Fact check: Is it mandatory to send customers a reminder?

 

A payment reminder, or simply a reminder, default notice, … . We have a lot of words for it (in Dutch), and often this means that we treat the subject with a great deal of love.

And in a way that is definitely the case for a payment reminder as well! You undoubtedly know the situation. A customer is annoyed that he never received a reminder, and now finds that he has to pay costs and interest because of his non-payment. He would have appreciated to receive a reminder.

The key question: Is it or is it not mandatory to remind customers?

 

 

 


Short answer: No, it is not obligatory!

 

It is not obligatory to send customers (B2C and B2B) a reminder for unpaid invoices before you are allowed to charge costs and interest. Unless you are a telecom operator!

In all other cases, you may charge costs and interest in accordance with your general terms and conditions or the law, and as long as the debt is not statute-barred.

 

 

Long answer: it is still not obligatory, but maybe useful?

 

 

Although it is not an obligation, it is best to send reminders. Some important nuances to bear in mind:

 

  1. Sending reminders can actually help your customer relationship. Customers will appreciate it if you take this trouble before charging costs and interest or handing the file over to an external partner for collection. As a collection partner, we are often asked why the creditor has not taken the initiative to send a reminder first. Many people think that it is the creditor’s legal if not principle obligation to do this and they feel dissatisfied when (they think) this step is skipped.

 

  1. Make sure that your reminders, just like your invoice, are sent in a traceable way (e.g. via e-mail). Remember the example we started this article with: your customer thinks he did not receive a reminder, or uses this (incorrectly) as an argument to try to get out of the costs and interest. Via a traceable reminder, you can very easily demonstrate that you have indeed made this effort.If you ultimately want to proceed to charging costs and interest, it is important to demonstrate that the customer has received the invoice correctly. A reminder is not a legal obligation, but an invoice is!

 

  1. A reminder is a useful action, but not the holy grail! It does not interrupt the limitation period! Good credit management is therefore essential to keep an eye on your customer, the cash flow, outstanding invoices and the limitation period.

 

  1. Take a close look at your general terms and conditions. It is best if these explicitly state that you can demand costs and interest in the event of late payment, without sending a prior notice of default (reminder)! This rules out any further discussion. Among other things, it must be possible to demonstrate that general terms and conditions have been accepted in order to make them valid.

 

  1. Although it is not yet a legal obligation, bills have been introduced to require creditors to send a free reminder to consumers (B2C) before (limited) costs and interest can be claimed. However, these bills have not yet resulted in an effective amendment of the legislation. Specifically, the proposal asks for invoices to be delivered within 7 days, for the payment term for all invoices to be fixed at 20 days, for a first reminder to be sent free of charge and only after 20 days, and for costs to be charged only on the second reminder after 30 days.

 

 

To sum up: reminders – those of a nostalgic nature – can provoke a lot of emotions, but so can skipping reminding your customers of their outstanding debts!

For more information on the points raised or our help in collecting unpaid invoices, contact us at s.dereze@tcm.be or +32 16 74 52 00.

 

 

 

 

 

15/03/2022

Fact check: Is het verplicht om klanten een herinnering (aanmaning) te versturen?

A payment reminder, or simply a reminder, default notice, … . We have a lot of words for it (in Dutch), and often this means that we treat the subject with a great deal of love.

And in a way that is definitely the case for a payment reminder as well! You undoubtedly know the situation. A customer is annoyed that he never received a reminder, and now finds that he has to pay costs and interest because of his non-payment. He would have appreciated to receive a reminder.

The key question: Is it or is it not mandatory to remind customers?

 

 

 


Short answer: No, it is not obligatory!

 

It is not obligatory to send customers (B2C and B2B) a reminder for unpaid invoices before you are allowed to charge costs and interest. Unless you are a telecom operator!

In all other cases, you may charge costs and interest in accordance with your general terms and conditions or the law, and as long as the debt is not statute-barred.

 

 

Long answer: it is still not obligatory, but maybe useful?

 

 

Although it is not an obligation, it is best to send reminders. Some important nuances to bear in mind:

 

  1. Sending reminders can actually help your customer relationship. Customers will appreciate it if you take this trouble before charging costs and interest or handing the file over to an external partner for collection. As a collection partner, we are often asked why the creditor has not taken the initiative to send a reminder first. Many people think that it is the creditor’s legal if not principle obligation to do this and they feel dissatisfied when (they think) this step is skipped.

 

  1. Make sure that your reminders, just like your invoice, are sent in a traceable way (e.g. via e-mail). Remember the example we started this article with: your customer thinks he did not receive a reminder, or uses this (incorrectly) as an argument to try to get out of the costs and interest. Via a traceable reminder, you can very easily demonstrate that you have indeed made this effort.If you ultimately want to proceed to charging costs and interest, it is important to demonstrate that the customer has received the invoice correctly. A reminder is not a legal obligation, but an invoice is!

 

  1. A reminder is a useful action, but not the holy grail! It does not interrupt the limitation period! Good credit management is therefore essential to keep an eye on your customer, the cash flow, outstanding invoices and the limitation period.

 

  1. Take a close look at your general terms and conditions. It is best if these explicitly state that you can demand costs and interest in the event of late payment, without sending a prior notice of default (reminder)! This rules out any further discussion. Among other things, it must be possible to demonstrate that general terms and conditions have been accepted in order to make them valid.

 

  1. Although it is not yet a legal obligation, bills have been introduced to require creditors to send a free reminder to consumers (B2C) before (limited) costs and interest can be claimed. However, these bills have not yet resulted in an effective amendment of the legislation. Specifically, the proposal asks for invoices to be delivered within 7 days, for the payment term for all invoices to be fixed at 20 days, for a first reminder to be sent free of charge and only after 20 days, and for costs to be charged only on the second reminder after 30 days.

 

 

To sum up: reminders – those of a nostalgic nature – can provoke a lot of emotions, but so can skipping reminding your customers of their outstanding debts!

For more information on the points raised or our help in collecting unpaid invoices, contact us at s.dereze@tcm.be or +32 16 74 52 00.

 

 

 

 

 

15/03/2022

Don’t wait another second – collect your money

Focus on your business, we’ll take care of your outstanding payments. Contact us to find out more.

Don’t wait another second – collect your money

Focus on your business, we’ll take care of your outstanding payments. Contact us to find out more.