Shenzhen business owner recovers 8.6 million in unpaid货款, debtor stalls for two years, from filing lawsuit to receiving payment in only 4 months—lawyer reviews the entire process.

Old Zhou had been in the electronic components business in Huaqiangbei, Futian, Shenzhen for fifteen years, with clients spread across the Pearl River Delta. In the autumn of 2023, when he came to us, he was clutching a stack of account statements, his hands trembling—a assembly plant in Dongguan owed him 8.6 million yuan in payments, already delayed for a full two years. Every time the other party's boss called, he'd say "I'll pay next week," but when next week came, it was "cash flow issues." Old Zhou had thought about suing, but whenever he heard people say "a lawsuit takes at least a year or two, and enforcement depends on luck," he hesitated. Of that 8.6 million, over 4 million was money he'd borrowed from the bank himself, with interest accruing daily.

The conflict escalated after the Spring Festival in 2024. Old Zhou personally made a trip to Dongguan, where the other party's boss assured him face-to-face that 3 million yuan would be paid by the end of March. But by April, not a single cent had arrived. What's more infuriating was that Old Zhou learned through a friend that the other company was quietly changing its legal representative, and the two factory buildings under its name were also being processed for mortgage registration. This was clearly preparation for transferring assets. Old Zhou panicked and rushed overnight from Longhua to our office. His first words upon entering were: "Lawyer Shen, is it still too late to sue now? Will I win the case but end up unable to collect the money?"
After reviewing the materials, we found that the supply contract signed by both parties is actually quite clear—payment terms are net 60 days, with liquidated damages calculated at 0.05% per day for overdue payments. However, the issue is that over the past two years, Lao Zhou never sent a formal demand letter, and the WeChat chat records where the other party acknowledged the debt were not notarized. If we file a lawsuit directly, the burden of proof alone would require considerable effort. After Director Shen Jinlong took over the case, the strategy he set was "freeze first, negotiate second, and judgment last." Lao Zhou was a bit confused when he heard the word "freeze," so Director Shen explained: the right to suspend performance under Article 527 of the Civil Code, combined with the behavioral preservation system under Article 100 of the Civil Procedure Law, can completely catch the other party off guard.
In mid-April 2024, we applied for pre-litigation property preservation with the Shenzhen Intermediate Court. Lao Zhou provided a lead on the counterparty's corporate account at a bank in Dongguan, and the court froze the remaining 1.2 million yuan in the account that very day. Though the amount wasn't large, its impact was significant—when the counterparty's suppliers saw the account frozen, they flooded in with calls demanding payment, instantly tightening the company's cash flow. The counterparty's boss panicked and proactively called to seek a settlement, offering to pay 5 million upfront with the rest in installments. At this point, Lao Zhou remained calm and asked us, "Can we trust their installment plan?" Director Shen made a remark that left a lasting impression on Lao Zhou: "The ball is in our court now. Installments are negotiable, but they must provide a guarantee."
The negotiations dragged on for two weeks, but the other party refused to provide joint liability guarantees. Director Shen made a decisive call, halted the negotiations, and moved directly into litigation. We formally filed the case at the end of April and simultaneously applied for online asset investigation, thoroughly checking all bank accounts, real estate, and vehicle information under the other company's name. It turned out they had three additional accounts with a combined balance of over 2 million yuan. Once the court froze them, the other party's funds were completely cut off. At that point, they could no longer sit still and proactively proposed a full settlement in mid-May, also agreeing to cover the litigation costs and attorney fees.
From filing the case to full execution, it took only four months in total—the case was filed in April 2024, and by early August, the full 8.6 million yuan in payment plus over 600,000 yuan in penalty had been received. Old Zhou later treated us to a meal, and during the dinner, he asked, "What would have happened if we had delayed the lawsuit by a few more months?" Director Shen didn't answer directly but countered, "Do you know that the other party's two factory buildings had already been transferred to a third party by the end of May?" Old Zhou broke out in a cold sweat down his back after hearing that.
This case is actually quite typical. Many business owners in Shenzhen, when faced with debt disputes, instinctively think, "Let's wait a bit longer—maybe the other party will pay up." But in the game of business, time is never on the creditor's side. Based on our statistics, for civil and commercial cases in Shenzhen courts, the average timeline from case filing to first-instance judgment is roughly 6 to 12 months, and for cases involving claims exceeding 10 million yuan, the trial period tends to be even longer. But there's a catch—you have to initiate the process first. If asset preservation is handled well, the case might not even reach the judgment stage; the other party may proactively settle instead.
Question: If the other company has no money, is it still meaningful to sue?
Answer: Sometimes having no money in the account doesn't mean there's really no money. We handled a case where the other party had only 30,000 yuan left in their account, but through investigation and control measures, we discovered that his wife owned a property in Nanshan, Shenzhen, purchased after marriage, which qualified as marital joint property and could be subject to enforcement. The key is to thoroughly investigate the property clues before filing the lawsuit, or apply to the court for online investigation and control.
If you're facing similar issues with overdue payments or contract breaches, don't delay. In Mr. Zhou's case, it took only about four months from start to finish. But if he had waited another six months to file the lawsuit, that 8.6 million would most likely have been lost for good. Leave professional matters to the professionals. If you need help, you can come directly to Room 1802, Building A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District, Shenzhen, or call 0755-25986969 to talk to a lawyer and sort out your thoughts before deciding on the next step.