Extrajudicial collection costs are the reasonable costs a creditor incurs in obtaining payment out of court. For money claims a statutory scale applies, so the recoverable amount is known in advance.
Legal basis
Article 6:96(2)(c) of the Dutch Civil Code makes these costs recoverable loss. The Extrajudicial Collection Costs Decree sets the scale: fifteen per cent on the first 2,500 euros with a minimum of forty euros, ten per cent on the next 2,500, five per cent on the next 5,000, one per cent on the next 190,000 and half a per cent above that, capped at 6,775 euros. Article 6:96(5) and (6) contain the consumer protection: against a consumer the fee is payable only after a reminder giving a fourteen-day period, running from the day after receipt, and stating the amount of the collection costs. That reminder is known as the fourteen-day letter. Between professional parties the scale can be departed from.
How it works in practice
The fourteen-day letter is the most common stumbling block in collection proceedings: the Supreme Court held in 2016 that the period starts on the day after receipt, so wording such as within fourteen days of the date of this letter is wrong. Courts test this of their own motion and refuse the costs where the letter is incorrect. For businesses the statutory commercial interest of Article 6:119a also matters, being considerably higher than ordinary statutory interest.
Where it goes wrong
The reminder uses the wrong wording or omits the amount of the collection costs. A second error is adding up costs per invoice instead of over the principal sum as a whole. Third, commercial interest is not claimed although it is due.
Related terms
Collection costs belong with default, the notice of default and writ of summons proceedings.
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