Part payment (delbetaling)
Also known as partial payment, on-account payment, instalment, acontobetaling, afdrag
A part payment is a payment that only covers part of the claim — and that is applied to costs and interest before it touches the principal.
Key facts
- Applied to
- Costs and interest first
In practice
The order surprises many people: as a starting point, a part payment goes first to costs and interest, and only then to the principal. That is why the principal can stand almost unchanged even though the debtor has paid several times.
This is not a technicality. It determines how the claim is to be stated, and an incorrect allocation produces an incorrect interest calculation — one that will not hold up in the bailiff’s court.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- Part payments are posted against the principal. That makes the entire statement of claim wrong.
- You refuse the part payment because it does not cover the whole claim. Accept it. The payment acknowledges the debt and interrupts the limitation period.
- Nothing is agreed about the rest. A part payment with no deadline on the balance is a postponement no one has dated.