Top-Rated Debt Collection Agency in Netherlands
Fast and reliable debt collection in Netherlands - no upfront costs, only pay for success. Request a FREE Consultation or upload your claim today.
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The most convenient method for retrieving your debts in the Netherlands.
Debitura specializes in debt recovery in the Netherlands, offering a comprehensive range of services including accounts receivables management, debt collection notices, pre-legal and legal debt collection, and enforcement court proceedings. Our team of experienced professionals is well-versed in the laws and regulations surrounding debt collection in the Netherlands, enabling us to provide efficient and effective solutions that help businesses recover outstanding debts.
We provide unwavering assistance throughout the entire process.
Tailored debt recovery plan.
We have a team of over 500 professionals specializing in debt collection services at an international level.
Our success rate of 87% is achieved at an incredibly low cost.
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The law firm of Russell Advocaten will gladly assist you collecting your claims, both at national and international level. We assess how to effectively incite the debtor to pay, we initiate the collection process and ensure that it runs smoothly.
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The ultimate guide about debt collection in Netherlands
Do you have money that someone else owes you from Netherlands? We can help you get it back! We have helped hundreds of other businesses in Netherlands get money that people owed them. It can be hard to get money back from someone who lives in a different country, but we know how to do it.
At Debitura, we always put people first. We do everything we can to get your money back while still having a good relationship with the person who owes you money. Our efforts are always fair, but firm-ensuring your reputation is our top priority! If you want to learn more about how to collect debt yourself in Netherlands, continue reading this guide. If you would rather work with a local law firm that specializes in debt recovery, we can help you with that too.
At Debitura, we provide an easy way for you to collect your debt in Netherlands and +192 other countries. You can start today by uploading your claim. We will look at your case and provide you with 3 free quotes from local debt collection lawyers in Netherlands within 24 hours. We use a people-oriented approach with the latest tech-driven solutions to get results and manage customer contact information better. This complete method gets the outcomes you need while still maintaining customer relationships. Plus, our network of debt collectors, attorneys, suppliers and vendors are all important relationships that allow us to get the job done. We appreciate each of these relationships, no matter how small or large.
Upload claim
Get started with debt collection in Netherlands today at no cost. Simply create a free profile and upload your case within just 2 minutes.
Pre-legal
We will attempt to collect your claim through our reliable pre-legal recovery process for the first 3 months. You only pay when we successfully recover your debt - a no-cure-no-pay approach with a 100% success rate.
Legal
Once the pre-legal phase ends without payment, we offer you 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 Netherlands
If you're having trouble getting paid by people in Netherlands, don't worry. We can help you get the money you're owed. The person who owes the debt is called the debtor, and the person who issued the debt or invoice is called the creditor. If the creditor collects the debt themselves, it's called first-party collection. If the creditor hires someone else to collect the debt, it's called third-party collections.
- Domestic companies usually pay their bills within 47 days, which is good. But the new EU rules about late payments are not as strict as they could be.
- In practice, negotiating payment instalments is often the most efficient way to avoid unnecessary costs. A specialized collection agency may often suffice to obtain payment.
- When a debtor can't pay their debt, there are ways to renegotiate the debt. But these ways are not very good and no one uses them. Most of the time, people who go bankrupt don't have to pay anything back to their creditors.
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
Dutch companies usually pay their bills within 47 days. This is good. Sometimes there are delays of up to 14 days, but this does not happen often. The reason for the delays is sometimes because the company does not have enough money to pay all its bills right away. This is called cash flow management. The DSO for listed companies has remained stable over the past few years even if a slight increase was observed in 2021.
The main types of corporate structures are sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations
Who is responsible for business debts? This is decided by legal structures. These are explained below.
- A sole proprietorship is a business owned by one person. The owner is responsible for all the debts of the business. Two or more people can own a business together as partners. Partnerships can be held jointly and individually liable for the actions of the other partners. Limited liability partnerships offer limited liability to the partners.
