Introduction
When a consumer does not pay an invoice, the creditor often engages a collection agency or bailiff. The law protects the consumer against excessive costs and against improper collection practices. Not every collection fee claimed is justified, and the consumer can raise a defence against it.
What a collection agency may charge (WIK)
The Collection Costs Act (WIK) caps the out-of-court collection costs that may be charged to a consumer (Article 6:96 DCC and the accompanying Decree on compensation for out-of-court collection costs). The costs are calculated as a percentage of the claim, with a statutory minimum and maximum. Deviation to the consumer's detriment is not permitted.
The mandatory reminder and fourteen-day letter
Before collection costs become payable, the consumer must first receive a cost-free reminder with a payment period of fourteen days, the fourteen-day letter, stating the amount of collection costs (Article 6:96(6) DCC). In a preliminary decision the Supreme Court clarified how strictly this works: the fourteen-day period begins only on the day after receipt of the letter, so that wording such as payment within fourteen days of the date is incorrect, and a letter with an incorrect period does not make the collection costs payable (Supreme Court 25 November 2016, ECLI:NL:HR:2016:2704). The court reviews this in default cases too.
Defences against unjustified collection costs
The consumer can dispute the collection costs where the fourteen-day letter is missing or incorrect, the amount is wrongly calculated, or the underlying claim is contested. Since the Quality of Collection Services Act (in force since 2024), quality requirements and a registration duty apply to collection service providers, which curbs improper practices.
What decides the outcome
The outcome is determined by whether the fourteen-day letter was correctly sent and whether the costs were calculated within the statutory limits. A party confronted with a consumer collection first checks the reminder and the calculation before paying.