Demand for payment - everything you need to know

In this article, we focus on the payment order. What is the purpose of a payment order and what can it do for you if you are facing challenges with customers who do not pay their bills.

As a professional and authorized debt collection company with over 150 years of experience in invoice collection and debt collection, we have issued and sent an incredible number of payment demands over the years.

In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about payment orders.

Demand for payment - what is it?

A demand for payment is a letter that you can use if a customer owes you or your business money. If you have challenges with bad payers, you can get help from a debt collection company or a debt collection lawyer. They will try to recover the money through the enforcement court and a so-called simplified debt collection process. The prerequisite for using a simplified debt collection process is that the claim is under DKK 100,000 and the customer is not expected to object.

What should a payment order contain?

The form for a demand for payment can be downloaded from domstol.dk. The form contains a number of fields that you must fill in before you can send the payment order to the enforcement court.

The form asks you to provide information about you as a creditor and any representative (lawyer, accountant, bookkeeper, debt collection company, etc.) Next, you will be asked to fill in information about the debtor; name, address, telephone number and any CVR number.

After you have filled in the general information about the debtor and creditor in the credit relationship, it is important that you carefully specify the amount of the claim; any reminder fee(s), collection fee (s) and the like. You will then be asked to provide a brief description (case summary) of the circumstances of the case.

Next, tick how you want the case to proceed, including whether the case should be served, whether the debtor has filed a declaration of insolvency, automatic initiation of attachment if the debtor does not object, and whether you automatically want a civil court case if the debtor objects and protests against your claim.

The form is 3 pages in total and does not take long to fill in, as long as you have the basic information about the claim at hand.

What happens once I have submitted the payment claim?

When the payment claim is received by the enforcement court, the simplified debt collection process starts. In the simplified debt collection procedure, the enforcement court presents your claim to the debtor, who then has 14 days to submit any objections.

If your customer does not object within the 14-day period, the payment demand will have the effect of a judgment. This means that you have a 10-year limitation period compared to a normal invoice of just 3 years.

Both parties are then summoned to the enforcement court, where it will be possible to ask the customer about his or her financial situation. On the basis of this information, a decision will be taken whether to seize any of the customer's belongings, set up an installment plan or request a full repayment of the debt.

What is agreed at the meeting is recorded by the court.

What should I pay attention to?

If you have never filled out a payment order before, there are a few things you should be aware of before you get started. Firstly, you should be aware that the payment order can only be used for claims under DKK 100,000 in principal, excluding interest and legal costs.

Secondly, remember to send a reminder letter to customers giving them at least 10 days to pay. Only after the 10 days have passed, you can send the payment demand to the enforcement court. By sending a reminder to the customer, the court can see that you have attempted to collect your debt.

How much does it cost to send a payment order?

• It costs a court fee, which must be paid when you submit the payment claim
• The court fee is determined by the amount of the principal
• We recommend that you consult the updated court fees calculator on the website of the Court of Justice

Need help with a payment order?

Do you need help with debt collection or perhaps the preparation of a payment demand? Then please contact us here at Collectia. Our more than 150 years of experience in debt recovery and debt collection has made us one of the largest and most experienced debt collection companies in the Nordic region. We help all types and sizes of companies well through any debt collection process.

Call us on 77 30 14 80 or write to us at salg@collectia.dk. You can also fill in the form below and we will call you as soon as possible.