Debt Collection in the Netherlands

Debt collection in Amsterdam

Understanding the unique financial landscape of the Netherlands, such as Amsterdam and other major cities, local expertise to handle your debt recovery efficiently. Our dedicated team and intuitive platform ensure a smooth process, helping you recover debts swiftly while keeping you well-informed every step of the way. We prioritize maintaining positive relationships and protecting your reputation throughout the recovery process. With our comprehensive support, you can focus on your core business while we manage the complexities of debt collection.

Our Debt Collection Agency in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands has a long tradition of international trade and is an attractive country for many companies to sell their goods/services to.

But if, as a company, you face a situation where your Dutch customer does not pay his invoice on time, what do you do then?

After payment reminders have been sent, you should take help from a Dutch debt collection company. An expert on the conditions for recovery of claims in the Netherlands.

Our accredited partner is CollectMasters B.V. and they will start to collect your B2B claim as soon as you upload the unpaid invoice against your Dutch debtor.

Introduce your company in a few sentences?

We are a fast-growing Debt Collection company exactly in the centre of our country. We employ about 40 people nowadays and have some major clients. Almost all our personnel is university educated, young and eager to work. We go a lot further with contacting debtors than the 5 big collection companies overhere, and that is why our success rate is much higher.

What is your success rate?

For our major clients we collect about 80% of their outstanding debts (while the 5 biggest collection companies in Holland collect maybe 15%)

What does legal actions cost?

You have to pay the bailiff about € 100,- to get the debtor summoned to Court. The Court fee is about € 500 – € 1.250. Our legal fee is € 125 per hour.

If you take legal actions in a case and win in court, are you able to always add the legal costs that the client has paid to the debt and it will be paid by the debtor?

Yes, almost all costs are mentioned in the verdict which the debtor has to pay. Only the (our) legal costs are often maximized at about € 600,-

Debt collection in the Netherlands through legal action.

“Order for Payment” in the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, like many other countries, there is a simplified legal process.

Intended for simpler types of cases. (Like debt collection cases in the Netherlands.) Where one party has an unpaid claim against another party. A claim that is simply not paid, but that there is still no type of dispute / disagreement between the parties.

The Netherlands’ streamlined judicial collection process aims to make these “simpler” cases to be handled more easily and cheaply than in regular legal proceedings.

It is a situation that all parties benefit from.

So, what are the prerequisites for using the simplified procedure?

It’s just about the amount of the claim. The amount may not exceed 25,000 Euros.

The parties have the freedom to argue their own argument in these situations. (In other words – no legal representative is required by law)

Furthermore, the appeals are heard by a sole judge, i.e. a single judge seated alone.

Enforcement of a claim in the Netherlands.

When is this relevant? When you have a debt collection case in the Netherlands in which you have not been paid and you have subsequently taken the case further legally.

The court issues a verdict by the end of the legal case. A party (the debtor) may be directed to fulfill its duties to the other party in this judgment (the creditor).

If the debtor refuses to comply willingly, the creditor may compel compliance by using enforcement laws.

The compliance (execution) of a decision under which the court has directed performance is governed by this field of law.

Court bailiffs (gerechtsdeurwaarders), also known as bailiffs (deurwaarders), are allowed to execute judgments and verdicts and are directed to do so by creditors seeking their payment by filing applications for enforcement.

If you choose to use the tactics authorized under legislation, you must meet two conditions:

1. You must have an implementable document (enforcement title), such as an verdict or judgment from the civil law proceedings.

2. You must, prior to enforcement, serve the judgment or verdict to the opposition party (the debtor)

The appellant and complainant who appeared in court receive a copy of the verdict from the court registrar. The group authorised to execute the judgment gets a copy in enforceable form as it is a definitive judgement involving a judicial order. A free bailiff’s copy (grosse) of the judgement is given to the parties. This is a genuine copy of the decision. That is a judicial order that has been made enforceable. Only after this bailiff’s copy has been released may enforcement measures be taken. A notarial deed may also be provided with a bailiff’s copy, or first validated copy. You authorise the bailiff to take compliance measures by handing over this paper.

The bailiff serve the bailiff’s copy to the debtor before any enforcement actions can be taken. This is so that the debtor will be alerted once again to the claim and given some time to fulfill his payment obligation before any enforcement measures are initiated.

Bankruptcy proceedings in the Netherlands.

If a corporation is in economic difficulties or is unable to meet its obligations, each nation has clear procedures in place to resolve these kind of problem.

Bankruptcy proceedings vary in terms of their goals:

• If the enterprise may be saved or is profitable, the claims can be restructured (usually in agreement with creditors). This is to protect the company and its employees.
• If the corporation can’t be spared, it must be shut down (it’ll ‘go bankrupt’).

Creditors may no longer pursue individual steps to recover their claims as the insolvency proceedings has started. This is to guarantee that all claims from all creditors are treated equall.

A creditor must be able to prove his claim to the liquidator in the bankruptcy estate.