Top-Rated Debt Collection Agency in Finland
Fast and reliable debt collection in Finland - no upfront costs, only pay for success. Request a FREE Consultation or upload your claim today.
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Recovering your debt in Finland is easiest through this way.
Debitura specializes in debt recovery services in Finland, offering a wide variety of solutions to businesses seeking to recover outstanding debts. Our team of knowledgeable professionals provides comprehensive services including managing accounts receivables, sending debt collection notices, initiating pre-legal and legal debt collection, and enforcing court proceedings. With a deep understanding of Finland's debt collection laws and regulations, we ensure efficient and effective results for our clients.
From beginning to end, you will receive unwavering assistance and support.
Tailored collection approach.
We have a network of over 500 expert professionals dedicated to international debt collection.
Achieve a remarkable success rate of 87% while keeping your expenses at a minimum.
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Advoline Attorneys is law office located in Helsinki, Finland. Our clientele include SME companies and private persons alike.
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Over the years Backstrom & Co has achieved an established position as a front-ranking law firm and has particularly gained recognition on its expertise in intellectual property law and dispute resolution.
The ultimate guide about debt collection in Finland
If you owed money by a business or customer in Finland, we can help you. We have helped hundreds of other businesses get their money back from people who owe them.
It can be hard to collect a debt from someone in Finland. Things like different languages and cultures, foreign laws, and distance can make it difficult.
Debt recovery is simpler when you use a collection agency. This agency knows the laws and customs of the country where the debtor lives.
At Debitura, we always put people first. This means that we will try to get your money back while still keeping a good relationship with the person who owes you money. Our strategies are fair but firm, and making sure your reputation is good is our number one goal! If you want to learn more about how to collect debt yourself in Finland, keep reading this guide. But if you would rather work with a local law firm that specializes in debt collection in Finland, we can help you with that too.
Debitura is a website where you can upload your claim to get help with collecting debt in Finland and 192 other countries. You just need to upload your claim, and then within 24 hours, Debitura will provide you with 3 free quotes from local debt collection lawyers in Finland. We use a people-oriented approach combined with the latest tech-driven solutions to get results and provide better contact management. This comprehensive method gets the results you need while preserving customer relationships. In addition, our network of debt collectors, attorneys, suppliers and vendors are relationships that allows us to get the job done. We value each of these relationships, no matter how small or large.
Upload claim
Start collecting your Finland-based debt today without any charge. Simply create a free profile, and submit your case within 2 minutes.
Pre-legal
During the initial 3 months, our pre-legal recovery process will be used to try and collect your claim. This process is time-tested and has a 100% no-cure-no-pay policy.
Legal
In case your claim remains unpaid during the pre-legal phase, we will furnish three quotes from our network of local debt collection attorneys.
24/7 updates
You get access to our online portal where you can track your case in real-time
Introduction to collecting debt in Finland
Do you have a hard time collecting debt in Finland? Do not worry; we can help you get paid by your Finnish customers.
When someone owes money in Finland, the person who owes the money is called "the debtor." The person who gave the debt or invoice is called "the creditor." If the original creditor collects the debt himself, this is called "first-party collection." If the creditor outsources the collection process to a third party, this is called "third-party collections."
- Domestic companies usually pay their bills within 25 days, and the EU has reliable tools to help if a company doesn't pay on time.
- However, taking the debtor to court may take a long time, especially if their assets are hard to find. The best way to get the money back is still to try to collect it before going to court.
- Although the law tries to help companies that are having money problems, most of the time these companies still fail. This leaves the people who lent them money with very little or no money back. And if the company decides to end its business, there is almost no chance that unsecured creditors will get any of their money back.
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
In Finland, people usually pay their bills within 25 days. For companies that are listed, the DSO is higher but it has not changed much in the last few years.
Common payment types in Finland
There are many ways to pay for things. Some of the most common methods are listed below:
- Bank transfers: fast, secure, and supported by a lot of bank
- A Bill of exchange: may be considered as a lack of trust
- Checks: serve as debt recognition titles rather than as payment means
- Bank guarantees: remain largely unused because they are expensive
Main corporate structures
Liability for business debts depends on the legal structures that are in place. These structures describe how the business is set up and who is responsible for what debts.
- In Finland, most businesses are owned by private people or companies. Small businesses are often just one person who owns all the assets and is responsible for any debt.
- Partnerships are when two or more people work together. They are responsible for the company's debts. Limited partnerships are when some people have responsibility for the company's debts and some people do not.
