Reminder fee (rykkergebyr)
Also known as reminder charge, late payment reminder fee, rykkergebyr, rykkersalær, gebyr for rykker
A reminder fee is the amount a creditor may add to the claim for each reminder letter — no more than 100 kr. per reminder, and for no more than three reminders.
In practice
The reminder fee is fixed by Renteloven § 9 b (the Danish Interest Act) and cannot be negotiated upwards — not even by agreement with a consumer. 100 kr. per reminder, no more than three reminders for the same performance, and at least 10 days between each one. In total, therefore, no more than 300 kr. in reminder fees on a single claim.
The fee may only be charged if the reminder is sent after the due date. If it is sent before, it is not a reminder, and the fee is not lawful.
In business-to-business relationships, the compensation fee is added on top as a separate amount. It is not one or the other: a commercial creditor may claim both the reminder fee and the compensation fee on the same claim.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- A fee is added to reminder number four. That is not permitted, however many letters have actually been sent.
- A fee is charged on a payment reminder sent before the due date. A “friendly reminder” ahead of the due date is a service — not a reminder in the legal sense, and it triggers no fee.
- Reminders are issued automatically without the 10-day rule. A system that sends a reminder every 7 days produces fees you cannot collect.