- Most businesses in the Netherlands are Private Limited Liability Companies (Besloten Vennootschap met beperkte aansprakelijkheid, BV). This means that there is no minimum amount of money needed to start the business, and the partners' liability is limited to their contribution. Public Limited Liability Companies (Naamloze Vennootschap, NV) are used for larger businesses that want to divide their capital into shares. In these companies, the shareholders' liability is limited to the value of their shares.
- Foreign companies can also settle in the Netherlands by setting up a Branch Office. This option does not limit the liability of the foreign parent company. Joint Ventures may use any legal structure, but incorporation is not necessary. A contract drafted for this purpose would be enough.
The debt collection process in Netherlands
In Netherlands, there are usually several steps involved in collecting a debt.
Below is a picture that shows the standard way we collect debt in the Netherlands.
1 Upload your claim:
If you want someone to help you get money that you are owed, you will start by finding a company that helps people with this. You will give them some information about the debt and they will find a company in the country where the person who owes you money lives. This is free and there is no catch.
2 Amicable collection:
The collection process typically begins with a "campaign" of friendly reminders sent to your debtor via email, SMS, letter and all other available communication channels in the specific country. The goal is to get the debtor to pay or acknowledge the debt and start a payment plan. We offer a no-cure-no-pay solution for amicable collection, where you only pay a small success fee if we recover your debt. Amicable collections with Debitura are, therefore 100% risk-free!
3 Evaluation:
If the person you are trying to get money from has not paid you after you have talked to them, it is time to decide what to do next. We will look at the size of your claim, the chances that you will get paid, and other factors to help you decide what to do. There are three typical next steps:
A: Surveillance:
If the amount of money you are claiming from someone is less than 2,000-5,000 Euros, it is often not worth it to take any more legal action. In this case, we recommend "debt surveillance." This means that we will keep trying to contact the person who owes you money and try to reach an agreement about how much they will pay you.
B: Legal collections:
We suggest beginning a legal process if you have a big claim. The steps you need to take will vary depending on what kind of claim you have and how big it is. Usually, it takes around one and a half years for the whole process to be finished.
C: Debt enforcement:
If the person you are owed money from has said that they owe you money, or if there is a court order, you can go to the bailiff's court to get your money.
At Debitura, we can help you with all three steps in Netherlands.
Amicable collection in Netherlands
At Debitura, we offer an Amicable collections process that is 100% risk-free and very efficient. Simply submit your claim, and we will get started within 24 hours.
We will try to reach the person you owe money to by email, text, regular mail, phone calls, and social media.
The goal is to:
A) get the debtor to pay the whole amount or
B) get the debtor to agree that they owe money and start a plan to pay it back
If the person you are trying to get money from has said that they do not owe you money, you cannot try to resolve this issue peacefully. You must go straight to legal collections.
Late payment interest
The EU Directive 2011/7/EU, which states that payments in the EU must be made within 60 days, was expected to be turned into Dutch law on 16 March 2013. This new law would limit the provisions of the Dutch Civil Code on contractual payment deadlines.
Other countries in the EU have stricter rules than what is required by the Directive. In business-to-business transactions, people have to pay within 60 days unless both sides agree to a different time period. The new Act also says that if someone does not pay on time, they should have to pay interest based on the European Central Bank’s reference rate plus at least 8 percentage points.
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 Netherlands
If the person you owe money to does not pay you back, or if they say they do not owe you money, we will give you 3 free quotes from our local debt collection attorneys. In the legal phase, our local attorney will talk to your debtor and try to get them to agree on a payment plan. Our partners can also go to court and get a document that says the person owes you money. This document can be used to make the person pay you back.
Ordinary proceedings
The people involved may be able to go to a simplified court instead of having a long legal battle, but this usually only works if the debt is certain and not disputed. If the person who owes money is threatened with insolvency procedures, this may also work as long as there is at least one creditor with two certain and undisputed claims against the debtor. In these situations, the debtors usually react quickly and propose a plan to pay back the money in installments.
