When to use it
Send it as soon as you learn of the bankruptcy — from the trustee, from Statstidende (the Danish official gazette) or from a monitoring service. The decisive question is rarely whether the debtor goes bankrupt. It is where in the queue your claim stands when he does. If you hold a charge, a retention of title or a guarantee, you stand outside the queue. If you do not, you are an unsecured creditor — and unsecured creditors typically receive nothing. But filing costs next to nothing, and without it you are guaranteed zero.
It has to be right
The wording is rarely the problem. It is the deadline, the fee and what the letter leaves out — and the mistake costs you the expenses, not the debtor.
- File the claim yourself. The trustee does not necessarily know that your claim exists, and he will not call
- Enclose the documentation — invoice, agreement, statement of interest and costs
- State whether you hold a CHARGE, a retention of title or a guarantee. That takes you out of the creditor queue
- Do it early. The deadline is published, and a claim filed too late is lost
How to fill it in
Most placeholders are trivial. These are not.
- Security
- The most important line in the letter. If you hold a retention of title in goods you delivered, you should not be filing an unsecured claim — you should be demanding the goods back. That is the difference between a 0 % dividend and getting your machine home.
- Guarantee
- If the owner has given a personal guarantee, the case is not over just because the company is. File in the estate, and pursue the guarantor in parallel.
- The statement
- File the principal, the interest and the costs itemised. An amount with no breakdown is one the trustee can reject.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get as an unsecured creditor?
Often nothing. The costs of the estate, the trustee's fee and the employee claims are covered before the supplier claims, and there is rarely anything left. That is not an argument against filing — it costs next to nothing — but it is a very strong argument for acting long before matters get that far.
Can I demand my goods back?
If you hold a valid retention of title, agreed by the time of delivery at the latest, and the goods can be identified and have not been consumed or built in — yes. Then you stand outside the creditor queue.
What if I received a payment shortly before the bankruptcy?
It may be set aside. A payment that left you better off than the other creditors in the run-up to the cut-off date (fristdagen) can be clawed back into the estate by the trustee.
Legal disclaimer. The template is generic and free to use. It is not legal advice and does not take account of the circumstances of your particular case. Rates, deadlines and statutory references change — check them before you use the document. If the claim is large, disputed or heading for court, call us before you send anything.