- Shareholders in a Limited Liability Company are only held responsible for the company's debts up to the amount they contributed. There must be a minimum amount of money set aside for this purpose, which is currently 2,500 Euros. Larger businesses are usually set up through Public Limited Companies or Joint Stock Companies. For these types of companies, the minimum amount of money that must be set aside is currently 80,000 Euros.
The debt collection process in Finland
The debt collection process in Finland usually has several steps. The picture below shows the standard steps for collecting debt in Finland:
1 Upload your claim:
If you want someone else to help you get your money back, you will need to find a debt collection partner. This is a person or company that helps people get money that they are owed. You can upload your claim, or request, onto their website. If you use Debitura, we will give you 3 quotes from local partners in the European country where your case belongs. This service is free - which means there is no cost for using it.
2 Amicable collection:
The collection process begins with sending friendly reminders to the person who owes you money. This is called a campaign. The reminders go through different channels, like email, SMS, and letter. The goal is to get the debtor to either pay the money or start a payment plan. Debitura offers a no-cure-no-pay solution, which means you only have to pay a small success fee if we're able to collect the debt. Amicable collections are 100% risk-free!
3 Evaluation:
If you haven't gotten paid from the person you lent money to, it's time to look at what to do next. We will look at how much money you are owed, the chance of getting paid and other things to help you decide what is the best thing to do. There are three common next steps:
A Surveillance:
If you are owed less than 2,000-5,000 Euros, it is not worth it to take further legal action. In this case, we recommend "debt surveillance." This means we will keep trying to contact the person who owes you money and try to reach a friendly agreement about payment.
B: Legal collections:
It's a good idea to start a legal procedure if you have a big issue you want to solve. How to do it depends on what you're asking for and how big the situation is. Usually, it takes about a year and a half for this process to be finished.
At a high school level, it means, when you have a serious problem that you want to solve legally, it is a good idea to start a legal process. The steps you need to follow will depend on what you are claiming and how big the problem is. Typically, it takes around 12-18 months for the process to be completed.
C: Debt enforcement:
If the person you are claiming money from has agreed that you are owed money, or if there is a court order saying you are owed money, you can go to the bailiff's court to get the money.
At Debitura, we can help you with all three steps in Finland.
Amicable collection in Finland
At Debitura, we offer a 100% risk-free and very efficient process for Amicable collections. All you have to do is submit your claim, and we will get started within 24 hours.
We will try to reach your debtor in Finland using different ways, like email, text messages, letters, phone calls, and social media.
The goal of this process is to either:
A) get the debtor to pay the full amount or
B) get the debtor to agree that they owe the money and start a plan to pay it back
If the person you are trying to get money from has said that your claim is not true, you cannot try to resolve it peacefully. You must go straight to legal collections.
Late Payment Interest
In Finland, if you don't pay on time, you might have to pay interest. This means that the person you owe money to can charge you more money because you did not pay them back when you were supposed to.
Interest rates may be fixed, but the law also provides a minimum interest rate. This is calculated using the reference rate from the Bank of Finland, which is increased by at least 7 percentage points.
If someone does not pay a bill, interest will be added to the amount they owe.
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Get started with
amicable debt collection
Upload your claim and get started with our 100% no-cure-no-pay collection solution.
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Legal collection in Finland
If the other person has not paid you back during the friendly phase or if they disagree that they owe you money, we will give you 3 free quotes from our local debt collection attorneys. In the legal phase, our local attorney will reach out to the other person and try to negotiate a payment. Our partners can also go to court and get a payment order from the legal system in Finland. This payment order can then be used to make the other person pay you back via enforcement court.
Ordinary proceedings
If the debt is certain and undisputed, fast-track proceedings would first request a simplified Payment Order. The debtor is contacted (electronically) and given two weeks to file a defence. The court then renders a judgment by default if the debtor remains unresponsive.
If the company that owes money has assets in other European Union countries, there is a procedure that can be used to help get the money back. This is called the European Payment Order. If this procedure is used, the person who is owed money can ask the Helsinki District Court to issue an Order to Pay. This order can then be enforced in all European Union countries (except Denmark) without any further legal proceedings.
The legal process usually starts when someone tries to collect a debt but fails. The person who wants the money must write a letter asking for a summons from the District Court. The court will then send the debtor a Writ of Summons. The debtor has about two weeks to say why they should not have to pay the money, but if they do not reply, the court will probably rule in favor of the person who wants the money. If the debtor does reply, then both sides will tell their story to the judge before the judge decides who is right.
