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Sometimes customers don’t pay their bills on time. You then have to send a reminder or, if you still don’t receive payment, a demand notice. If customers do not pay within a reasonable term, you ultimately have to send a final reminder.

What is a 14-day payment reminder letter?

A 14-day payment reminder letter is a final reminder. This is required by law and orders the debtor to pay within 14 days so as to avoid extra collection costs. It also states what will happen and what costs will become payable if the debtor does not pay within 2 weeks.

Who do you send it to?

You send a 14-day payment reminder to a private individual or consumer who has failed to make payment. You must send these parties a final reminder. But if your debtor is a business or an organisation, you do not have to send such a letter.

What does the reminder have to include?

Any 14-day payment reminder you send must state:

  • that a payment term of 14 days applies. Remember that post is not delivered on Sundays, public holidays or Mondays and that these days are therefore not included in the 14 days;
  • that the 14-day term starts upon receipt of the letter;
  • whether you are liable for VAT or not. If you are not liable, state the applicable amount of VAT. This is because the debtor then has to pay the VAT;
  • the collection costs that the customer has to pay in addition to the original invoice amount. The applicable percentages for collection costs are:
  1. €0.01 – €2,500: 15% (min.: €40)
  2. €2500.01 – €5,000: 10%
  3. €5,000.01 – €10,000: 5%
  4. €10,000.01 – €200,000: 1%
  5. Above €200,000.01: 0.5% (max. €6,775)

The statutory minimum amount of collection costs payable is €40, even if this is higher than 15%. The Quality in Debt Collection Services Act [WKI] comes into force on 1 April 2024 and will affect the amount/cumulative level of collection costs payable on subscription and rent debts, for example. We will provide more information on this as soon as it becomes available.

Send a 14-day payment reminder by registered post?

You are recommended to send a 14-day payment reminder by registered post. That way you can prove that your customer received the letter and so avoid discussions.

WIK-brief

Do you want to avoid unpleasant collection processes? 

Do you want to avoid annoying debt collection processes in the future? We are happy to take over collections or accounts receivable management from you. We are a member of the NVI trade organization and have the collection quality mark. This way you can be sure that a collection process is carried out carefully and your customer is assured of timely and correct handling of any complaints.