If the company that owes money has assets in other European Union countries, there is a procedure that makes it easier to get the money that is owed (under Regulation EC No 1896/2006). In this case, the person who is owed money can ask a domestic court to issue an Order to Pay. This order will be enforceable in all European Union countries (except Denmark) without any exequatur proceedings.
When two people or companies can't agree on something and one person owes the other money, the law says that the person who wants their money must first try to work it out with the other person. If they can't, then the person who wants their money can go to court and ask a judge to make a decision.
In the Netherlands, the law is written down in a book rather than based on what happened in the past. There are different levels of courts depending on how much money is involved in the case. The County Courts would normally deal with small claims of up to EUR 25,000, while claims in excess of this amount would fall under the jurisdiction of District Courts. The Court of Appeal is the court that hears appeals from lower courts. The Supreme Court is the court that hears appeals from the Court of Appeal.
Different lawyers have different prices for their services. To get the best price, it is recommended that you get multiple quotes so you can compare the prices. 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 Netherlands
You can use the bailiff's court to enforce your claim in Netherlands if you have a written acknowledgement of your claim from the debtor or a court order.
When a judgment becomes final, this means that the person who owes money has to pay. If they do not pay, then the court can make them pay by asking for a mandatory enforcement order.
The way to do this and how much it will cost is different for everyone. You can upload your information onto Debitura. They will give you 3 different prices for your situation within 24 hours.
Get started with
debt enforcement
Upload your claim and get 3 FREE quotes from our local collection partners.
Insolvency proceedings in Netherlands
If your debtor cannot pay his debts, you can start an insolvency procedure. The goal of this procedure is to sell the debtor's assets and give the money to the creditors. The creditors with the highest priority will get paid first.
- Practitioners suggest that, due to limited efficiency, suspension of payment proceedings in the Netherlands tend to take place informally through out-of-court negotiations before transforming into liquidation proceedings.
- Corporate debt restructuring rather takes place through the suspension of payments (surseance van betaling) procedure during which the court appoints a Supervisory Judge and an administrator in charge of managing the company while the directors attempt to reach a compromise with the creditors.
- A plan would be approved if it is accepted by two-thirds of creditors representing three-quarters of debt, with no legal limits to amounts written off.
- During debt restructuring (for private persons), suspension of payments or bankruptcy proceedings, a moratorium is put into place from moment court has issued an adjudication order until termination of insolvency; creditors cannot enforce payment unless they hold exclusive rights.
- There is no legislation towards pools of creditors, although these exist on voluntary basis, especially when large corporation goes bankrupt; in reorganization and liquidation proceedings alike, pool founded by credit insurance companies and largest creditorSs ,with aim accumulating representative claims.
European Late Payment Directive in Netherlands
Netherlands is part of the European Union (EU), so the law that says people have to pay on time for things they buy from businesses is in effect here.
The directive includes the following things:
- Public authorities can't make you pay for something more than 30 days after you get it.
- Private companies 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 if they pay you late.
- The European Central Bank has a reference rate. This is the rate that banks use when they are loaning money. If someone does not pay their loan back on time, the interest rate must be at least 8% higher than the reference rate.
The Danish government cannot make local rules that would be worse for creditors than the EEU-wide rules.
Our analysis has shown that the risk of doing business in Netherlands 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 Netherlands. 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 Netherlands
Our analysis shows that the economic risk in Netherlands 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 Netherlands is 1018,01 bn. USD (2021), growing by 5,04% per year.
In terms of the size of its economy, Netherlands ranks #18 out of 183 countries and has a large economy.
Having a view at the growth rate, it is ranked #78 out of 183 countries and is therefore considered a fast-growing economy.
GDP per capita is 58061 USD, ranking Netherlands number #13 out of 183 countries. This means the purchasing power of citizens in Netherlands is high compared to the rest of the world.