Courts usually give solutions to problems in the form of injunctions, compensatory damages or declaratory judgments, but punitive damages are not allowed.
Finland has a Civil Law system. This means that the district courts make decisions in the first instance, but they may be helped by specialist courts, such as the Insurance Court or the Labour Court. The Helsinki Market Court also helps with cases involving fraudulent business behaviours, abusive use of power, and intellectual property disputes.
The two official languages of the country are Finnish and Swedish. This means that these are the languages used in all legal proceedings. The courts do not set precedents, but the decisions made by the Supreme Court usually act as guidelines for the lower courts.
The amount of money you will need to pay a lawyer depends on how complicated your case is and how big it is. To get the best price, we recommend that you ask different lawyers for their prices so that you can compare them. You can do this easily by using Debitura.
Get started with
legal debt collection
Upload your claim and get 3 FREE quotes from our local collection partners.
Debt enforcement in Finland
If you have written proof that someone owes you money, or a court order, you can go to the bailiff's court in Finland. They will help you get the money that is owed to you.
A judgment means that the person who lost the case has to do what the court said. They have 15 years to do it. If they don't do it, the person who won can ask someone to help them get their money or take something from the person who lost instead.
The process and how much it costs varies depending on your situation. You can upload your case onto Debitura to get three different quotes within 24 hours.
Get started with
debt enforcement
Upload your claim and get 3 FREE quotes from our local collection partners.
Insolvency proceedings in Finland
If the person you owe money to can't pay you back, you can start a process called insolvency. This is when we sell their things to try and pay back some of the money they owe.
- Out-of-court agreements are commonly used in Finland, but must take bankruptcy and reorganization laws into account, and cannot be validated without the creditors’ unanimous approval.
- Restructuring the debt: Upon demand of the debtor, the court appoints a receiver who takes control of the company. A moratorium is set up in order to protect the debtor’s assets from enforcement claims. The Board of Directors maintains its power of decision but the receiver is entitled to control certain aspects of running the company.
- Winding-up proceedings: Bankruptcy proceedings are equivalent to liquidation proceedings in other countries. Upon acceptance of a liquidation petition by court, debtor is declared bankrupt and a receiver is appointed.
- Priority rules: There are no general priority rules in Finnish insolvency procedure where only costs associated with procedure are prioritized . However, creditors might obtain priority for certain asset items by obtaining registering mortgage or pawn rights . It's also possible to register business mortgage to company´s assets which would establish privileged position during insolvency proceedings.
- Cancellation suspect transactions (clawback): Receivers during reorganization and liquidation both have ability review and apply for cancellation any suspect transactions conducted by debtor
European Late Payment Directive in Finland
Finland is part of the European Union (EU). That means that the Directive 2011/7/EU on combating late payments across Europe in commercial transactions applies to Finland.
The directive contains the following main provisions:
- This means that the government cannot force you to wait more than 30 days to get paid.
- Private businesses cannot require payment terms of more than 60 days.
- If the person you lent money to is a business, you can charge them an extra fee of €40 for not paying on time.
- The interest rate for late payments must be at least 8% above the European Central Bank's reference rate.
Our analysis concludes that the risk of conducting business in Finland is low. Based on this low score, You can feel reasonably confident that you will be able to get paid when trading with customers in Finland. Nonetheless, we always recommend doing a specific credit analysis on an individual customer basis before offering any credit. The low risk score is based on the following factors:
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The economic risk in Finland
Our analysis shows that the economic risk in Finland is very low (1 out of 6). An economic risk of 1 out of 6 is low in Europe.
GDP and economic growth are critical drivers for economic risk.
The GDP of Finland is 299,16 bn. USD (2021), growing by 3,47% per year.
In terms of the size of its economy, Finland ranks #44 out of 183 countries and has a large economy.
In terms of growth rate, it is ranked #116 out of 183 countries and is therefore considered an excellent growing economy.
GDP per capita is 53983 USD, ranking Finland number #14 out of 183 countries. The result of this is purchasing power of citizens in Finland is high compared to the rest of the world.
You can see a more detailed picture of GDP and economic growth in Finland in the table below:
Another huge impact for the economic risk score is the inflation rate and the interest rates. You can see a more detailed picture of monetary key performance indicators in Finland in the table below:
The inflation in Finland was 2,2% in 2021 which is considered a low inflation rate.
The business environment risk in Finland
Our analysis shows that the business environment risk in Finland is very low (1 out of 6), which is a relatively low risk score in Europe.
Economic freedom and rights determine the business environment risk in a country. You can see the critical facts for Finland in the table below:
In the above table, you can see, the property rights index is 92 in Finland, which is considered good in Europe.
The business freedom index is based on 10 indicators, using data from the World Bank’s Doing Business study. The Index is 86 in Finland, a pretty good score for a country in Europe.
Finland's overall economic freedom index is 76 out of 100 and is based on factors such as the rule of law, regulatory efficiency, and market openness.
The political risk in Finland
The political risk in Finland is very low, with a score of 1/6. This is a low political risk score in Europe.
The governance and political stability indicators are critical drivers for political risk. An overview of Finland can be seen in the table below:
The rule of law index analyses to which extent agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, in particular the quality of contract enforcement, property rights, the quality of the courts, and the police's ability to enforce court orders.
When doing business in a country, the rule of law index is critical as it describes your ability to enforce commercial contracts.
In Finland, the rule of law index is at 2,06 points, with the score going from -2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong). Finland has, therefore, a very high rule of law index, which means you have a very good chance of enforcing your contracts. If your individual customers have good creditworthiness, you should therefore feel relatively safe when providing credit.
Other drivers for the very low political risks are the very strong control of corruption, the average political stability index, and the normal shadow economy that is 13,3% of Finland's GDP.
The commercial risk in Finland
In Finland, the commercial risk score is 3/4, which in our model is a medium score. This medium commercial risk score is pretty average compared to the average in Europe.
The commercial risk is relying on a country's international trade relationships. You can see some of the key facts for Finland in the table below:
Finland has a total of foreign exchange reserves of 16.74 bn. USD.
Finland has a positive trade balance of 0,23% of GDP. This means that Finland imports fewer goods and services than the country exports.
The annual growth of exports of goods and services has been growing 4,66% annually - now 38,93% of GDP. Import of goods and services represents 38,7% of the GDP in Finland.
The financing risk in Finland
We have calculated the financing risk to be 1/4, which equals a very low risk. A very low financing risk score is relatively low for countries in Europe.
The country's banking system, efficiency, and stability influence the financing risk. You can find the extra information for Finland in the table below:
In Finland, the credit information sharing index is 6 on a scale from 0 (low) to 8 (high). The result of this is accessibility and quality of credit information available in Finland is medium.
This makes it easy for you to understand the credit risk of your counterpart in Finland. You should therefore be able to find a good local credit rating agency that can help you analyse the creditworthiness of your specific customers.
Your rights as a creditor are 6 out of 12 and, therefore, weak.
Debt Collection FAQs in Finland
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In Finland, if someone owes you money they are called the debtor and you are the creditor. Payment is usually made within 25 days. If the debt cannot be collected, legal action can be taken. This can be a slow process and may take up to 18 months. Debt collection companies can help you to recover the debt, and you can upload your claim onto their website. The collection process begins with reminders to the debtor, then evaluation is done, followed by surveillance, legal collection, and debt enforcement. Debitura can help you with all three steps in Finland.
The debt collection process in Finland typically follows three steps: pre-legal collection, legal debt collection, and debt enforcement. Pre-legal collection involves sending friendly reminders to the debtor to pay the outstanding debt or set up a payment plan. If this is unsuccessful, legal action may be taken, which can take up to 18 months to be resolved. Finally, if a court order is issued, debt enforcement can be pursued through the bailiff's court. Debitura can assist with all three steps in Finland.
In Finland, if a debt is disputed, a civil lawsuit is required. Legal options for debt collection include debt enforcement and insolvency proceedings. These legal actions require a local lawyer. The process usually starts with a summons from the District Court. The court can then issue an Order to Pay, which can be enforced in all EU countries. Insolvency proceedings may also be started, and priority rules apply for certain assets in bankruptcy. To get the best price for legal services, you can compare prices using Debitura.
The cost of debt collection in Finland varies. Debitura offers a no-cure-no-pay model for pre-legal collection with a success fee between 10-20%. Legal action prices depend on the case, but we can provide you with 3 quotes from the best debt collection lawyers in Finland.
The length of the debt collection process in Finland depends on the debtor and the specifics of the case. If the issue can be resolved in the pre-legal phase, the process usually takes 3-6 months. However, if legal action is necessary, the collection typically takes 12-18 months.
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