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Research shows that 30% of bankruptcies in the Netherlands are caused by unpaid invoices. Does your company have a customer who still hasn’t paid? Or are you a private individual and do you have a debtor who still owes you money? Then contact the Law & More debt collection lawyers. We understand that unpaid invoices are very annoying and undesirable, which is why we assist you from the beginning to the end of the collection process.
Our debt collection lawyers can go through both an extrajudicial collection procedure and a judicial collection procedure with you. Law & More is also familiar with the law of attachment and can assist you in the event of bankruptcy. Finally, it makes no difference to us whether the debtor lives in the Netherlands or is established abroad. Because of our international background, we are qualified for more complex, disputed or larger claims.
When it comes to debt collection, you are probably thinking of a debt collection agency or bailiff than of a debt collection lawyer. This is because all three parties are able to collect outstanding debts. However, there are some essential steps in the collection process that in general can be carried out by a debt collection lawyer:
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Step-by-step plan for debt collection process
1. Amicable phase. If your claim is collectible, then an amicable procedure can first be started by the debt collection lawyers of Law & More. In this phase, we try to persuade the debtor to pay by means of letters and/or telephone calls, possibly increased with statutory interest and extrajudicial collection costs.
2. Negotiations. Do you have good relationships with your counterparty, and would you like to maintain this good relationship? In this phase, we try to reach agreement between the parties through negotiations and, for example, make a payment arrangement.
3. Judicial phase. Going through the amicable procedure is not mandatory. If your debtor does not cooperate, our debt collection lawyers can draw up a summons and send it to your debtor. With the summons, the debtor is summoned to appear in court on a specific date. In a legal phase, we claim payment of the outstanding amounts and collection costs before the court.
4. The verdict. After your debtor has received the subpoena, he will then be given the opportunity to respond to the subpoena in writing. If the debtor does not respond and he does not appear at the hearing, the judge will issue a judgment in absentia in which he grants your claim. This means that your debtor must pay the invoice, the statutory interest, the collection costs and the procedural costs. After a verdict has been pronounced by the judge, the bailiff will serve this judgment on the debtor.
5. The verdict. Before the legal proceedings are started, it is possible to seize the property of the debtor. This is called a conservatory attachment. Preservation attachment is intended to ensure that the debtor cannot dispose of any assets before the judge makes a decision, so that you can actually recover your costs from the debtor.
If the judge grants your claim, the pre-judgment attachment will be converted into an enforcement attachment. This means that the assets that have been seized may be sold publicly by the bailiff if the debtor still does not pay. Your claim will be paid with the proceeds of these assets.
What clients say about us
Our Debt collection lawyers are ready to assist you:
- Direct contact with a lawyer
- Short lines and clear agreements
- Available for all your questions
- Refreshingly different. Focus on client
- Fast, efficient and result-oriented
The approach of the debt collection lawyer
The steps described above must be taken for each collection procedure. But what can you expect from Law & More’s debt collection lawyers when going through these steps?
- Analysis and advice on your legal position
- Direct and personal contact, both by telephone and e-mail
- Quality and involvement
- Act and respond quickly and effectively
- Sitting on top of the case
- Always think ahead and prepare the next actions
Activities debt collection lawyer
- Monitor payment terms and review invoices
- Negotiating with debtors
- Drafting and sending notice of default
- Prevention of prescription and use of interruption
- Drafting the summons
- Conducting legal proceedings
- Seizing and carrying out execution
- Handling international debt collection cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Debt collection law in the Netherlands concerns the (extrajudicial) collection of money claims. When you hand over outstanding invoices to debt collection lawyers, you are granting a kind of authorization to the debt collection lawyers in accordance with debt collection law to collect your outstanding claims. This is an advantage, for example, for private individuals or companies that have too little time themselves or that want to focus primarily on their core business.
In addition, all kinds of rules are attached to (the collection of) outstanding invoices, for example with regard to exigency and prescription, and there are several parties involved. This makes debt collection law interesting, but complex. That is why it is advisable to engage a debt collection lawyer when you have outstanding claims. Law & More’s lawyers are experts in the field of debt collection law and are happy to help you.
The first step that must be taken is to inform the debtor that he has not met his payment obligation. You must give him the opportunity to pay within a reasonable period of time without further costs. You send a written reminder to the debtor, this is called a notice of default. A period of fourteen days is normally regarded as a reasonable period within which the debtor is requested to still pay the claim. Naturally, Law & More’s debt collection lawyers can prepare a notice of default for you.
If no notice of default has been sent, the court will reject any claim for damages. However, there are situations in which sending a notice of default is not necessary, for example fulfillment of the agreement is permanently impossible. Nevertheless, it is advisable to always send a notice of default just to be sure. If the payment request is not complied with, we can start the collection process.
- The details of the creditor and the debtor
- Documents related to the debt (invoice number and date)
- The reason the debt is not yet paid
- Agreement or other arrangements to which the debt relates
- A clear description and justification of the amounts owed
- Any correspondence between the creditor and the debtor regarding the debt
Law & More also offers support to prevent risks related to payment and late payments. For example, we advise clients to include payment conditions in general terms and conditions that can prevent ambiguities in the event of late payment. Would you like more information about this? Please contact the collection lawyers of Law & More.
Is your debtor located abroad? In that case, various factors may play a role, such as a different language, culture and payment habits, which means that the risks in the context of the collection procedure are greater than with debtors from their own country. However, for the debt collection lawyers of Law & More, these factors do not form an obstacle.
We will not let borders stop us and are therefore happy to guide you through a collection process in which the debtor has established himself abroad, in or outside Europe. Would you like to know what we can do for you when you are dealing with a foreign debtor? Please contact Law & More. Our lawyers will be happy to assist you.
Law & More Attorneys Eindhoven
Marconilaan 13, 5612 HM Eindhoven, Netherlands
Law & More Attorneys Eindhoven
Marconilaan 13, 5612 HM Eindhoven, Netherlands
Do you want to know what Law & More can do for you as a law firm in Eindhoven and Amsterdam?
Then contact us by phone +31 40 369 06 80 or send an e-mail to:
mr. Tom Meevis, advocate at Law & More – [email protected]