![]() The 16-day period in question is made up of one day for sending, one day for receiving and 14 days for studying the letter. The law prescribes that a so-called 16-day letter must be sent by a professional creditor, in which the private individual is summoned to pay only the sum of the outstanding debt. Under Dutch law, a private individual is protected by being granted a minimum period to pay. If the Dutch debtor is a private individual, you are obliged to send a reminder first, free of charge. If payment has still not been made, the next step in your debt collection is sending a formal demand letter. How do you send a demand letter to your Dutch debtor? ![]() Mention that in the event of non-payment, you will charge interest on arrears and costs. This payment reminder is a friendly reminder that you send a few days after the expiry of the agreed payment term. How do you send a first payment reminder to your Dutch debtor?Ī payment reminder is a first formal step in your debt collection process if you still have not received payment within the agreed term. However, if you want to use a transcription of the recording (or the audio recording itself) as evidence in legal proceedings later on, the civil court will probably allow this. Under Dutch law, it is not always permitted to record your own telephone conversations without the prior consent of the other party. Condider making good notes of these telephone conversations. If, for some reason, this does not work, that is a cause for concern. Try to get the debtor to explicitly promise to pay by when. This personal approach to debt collection gives you the opportunity to find out why payments have not yet been made. the invoice is fully correct according to the debtor.The trade register kept by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce will show who this is. If your debtor is a Dutch company (and not a consumer), you should preferably call someone who is authorised to represent the company. Another first step could perhaps be unnecessarily aggressive, and could damage the commercial relationship. Identify and contact your debtor in the Netherlandsĭepending on your relationship with the debtor, it is often wise to first make contact with your Dutch debtor by telephone if you have concerns about the payment of an invoice. A period of 14 days is usually regarded as reasonable in the Netherlands. You may therefore determine the payment term for consumers yourself. Under Dutch law, there is no statutory payment term for invoices to consumers. Dutch public authorities have to pay within 30 days after the day of receipt of the invoice. Companies may also agree with each other on a shorter or longer payment term (in a specific contract or via general terms and conditions), but that payment term may never exceed 60 days. Under Dutch law, the payment term for invoices to businesses is 30 days. What should you do if your Dutch debtor doesn't pay?Ĭheck whether the payment term of the invoice is valid under Dutch law The following is a step-by-step plan to recover your debt in Holland, with a number of helpful sample contract clauses and letters to use to collect a debt under Dutch law. Collection agencies, baliffs and debt colllection attorneys typically act for a fee or percentage of the total sum owed. Attorneys-at-law (in Dutch: advocaten) are sometimes also active in the field of debt recovery. In the Netherlands most bailiffs (who are officers of the court, holding the monopoly on the service and execution of court decisions and enforceable instruments) also act as debt collectors. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a collection agency. Debt collection in the Netherlands is the legal activity of pursuing payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses in the Netherlands.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |