. My questions are: Is it really normal for a Zahlungsbefehl to remain “in delivery” for this long? If the debtor still lives at the address but simply avoids accepting delivery, at what point is it considered legally served? If the debtor has moved without my knowledge, would the Betreibungsamt normally inform me that delivery failed? Has anyone experienced a delivery taking this long in Basel-Stadt? I just want to understand whether this timeline is still considered normal or whether I should actively follow up again. Thanks in advance! submitted by /u/SeySey91
Originally posted by u/SeySey91 on r/Switzerland