A debt collection agency may collect debts to which a company is entitled. This means: If, for example, you have bought something online and do not pay your bills, sooner or later you will receive mail from a debt collection agency or a lawyer.
For a debt collection procedure, two important requirements must be met:
- You have actually concluded a contract and owe money to a company. Lawyers call this a legitimate main claim.
- You are with the Payment in arrears.
A debt collection company may only become active if these two requirements are met.
Good to know: Debt collection companies either act on behalf of a company or buy up debts.
Many people believe that late payment legally only begins when they have ignored three reminders. That's wrong. The legislature has clearly regulated when a late payment occurs.
The truth is: you are in default of payment if you
- according to an invoice a reminder received that you did not take into account.
- one Invoice with reminder notice have received.
- When the contract was concluded, you agreed to pay the amount within a certain number of days or on a certain date and you Not paying the invoice on time. In such a case, your contractual partner must advise you do not issue an invoice and also no reminder send.
One Invoice with reminder notice contains a paragraph that looks like this or has the same content:
“The invoice amount is due upon receipt of this invoice. In accordance with Section 286 Paragraph 3 of the German Civil Code (BGB), we would like to point out that you will automatically be in default even without a reminder if you do not have the above invoice amount received in our account mentioned below within 30 days of the due date of the claim and receipt of this invoice.”
When you receive the invoice 30 days If you do not pay, the company does not have to send another reminder. You will then automatically be in default of payment.
If you haven't paid your bill for so long that a debt collection agency has been called in, you can expect additional costs to arise. Companies pass on the financial burden caused by late payment and the costs of debt collection to the person who owes the money.
Collection costs are based on the prices and conditions that the debt collection companies have agreed with their clients. The amount of these costs depends on the circumstances of the individual case. In order to prevent price gouging, the collection costs for debt collection service providers are legally “capped”. This means that the collection costs must at least not be higher than the amount that a lawyer would be allowed to charge if he had been commissioned with the case.
You can check the costs using the consumer advice center’s debt collection check.
You should always check invoices from debt collection agencies carefully. Question every position – the bills are often excessive.
- If the debt collection company is yours, for example Account management costs invoiced, you must pay them don't pay. Checking the claim and receiving the payment are part of the general business activities of the debt collection company and are already covered by the collection fee.
- The debt collection company does it Interest claims applies, it must provide detailed information on how interest is calculated. That is, it must indicate the interest rate and the period for which the interest is claimed. Interest claims are in the amount of five percentage points permitted above the base interest rate. That's what the law says.
- Costs of around 15 euros for them Determination of an address or for inquiries at the residents' registration office are justified if you have moved and have not informed your original contractual partner of this. Since the costs at the residents' registration offices vary greatly, you can also request proof of the actual costs incurred from the debt collection agency.
Good to know: If the debt collection company has purchased the debt, it is not allowed to charge collection costs. It carries out debt collection on its own behalf.
No! You only have to comply with a debt collection agency's requests if you actually owe money to a company and with that Payment in arrears are. And even then you don't have to pay for over-calculated collection costs.
You even have to don't payif you are sure no contract to have concluded with the company for which the specific claim is to be collected. In this case you should Object to demands in writing and send your letter by registered mail.
Unfortunately, dubious methods are widespread in the industry. Many debt collection companies want to make money with dubious services. They threaten with reminders or compulsory enforcement, even to the bailiff or “account blocking” in order to emphasize their demands. Many people often cannot tell from the letters where the outstanding invoices come from and whether the claims are legitimate. Through aggressive choice of words and through supposedly threatening legal proceedings, the debt collection companies achieve their goal: those addressed react with uncertainty and pay, even if they don't have to.
Tip: If you receive a payment request from a debt collector, ask for the original power of attorney or assignment deed from the debt collector.
Every debt collection agency must be registered in accordance with Section 10 of the Legal Services Act (RDG). A corresponding registration notice from the responsible supervisory authority is required. You can check for free whether a debt collection agency is registered in the legal services register. You can report an unregistered debt collection company to the responsible supervisory authority.
