Laws and regulations you need to be aware of

Section 9 of the Debt Collection Act states that debt collection companies must practice good debt collection ethics. This means that we must treat you respectfully and professionally and must not use methods such as: coercion, threats, etc.

At Collectia, we make a virtue of meeting you at eye level, and to remain neutral in all cases. As a starting point, we assume that the non-payment is an oversight, and that a bad payer does not equal a bad customer. We do our utmost to find a solution together that suits you and your situation.

Yes, according to section 3 of the Executive Order on extrajudicial recovery costs, you must be notified before your case is transferred to debt collection. The notice must appear on the last reminder letter sent to you.

The notice must clearly state that if we do not receive payment within 10 days from today's date, the matter will be referred to debt collection and may result in additional recovery costs for which you will be liable.

You are entitled to a minimum payment deadline of 10 days from the date of the notification.

If you still do not pay your debt and the case is transferred to debt collection, an additional notice must be sent to you in accordance with Section 10 of the Debt Collection Act. This notice is often called a debt collection letter. The notice is often subject to collection costs, as notified in the debt collection notice.

For a debt collection notice to be valid, it must contain all the information necessary to assess the case. This means that you must be informed of the nature of the claim, which is often sufficient to provide one or more invoices, including the invoice number. It should clearly state the amount claimed and that failure to pay on time may result in additional recovery costs being imposed.

You are entitled to a minimum of 10 days from the date the debt collection notice is sent to pay your debt.

The Debt Collection Order sets out the statutory costs that you can be charged for debt collection.

There is a difference between whether the people you owe money to run the case themselves through self-collection or whether they choose to use a debt collection agency or lawyer, also known as third-party debt collection.

The cost depends on the value of the principal.

Unless otherwise agreed, the general rule is that interest is charged 30 days after the date of the invoice and only up to 3 years. If the payment period is fixed in advance at more than 30 days, you may not be required to pay interest before this payment period has expired.

If you do not pay on time, you may be charged interest for the time you continue to fail to pay your debt. This interest is called interest on arrears. The interest rate is based on the National Bank's lending rate plus a surcharge of around 8%.

Other interest rates

There are several types of interest rates, depending on your type of case. Often the type of interest rate is agreed in advance with the company with which you have concluded an agreement or credit relationship.

The creditor is not obliged to send reminders with a reminder fee, but may require you to pay a reminder fee of up to a maximum of €100 per letter. A maximum of three reminder fees can be charged for the same case.

Compensation fee

If you are a trader and your company receives a reminder, you may be charged a compensation fee of €310 per invoice.

A collection fee of DKK 100 may be imposed on the transfer to debt collection, which you must pay.

On invoices, the limitation period is generally 3 years. If a due date has been agreed in the terms and conditions, it is generally 3 years from the date of payment. In the case of damage claims, it is from the date of the damage.

If the amount is legally determined or if you have signed a declaration of debt or a promissory note, the limitation period is 10 years.

If your case goes to court, the costs depend on whether you are going to the enforcement court or the civil court, as well as the value of the case.

If your case is sent to the bailiff or civil court, the costs will be charged to you, the person who owes the money.

Have you received reminders for bills that you have not paid or responded to? then it may be that you have a payment remark, ie. is registered as a bad payer. A payment remark is registered in RKI or other similar debt registers, such as Collectia's own Debitorlisten and the like. Young people under 18 must not be registered with payment remarks.

As a general rule, you must have received 3 written reminders to which you have not responded in order to get a payment remark. In the last reminder, you must be notified that you will be registered in a debt register and given a last chance to repay your debt within 10 days, unless otherwise specified. However, you do not have to give notice if there is a foundation (e.g. a declaration of debt, judgment, etc.).

Payment default rules depend on who you owe money to

• Do you owe money to the public sector?
  Then the amount you owe must be more than DKK 7,500 before you can get a payment remark.
• Do you owe money to a financial institution e.g. your bank?
  Then the amount you owe must be over DKK 1,000 before you can get a payment remark.
• Do you owe money to a private company?
  Then the amount you owe must be over DKK 200 before you can get a payment remark.

What are the consequences of being registered as a bad payer? 

Being registered as a bad payer can be an obstacle for you when applying for jobs in companies that check whether you are registered as a bad payer. In addition, it can also have consequences for you if you want to borrow money or make repayment arrangements, for example if you have to

• Applying for a bank loan
• Taking out insurance
• Buying on instalments
• Renting a dwelling

How do you get a payment default?

As a general rule, a payment default must be removed as soon as you have paid your debts. 

If you do not pay your debts, you may be registered for a maximum of 5 years. If your payment remark expires, you should be aware that your debt still exists if it has not been paid.