Who is who, and what everything is called
Core concepts and roles
Claim, principal, creditor, debtor. The words everything else is built from — and the ones that appear in every single letter you send and receive.
12 concepts
- Arrears (restance) Arrears are the part of the debt that has fallen due and has not been paid — what the debtor is behind with. Due and unpaid is
- Claim (fordring) A claim is a legal right to performance — in debt collection, almost always a right to a sum of money. Documentable must be
- Creditor (kreditor) The creditor is the party that is owed the money — the holder of the claim. Fordringshaver (holder of the claim) also called
- Debt collection (inkasso) Debt collection is the recovery of a due money claim that the debtor has not paid despite reminders. Inkassoloven (the Danish Debt Collection Act) governed by
- Debtor (debitor) The debtor is the party who owes the money — the counterparty to the creditor in a debt relationship. Skyldner also called
- Default (misligholdelse) Default is when a party fails to perform its side of the agreement — in debt collection, almost always failure to pay on time. Interest and reminders triggers
- In-house debt collection (egeninkasso) In-house debt collection is when the creditor pursues its own claim without handing it over to a debt collection agency. Authorisation does not require
- Judicial debt collection (retslig inkasso) Judicial debt collection is recovery through the courts and the bailiff's court, used when the debtor does not pay voluntarily. An enforceable instrument purpose
- Out-of-court debt collection (udenretlig inkasso) Out-of-court collection is recovery without the courts — the letter, the call and the settlement, before the case may go to court. The courts without
- Outstanding balance (restgæld) The outstanding balance is the whole amount still owed — both what has fallen due and what has not yet fallen due.
- Principal (hovedstol) The principal is the original claim, excluding interest, fees and costs. The invoice amount consists of
- Third-party debt collection (fremmedinkasso) Third-party debt collection is the recovery of other parties' claims — it requires authorisation from the police or admission to the Danish Bar.
And what applies all the way through
From dictionary to decision
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