How to send a reminder that holds up
The sequence, the deadlines and the fees — so you can have your costs covered when the case moves on.
You can send three reminders and a collection notice that hold up legally — and that make the debtor pay the costs.
Step by step
- 01
Wait until the day after the due date
A reminder can only be sent once payment has fallen due. If you send a "friendly reminder" before the due date, it is not a reminder in the eyes of the law — it triggers neither a fee nor the right to take the case further. All it costs you is a day.
This is where it goes wrongCourtesy notices sent before the due date do not count towards the three reminders. Nor do they carry a fee.
- 02
Set out the claim so it cannot be misunderstood
Invoice number, invoice date, due date and amount. A reminder that merely says "you owe us money" is useless the day the debtor raises an objection — and it is worthless as evidence in the bailiff's court.
- 03
Set a deadline, and state the consequence
Ten days is the standard, and it is also the minimum period between two reminders carrying a fee. Write down what happens if the deadline is not met. A reminder without a consequence is a courtesy notice — and courtesy notices go to the bottom of the pile.
- 04
Impose the fee — but only three times
You may charge 100 kr. per reminder, and you may do so on no more than three reminders per claim. If you send a fourth and a fifth, you are free to write them, but you may not add a fee. If the claim is a business claim, you can charge a compensation fee on top.
This is where it goes wrongThe three fees apply per CLAIM — not per letter. Send ten reminders on the same invoice and seven of them are free.
- 05
Finish with a collection notice
Before a claim may be passed to debt collection, the debtor must receive a collection notice with a deadline of at least ten days. This is not a recommendation, it is a condition: if the notice has not been sent, the collection costs cannot be imposed on the debtor afterwards.
This is where it most often goes wrong
Not because anyone is careless, but because the mistakes are easy to make and only surface once it is too late.
You send the reminders when there is time
The Friday reminder run costs you days on every single invoice, and the days stack up across the entire debtor ledger. The deadline only starts running once the letter has been sent — not when it ought to have been sent.
You forget to document that it was sent
The debtor does not have to have received the reminder; you have to be able to show that it was sent. Keep the record of the dispatch — that is what carries your claim for the costs if the case is contested.
You let it grind to a halt after the third reminder
That is where most claims die. Three reminders without a collection notice are three letters that have taught the debtor nothing will happen.