Neplačani računi na Nizozemskem: kako jih izterjati

To recover an unpaid invoice in the Netherlands, the debtor must first be in default; you can then claim statutory interest and extrajudicial collection costs, and if payment still does not follow, you go to the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) for claims up to €25,000 or the district court above that. Between businesses, statutory commercial interest and at least €40 in collection costs are due without any reminder once the payment term expires; against consumers, costs are due only after a fourteen-day reminder.

Most of what decides the outcome happens earlier, in the contract and in the first reminders. This article sets out the steps in order and what you may charge.

Which contract terms decide your position?

The payment term, your general terms and your documentation. Fix them before you deliver, because they determine when interest starts and how quickly a court will award your claim.

In a commercial contract without an agreed payment date, statutory commercial interest is due by law from 30 days after the debtor received the invoice (Article 6:119a(2) of the Dutch Civil Code, BW). The parties may agree up to 60 days, or longer only if expressly agreed and not manifestly unfair to the creditor (Article 6:119a(5) BW). A large company paying a small business may not agree a term longer than 30 days; a clause that does is void (Article 6:119a(6) BW).

General terms bind the other party only if they were made available before or when the contract was concluded (Articles 6:233 and 6:234 BW); printing them on the invoice is too late. Our opomba o splošnih pogojih poslovanja explains how to make them stick. They can fix a payment term, exclude set-off and reserve title until payment, which lets a supplier reclaim its goods, even in the debtor’s bankruptcy.

A court needs to see the agreement, the delivery, the invoice and its receipt. Many invoice disputes are really disputes about whether the work was done properly, so signed delivery notes or approved timesheets settle them quickly. Getting this right is a job for a odvetnik za pogodbe at the start; our vodnik za izterjavo dolgov na Nizozemskem lists what a Dutch court expects.

When is the debtor in default, and what can you charge?

If a fixed payment date passes, the debtor is in default automatically (Article 6:83(a) BW). Otherwise you first need a written notice of default (ingebrekestelling) with a reasonable final period to pay.

Between businesses, the statutory commercial interest of Article 6:119a BW applies; in all other cases, including claims against consumers, the lower ordinary statutory interest of Article 6:119 BW. Both rates are set by order in council and change from time to time, so refer to “the statutory rate” rather than naming a percentage in your terms.

Extrajudicial collection costs are governed by Article 6:96 BW and the Decree on compensation for extrajudicial collection costs (Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten), which sets a sliding scale with a minimum and maximum. In a commercial contract, at least €40 is due without any reminder from the day after the payment term expires (Article 6:96(4) BW).

Against a consumer, the scale is mandatory and the costs only become due after a reminder giving fourteen days to pay, starting the day after the reminder, and stating the costs that will be charged (Article 6:96(5) and (6) BW). Allow for delivery time. A letter that miscounts the period or omits the amount gives no right to costs, and courts check this of their own motion.

Which rules limit how you collect?

Since 1 April 2024, the Debt Collection Quality Act (Wet kwaliteit incassodienstverlening, Wki) requires professional collectors to be registered. It applies to out-of-court collection for a third party or after transfer of the claim, from natural persons living in the Netherlands (Article 2 Wki).

Registered providers must meet requirements on expertise, information and complaint handling, and the Inspectorate of Justice and Security (Inspectie Justitie en Veiligheid) supervises them. Lawyers (advocaten) and bailiffs (gerechtsdeurwaarders) have their own supervisory regimes. Check the public register before you instruct an agency; an izkušen odvetnik za izterjavo does not need to be registered.

The unfair commercial practices rules (Articles 6:193a to 6:193j BW) also apply to consumer collection, enforced by the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). Do not threaten measures you cannot lawfully take, such as a bailiff’s seizure without a judgment. Under the GDPR, debtor data may be used to recover the claim, but not shared more widely than necessary.

Which court procedure should you choose?

Money claims up to €25,000 go to the subdistrict court, and larger claims to the district court (Article 93 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure, Rv). Before the subdistrict court you may act without a lawyer; before the district court a lawyer (advocaat) is required.

The court fees are also lower before the subdistrict court. Where our pravdna ekipa acts, an undefended claim with a proper file usually leads to a default judgment within months rather than years.

Preliminary relief proceedings (kort geding) are often presented as a fast route for unpaid invoices, but a money claim is only awarded there if there is an urgent interest, the claim is sufficiently certain, and there is no unacceptable risk that the money cannot be repaid if the claim later fails. For an ordinary overdue invoice those conditions are usually not met.