You get a more detailed idea of GDP and economic growth in Netherlands in the table below:
Another major impact for the economic risk score is the inflation rate and the interest rates. You get a more detailed idea of monetary KPIs in Netherlands in the table below:
The inflation in Netherlands was 2,7% in 2021 which is considered a low inflation rate.
The business environment risk in Netherlands
Our analysis shows that the business environment risk in Netherlands is very low (1 out of 6), which is a relatively low risk score in Europe.
The business environment risk are determined by the level of economic freedom and rights in a country. You can see the critical facts for Netherlands in the table below:
In the above table, you can see, the property rights index is 89 in Netherlands, 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 81 in Netherlands, a pretty good score for a country in Europe.
Netherlands's overall economic freedom index is 77 out of 100 and is based on factors such as the rule of law, regulatory efficiency, and market openness.
The political risk in Netherlands
The political risk in Netherlands 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 important drivers for political risk. An overview of Netherlands can be seen in the graphs 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 Netherlands, the rule of law index is at 1,74 points, with the score going from -2.5 (weak) to 2.5 (strong). Netherlands 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 small shadow economy that is 7,83% of Netherlands's GDP.
The commercial risk in Netherlands
In Netherlands, 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 impacted by a country's international trade relationships. You can see some of the key facts for Netherlands in the table below:
Netherlands has a foreign exchange reserve of 64.47 bn. USD.
Netherlands has a positive trade balance of 11,01% of GDP. This means that Netherlands imports fewer goods and services than the country exports.
The annual growth of exports of goods and services has been growing 6,61% annually - now 83,6% of GDP. Import of goods and services represents 72,59% of the GDP in Netherlands.
The financing risk in Netherlands
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 Netherlands in the table below:
In Netherlands, the credit information sharing index is 7 on a scale from 0 (low) to 8 (high). This means the accessibility and quality of credit information available in Netherlands is medium-high.
This makes it easy for you to understand the credit risk of your counterpart in Netherlands. 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 juridical rights as a creditor are 2 out of 12 and, therefore, very weak.
Debt Collection in Netherlands: Frequently Asked Questions
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In Netherlands, debt collection typically involves several steps including friendly reminders, evaluation, and legal collections or debt enforcement. Dutch companies usually pay their bills within 47 days, and negotiating payment instalments or using a specialized collection agency may be efficient ways to obtain payment. Legal structures such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations determine responsibility for business debts. At Debitura, we offer a free uploading of claims and a risk-free, no-cure-no-pay solution for amicable collection, as well as assistance with all three steps of debt collection in Netherlands.
The debt collection process in the Netherlands involves three main steps: Pre-legal collection, legal debt collection, and debt enforcement. Pre-legal collection includes sending reminders to the debtor, while legal collection involves initiating legal processes depending on the claim size. Debt enforcement is the last step that involves going to the bailiff's court to retrieve your money. At Debitura, we provide assistance for all these steps in the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, if a debt is disputed, a civil lawsuit may be required. Legal options for debt collection also include debt enforcement and insolvency proceedings. These legal actions require the services of a local lawyer. Different courts hear different levels of claims, with County Courts dealing with small claims and the Supreme Court hearing appeals. Insolvency proceedings involve selling a debtor's assets to pay creditors, and there are no legal limits to amounts written off in a restructuring plan. A moratorium is put in place during the insolvency process, and there is no legislation for pools of creditors.
The cost of debt collection in Netherlands varies depending on the case and actions desired. Debitura offers a no-cure-no-pay model for pre-legal collections with a success fee between 10-20%. For legal actions, costs depend on your specific case. Debitura can provide you with 3 quotes from the best debt collection lawyers in the Netherlands.
The time it takes to collect a debt in the Netherlands depends on the debtor and the case. If the debt can be settled outside the court, it usually takes 3-6 months. However, if legal action is necessary, the process may take 12-18 months. It's important to have a clear understanding of the situation and seek professional help to ensure the best outcome.
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