Guides 5 min read
Swiss franc loans: what does a claim cost?
Swiss franc loans: free check, 100% of lawyer’s fees covered whatever the loan, and €300 when the claim is opened, if it is accepted.
Hello Justice, editorial team Updated
Contents
Having a Swiss franc loan checked is free. If the claim is accepted, you pay €300 incl. VAT when it is opened. Hello Justice covers 100% of your lawyer’s fees, whatever the amount you borrowed, at first instance as on appeal. A success fee of 14% incl. VAT is only due if the claim succeeds.
Checking the claim.
Having your case checked is free, as are the eligibility test and the submission. The programme’s eligibility test starts with a few questions about your loan, and the documents can then be uploaded from your online space.
ACTIVE AVOCATS, a firm of the COGEP AVOCATS group, reads your loan offer and checks its dates. The review looks at the information given at signing: whether a term is unfair is assessed at the time the contract is concluded (article L. 212-1 of the French Consumer Code) Source [1]. If the review shows that your claim is not eligible, the lawyer ends the agreement, at no cost to anyone.
The €300 of procedural costs.
If your claim is accepted, you pay €300 incl. VAT when it is opened. This covers the court costs needed to sue your bank (stamp duty, judicial officer, local counsel).
The amount is the same for every accepted claim, and it is paid when the claim is opened. You have nothing else to pay for your lawyer, at first instance as on appeal: Hello Justice covers 100% of their fees.
Your lawyer’s fees.
Hello Justice has negotiated a preferential fixed fee with the programme’s partner firm, well below the usual fees of a specialist firm. This fee allows it to cover 100% of your lawyer’s fees, at first instance as on appeal, whatever the amount you borrowed.
| Item | For you |
|---|---|
| Checking your case | Free |
| Your lawyer’s fees at first instance | 100% covered by Hello Justice |
| Your lawyer’s fees on appeal and local counsel before the court of appeal | 100% covered by Hello Justice |
| Procedural costs, if your case is accepted | €300 incl. VAT, when the case is opened |
| Appeal duty, if there is an appeal | €225 |
| Success fee | 14% incl. VAT, only if the case succeeds |
The cover depends neither on the amount you borrowed nor on the number of your loans: it is the same for every claim in the programme. The programme page compares what remains yours to pay without and with Hello Justice.
The success fee.
A success fee of 14% incl. VAT is due if the case succeeds, and only then. It is charged on the sums recovered and on the saving obtained on the outstanding capital. The sums awarded under article 700 and the costs go to the lawyer. If the case fails, you repay nothing to Hello Justice.
If the claim succeeds, the funds are paid to you once the decision is final. The success fee is then taken from the lawyer’s CARPA account, the client‑money account supervised by the bar.
If there is an appeal.
If there is an appeal, Hello Justice also covers 100% of your lawyer’s fees, as well as local counsel before the court of appeal. Only the €225 appeal duty remains yours to pay.
The €225 appeal duty, owed by the parties to the appeal proceedings, is set by article 1635 bis P of the French General Tax Code Source [2]. In its version in force in October 2026, that text provides that the duty is collected until 31 December 2026 Source [2].
The cost of proceedings without funding.
Without funding, a law firm specialising in Swiss franc loans usually charges fees of around €10,000 at first instance and around €5,000 on appeal. These are orders of magnitude, as each lawyer sets their fees freely. The procedural costs come on top, at their actual amount, as do local counsel and the appeal duty if there is an appeal.
If the claim fails.
You repay nothing to Hello Justice: the fees it covered stay covered, and the success fee is only due if the case succeeds. What you paid is not returned to you: the €300 incl. VAT of procedural costs and, if there was an appeal, the €225 appeal duty. As in any lawsuit, the court may also order the losing party to pay the other side a procedural indemnity (article 700) and the costs of the proceedings.
The fee agreement and withdrawal.
The fee agreement is signed online by you, the lawyer and Hello Justice. You have the right of withdrawal under articles L. 221-18 et seq. of the French Consumer Code. That text gives consumers fourteen days to withdraw from a contract concluded at a distance Source [3].
If you take the claim away from the lawyer after the summons has been sent, the success fee remains due. Our guide to the stages of a claim places each moment of the claim.
Frequently asked questions.
Do I have to pay to have my loan checked?
No. Having your case checked is free, as are the eligibility test and the submission. The €300 incl. VAT is only paid when an accepted claim is opened.
Is the €300 incl. VAT due if my claim is not accepted?
No. It is only paid if your claim is accepted. If the review then shows that your claim is not eligible, the lawyer ends the agreement, at no cost to anyone.
Are the fees covered whatever my loan?
Yes. Hello Justice covers 100% of your lawyer’s fees, whatever the amount you borrowed, at first instance as on appeal. What remains yours to pay is the €300 incl. VAT of procedural costs, paid when your claim is opened, if it is accepted, and the €225 appeal duty if there is an appeal.
Who chooses the lawyer?
The choice of your lawyer is yours. ACTIVE AVOCATS conducts the programme’s proceedings, independently, and Hello Justice plays no part in running them.
Where can I read about the whole process?
Our guide to the borrower’s remedies covers the whole process, and our guide to estimating the gain from annulment what the calculation compares.