Before you start, check whether the debtor can pay. The Trade Register of the Chamber of Commerce (KVK), the annual accounts filed there and any registered attachments tell you more about the value of proceedings than the size of the invoice.

Can you freeze assets before judgment?

Yes. With leave from the preliminary relief judge, you can levy a prejudgment attachment (conservatoir beslag) on bank accounts, receivables, goods or real estate (Article 700 Rv), usually without the debtor being heard.

The judge sets a period within which you must start proceedings on the merits. If the attachment later proves unjustified, you are liable for the damage. Used properly, it freezes the position and often produces payment within days.

A bankruptcy petition is not a collection tool. It requires that the debtor has stopped paying and that there are several creditors; a court will refuse a petition used purely as pressure for a single disputed claim. If a private debtor is admitted to the statutory debt rescheduling scheme (Wsnp), which normally lasts eighteen months (Article 349a of the Bankruptcy Act, Faillissementswet), individual enforcement stops.

How is a judgment enforced?

A bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder) enforces the judgment by attaching bank balances, wages, benefits, goods or real estate. For wages and benefits, the debtor keeps a protected amount (beslagvrije voet) calculated under a statutory formula.

There is no imprisonment for debt in the Netherlands, and a debtor cannot be stopped at the border just for owing money; see ali vas lahko ustavijo na letališču zaradi dolga. Enforcement costs are added to the claim only if the steps were proportionate, so check assets before you instruct a bailiff.

What if the debtor is in another country?

Within the EU, a Dutch judgment is enforceable in other member states without a separate declaration of enforceability under the Brussels I bis Regulation. A consumer can generally only be sued in their own member state.

The European order for payment procedure for uncontested claims and the European small claims procedure for lower-value claims both work with standard forms. A European account preservation order can freeze a bank account in another member state. Outside the EU, recognition depends on treaties or national rules, so starting in the debtor’s country is often faster. Our mednarodna praksa izterjave dolgov checks jurisdiction and enforceability first.

Koliko časa imate za vložitev zahtevka?

A claim for performance of a contract becomes time-barred five years after it became due (Article 3:307 BW). A seller’s claim for the price in a consumer sale is time-barred after two years (Article 7:28 BW).

You can interrupt prescription with a written demand or a written notice in which you unambiguously reserve your right to performance (Article 3:317 BW). Starting proceedings or an acknowledgement of the debt also interrupts it. Make sure you can prove the notice was sent and received.

Kaj morate kot upnik preveriti?

Most recoveries depend on preparation. Check:

• That the agreed payment term does not exceed the limits of Article 6:119a BW.
• That your general terms were provided before or when the contract was concluded.
• That you can prove the agreement, delivery and receipt of the invoice.
• Whether the debtor is a business or a consumer, because interest and costs differ.
• For consumers: that your fourteen-day letter states the period and the costs correctly.
• Whether the debtor has assets worth attaching, before you start proceedings.

Kaj morate kot dolžnik preveriti?

Not every charge in a collection letter is owed. Check:

• Whether you are actually in default, through an expired fixed date or a notice of default.
• Whether the interest charged is the correct statutory rate for your situation.
• Whether the collection costs stay within the statutory scale.
• As a consumer: whether you received a proper fourteen-day letter before costs were added.
• Whether the collection agency is registered under the Wki, if you are a private individual.
• Whether the claim is time-barred under Articles 3:307 or 7:28 BW.

What can we do for you with unpaid invoices?

We act for creditors and debtors in Dutch and cross-border collection cases, as explained in our Nizozemski vodnik za izterjavo dolgov:

• We assess at the outset whether a claim is worth pursuing and what it will cost.
• We send a notice of default or fourteen-day letter that meets the statutory requirements.
• We calculate statutory interest and collection costs.
• We request leave for prejudgment attachment and coordinate it with a bailiff.
• We bring the claim before the subdistrict court or district court and enforce the judgment.
• We review your payment terms and general terms to prevent future arrears.

Povzetek

• Between businesses, statutory commercial interest and at least €40 in costs are due without a reminder once the payment term expires (Articles 6:119a and 6:96(4) BW).
• Against consumers, collection costs are only due after a correct fourteen-day letter (Article 6:96(6) BW).
• Claims up to €25,000 go to the subdistrict court; larger claims to the district court.
• Prejudgment attachment (Article 700 Rv) is the most effective way to secure payment.
• Contract claims become time-barred after five years; interrupt prescription in writing (Article 3:317 BW).

Pogosta vprašanja