Recovery of collection costs (omkostningsdækning)
Also known as recovery of enforcement costs, cost recovery
This is the question of how much of the bill for collecting the claim the creditor can pass on to the debtor.
- Presupposes
- A valid formal demand
- Rarely covers
- The full expense
- The rest is borne by
- The creditor
In practice
Danish law lets the creditor pass part of the collection costs on to the debtor. Only part, and only where the formalities are in order. Reminder fees, the collection fee, the court fee and awarded legal costs each have their own legal basis and their own conditions.
What holds the layer together is the formal demand. Sent correctly and with the right deadline, the costs can be claimed. Sent wrongly, the whole layer falls away, however well founded the claim itself may be.
The rest the creditor carries. Internal time, the bookkeeper’s hours, the letter that went out a day too early — those are not costs anyone reimburses.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- An administration fee is added. Fees need a legal basis. An invented one cannot be claimed and weakens the rest of the statement.
- The formal demand is skipped. It is the single error that costs the most in recoverable costs — the whole layer rests on it.