Please consider: The registration of a debt collection agency alone says nothing about its seriousness. Registered debt collection agencies can also use unfair methods.
Good to know: Lawyers are also allowed to carry out debt collection procedures. However, other than debt collection agencies, these do not have to be entered in the legal services register, but rather must be registered with the relevant bar association.
Reputable debt collection companies communicate transparently and respond to your objections. The first letter from the debt collection company must indicate for whom the payment of the debt is being collected. In addition, both the subject matter of the contract and the date of conclusion of the contract must be specifically stated. At your request, the debt collection agency must provide additional information, for example:
- the address of the client (the so-called “receivable” address – PO box is not enough),
- Name or company of the (original) creditor and
- Particularly important: in the case of contracts, the essential circumstances of the conclusion of the contract (for example by telephone or in person in the shop).
The claim must be understandable for you. A reputable debt collection agency will give you a reasonable deadline to settle the debt. It is not okay if you receive a letter that is dated more than two weeks before delivery and the set payment deadline has already passed by several days.
An entry with Schufa or another credit agency is only permitted if it is a legitimate claim and you do not pay the debt collection agency's bill despite at least two reminders.
If you have lodged a written objection to the claim, no data may be transmitted. Intimidating threats with a Schufa entry are also not permitted. In addition, you have the right to information about the data stored about you by Schufa and the right to have inadmissible entries deleted or corrected.
There is no need to be afraid! You need a debt collector too do not let them into your apartment. Nor will you be convicted (criminally) without further ado. Don't be confused by the judgments attached to the payment requests. These only apply to an individual case and do not automatically apply to your specific situation.
Don't let it intimidate you either
- if there is a threat to involve the police and public prosecutor's office,
- if a reminder or enforcement notice is announced,
- if an account ban is threatened and the consequences are described in detail,
- if, after the issuance of an enforcement order, your salary, pension and unemployment benefit are to be enforced by the bailiff!
By the time the bailiff shows up at your door, various things must have happened.
In the first step, a reminder must have been issued. The debt collection company can apply for this in a court. The court does not examine whether the claims are justified. If you are of the opinion that the claim from the reminder notice is either not justified at all or is not justified in the amount specified, you should definitely do so object in writing within 2 weeks. Then the creditor (the one to whom you owe the money) can only continue the process by filing a statement of claim with the court. There will then be a court case in which you will also be heard and a judge will then decide on the claim. If the court decides that you have to pay the money, the creditor can use the judgment to have the money collected by the bailiff.
But: Many companies are not interested in legal proceedings. At least not those who collect payments based on foisted contracts or supposed profit announcements.
However, you should not file pointless objections, for example if the claim is exactly as justified as calculated by the creditor. If the claim is legitimate, going to court makes things more expensive.
If you do not respond to the reminder notice, you must expect to receive an enforcement notice next. You can object to this in writing within two weeks. In addition, you should also apply for the temporary cessation of enforcement of the – not yet legally binding – enforcement notice. You can, for example, submit this application to a judicial officer at the local court. After an objection, there is a procedure in court, which usually ends with a verdict. However, if you do not file an objection, the creditor will be issued a – now legally binding – enforcement order with which he can have the money collected by the bailiff. If you have missed the deadlines, an actually unjustified claim can also be collected by the bailiff.
In general, you should not sign an assignment to the debt collection agency. In the case of an assignment, for example, you would transfer your wage claim to the debt collection agency.
Assignments are often required when agreeing to pay in installments. In most cases, an assignment of the salary is provided for. However, other assets or types of income can also be transferred, for example life and other insurance, income tax repayments, sick pay or account balances.
Delete such a paragraph in the installment agreement or refuse to sign it. Because if you have assigned an assignment, the debt collection company no longer has to go to court and can contact your employee or your credit institution directly if you can no longer pay the installments.
Please remember: The debt collection company may charge additional costs for agreeing to an installment payment agreement. The debt collection companies must also expressly point this out.
