Brazen demand Bernese landlord receives debt enforcement - 18 years after restaurant closure

Martin Hubler is supposed to pay 500 francs for the use of music in a restaurant that he has not run since 2006. The origin is an old entry in the commercial register.

In May, Martin Hubler received a payment request for CHF 500 from Suisa. This demanded fees for the use of background music in a restaurant in 2024. Curious: Hubler gave up the restaurant in question 18 years ago, as reported by the Beobachter.

Suisa is responsible for distributing copyright royalties to composers and publishers and works according to a reporting principle in which public music users such as restaurants are obliged to report their music use themselves.

As many do not comply with this obligation, Suisa buys addresses of potential music users and sends out targeted mailings. According to the report, this practice led to Hubler and his former restaurant Brunnenhof in Köniz BE also appearing in the address lists. Although the restaurant has no longer been run by him since 2006, it was still actively listed in the commercial register.

Debt collection agency takes over case

Hubler explained to the "Beobachter" that he had never received an invoice or reminder, as these were presumably sent to the restaurant's address. It was only the payment order sent to his home address that drew his attention to the claim.

Suisa, on the other hand, emphasized that it had handed over the claim to a debt collection agency after receiving no response and unanswered reminders. At that time, they were not aware that the company had ceased trading.

The debt collection agency EOS Schweiz AG, which was entrusted with the claim, stated that no amicable solution could be found and the matter was returned to Suisa. Suisa has since removed Hubler from its system to avoid future misunderstandings.