Debtor services

If you do not recognise the debt: check your documents, browse through your bills, check payment receipts. Furthermore, it may be necessary and often helpful to check the account statement for a corresponding debit entry. If you find a related debit entry, the reminder may have overlapped with your payment. In this case, you need to inform the debt collection agency and send a confirmation of the payment you made. The debt collection agency will then contact the creditor.

If you forgot to pay the bill, the amount due should be paid to the debt collection agency within the deadline indicated in the letter.

Contact the debt collection agency immediately and ask for the relevant documents that substantiate the claim.

Contact the debt collection agency immediately. Anyone who simply fails to react will have to reckon with further reminders, calls, visits by the debt collector or even legal proceedings instituted to recover the debt, which may lead to considerable additional costs.

The lowest costs are incurred when a claim is paid immediately. Should this not be possible, a request to pay monthly or a request for a payment deferral can be made. The debt collection agency will forward any such request to the creditor and work out an arrangement that both parties can agree to.

This request must always be submitted in writing and indicate the reasons for the request. The amount of a monthly payment must ensure that the debt is paid back as quickly as possible while giving due consideration to the debtor's financial circumstances. We strongly advice enclosing documents with your request, such as salary confirmation, confirmation of unemployment, etc.

There is no statutory obligation to remind debtors of outstanding payments. However, experience has shown that all creditors remind debtors at least once when a bill has remained unpaid and needs to be settled immediately.

As experts in the field, debt collection agencies provide perfect backing and support for anyone's receivables management. They act as the creditor's extended arms.

Yes, if the claim is justified, the debtor is obliged to pay the debt recovery fees and default interest (loss causation principle under sec. 1333[2] ABGB).

Once a debt collection agency has been contracted, we recommend direct payment to the debt collection agency. Making payments directly to the creditor will delay closure, lead to needless inquiries and likely cause additional costs. The debt collection agency is the mediator between the creditor and the debtor.

Informing the debt collection agency of any such change will save costs for reminders, address enquiries, income and asset situation enquiries, etc.

The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and the Austrian Collection Association (Inkassoverband Österreich) are the first points of contact.

The most important rule to remember is: Anyone in receipt of a reminder for a debt that they do not recognise should contact the party sending the reminder immediately.