Debt collection letter in Denmark: check the fees and reply

An inkasso letter is a Danish debt collection letter: check the claim and each added fee against the legal limits, then reply in writing before the deadline. Here is an annotated example with finished replies in Danish and English.

What the letter is, and the Danish words on it

A debt collection agency or a lawyer usually writes on behalf of the company you owe. The letter is a demand, not a court decision, and it does not mean you are registered as a bad payer. Private collectors must follow good collection practice, which rules out methods that put you under unreasonable pressure (inkassoloven § 9).

• Sagsnummer: the collector’s case number. Put it in every reply.
• Kreditor: the company you originally owe, which may not be the sender.
• Hovedstol: the original bill.
• Rykkergebyr: a reminder fee added before the case went to the collector.
• Inkassoomkostninger: the collector’s fee.
• Renter: late-payment interest.
• Betal senest: pay no later than.
• Indsigelse and afdragsordning: an objection and an instalment plan.

The limits a private collector must respect

These rules decide what can be added to a private person’s bill:

• Reminder fee (rykkergebyr): at most 100 kr per reminder and at most three for the same bill, and only for reminders sent at least 10 days apart. You have no right to three reminders before inkasso.
• Handover fee (inkassogebyr): at most 100 kr for passing the case to a collector.
• Payment notice (påkravsskrivelse): before further collection steps, you must be sent a demand with the information needed to assess the claim and at least 10 days from sending to pay without extra costs. Court steps can come sooner only if waiting risks the claim being lost.
• Collector’s fee (inkassoomkostninger): capped by the size of the claim (see the table), and only if you were first warned in writing, with at least 10 days to pay, that collection costs could be added.
• Interest (renter): runs from the due date. The statutory rate is the Nationalbank’s lending rate plus 8 percentage points. A consumer contract normally cannot set a higher late rate; bank loans and contracts that already carried higher interest before the due date are exceptions.

Sources: inkassoloven §§ 10–11 and renteloven §§ 3, 5, 7 and 9 b.

The claim means the original bill including VAT, plus any interest or fees agreed before the due date, but not reminder fees or late interest. VAT may only be added to the fee if the company you owe is not VAT-registered, and for a private person these are firm caps. Claims that arose before 1 July 2024 have lower caps, and a company that collects its own debt uses a separate, lower table. See the 2024 order on collection costs.

Example: checking Ana’s inkasso letter

Ana and the companies below are fictional. Danish letters use a point for thousands and a comma for decimals: 1.840,00 kr. means 1,840.00 kr.

The letter (shortened)

What Ana checks

1. The claim: Strømkilde Øst was her electricity supplier, and invoice 55120 for 1,840 kr is correct. She missed it when she moved.
2. The reminder fees: she finds three reminders, each with a 100 kr fee. The one from 30 July came only five days after the one from 25 July, so no fee may be charged for it. The 14 August reminder came 20 days after the first. Allowed: 200 kr, not 300 kr.
3. The collector’s fee: the 14 August reminder warned that collection costs would be added if she had not paid by 24 August, ten days later. For a claim of 1,840 kr the cap is 850 kr, so this fee is within the limit.
4. The deadline: 18 September is ten days after the letter was sent. The letter lists no interest; if yours does, check that it starts no earlier than the due date.

Ana agrees with the bill and the collector’s fee, but not with 100 kr of the reminder fees. Below are two finished replies: one if she can pay now and one if she needs instalments. Each is in Danish, followed by an English translation.

Reply A: dispute the extra fee and pay the rest

Ana pays the undisputed 2,890 kr on 15 September, before the deadline, and sends this message to the address in the letter:

In English:

If the collector keeps the 100 kr on the claim, repeat the objection with a reference to this message. Forbrugerombudsmanden also describes paying a disputed amount under protest, with a written reservation that you disagree: that avoids further interest and costs without accepting the claim.

Reply B: propose instalments

If Ana could not pay 2,890 kr at once, she would first work out a monthly amount her budget can carry, still dispute the 100 kr and propose a plan:

In English:

A proposal is not an agreement until the collector accepts it in writing. If it suggests other terms, get them in writing before you pay. Agreeing to the debt does not by itself rule out a report to a credit bureau, so ask what happens while you keep to the plan.

If the claim is not yours or you have already paid

Tell the collector straight away, in writing, and keep a copy. Forbrugerombudsmanden’s inkasso guidance says the company must prove that you owe the money; if you say you have paid, the collector can ask for your receipt. Sending a disputed amount to inkasso without dealing with your objection is normally against good practice.

• Already paid: send the bank receipt showing the date, amount, recipient and reference.
• Not your agreement: ask when and how the agreement was made, what it covers, and for a breakdown of the amount.
• Only new reminders, no answer: repeat your objection to both the company and the collector, referring to your earlier message.

Free legal advice is available from Advokatvagten and legal aid offices (retshjælp). You can complain about pressure tactics to Forbrugerombudsmanden or to Politiets Administrative Center, which authorises debt collectors.

An old claim is not automatically expired

Ordinary bills normally expire after 3 years, counted from when payment could be demanded. The period is 10 years for loans and for debts acknowledged in writing or fixed by a judgment or a court-endorsed payment order; later interest and fees usually still follow the 3-year rule. A new period starts if you acknowledge the debt, in words or by your conduct, or if the creditor takes court steps. See forældelsesloven §§ 2–6 and 15–19.

If a claim is several years old, ask for the agreement, the original due date and the dates of anything the collector says interrupted the limitation period, before you write anything that acknowledges the debt.

What happens if you do nothing

The creditor can take the claim to court. For claims up to 100,000 kr, excluding interest and costs, that is often a payment order (betalingspåkrav) from the enforcement court. Once it is served on you, a written objection must reach the court within 14 days, or 4 weeks if you are served abroad; otherwise it gets the same effect as a judgment (retsplejeloven §§ 477 a and 477 e). Our English guide to the payment order explains that step.

An inkasso letter is not a bad-payer registration. According to Datatilsynet, once you have told the creditor that you do not agree you owe the money, it may not report you to a credit bureau such as RKI before a court has decided. That protection does not apply to debts owed to public authorities.

Letter from Gældsstyrelsen instead?

Debt to public bodies, such as unpaid tax or a bill from your municipality, is collected by Gældsstyrelsen, the Danish Debt Collection Agency, once the authority has handed it over. The inkasso rules on this page do not apply to it. Gældsstyrelsen can offset tax refunds, deduct from your income and seize assets (udlæg): powers a private collector does not have.

Log in to Mit gældsoverblik with MitID to see what you owe and where the debt comes from; Gældsstyrelsen’s English page links to it. If you think the debt is wrong or already paid, contact Gældsstyrelsen. To challenge a decision, follow the complaint guidance in that decision; the private-collector replies above are not the right tool.

Help with the Danish

SkrivSikkert can explain or translate the letter, read it aloud and help you word and proofread your Danish reply. Use the web platform or the Chrome extension; many functions are free without login.

Ask Sofia, for example: “List every amount in this letter with its Danish label and date. Then draft a short Danish reply that disputes only the fee I name and keeps my amounts and dates.” Compare the draft with the letter before you send it.

Frequently asked questions