Out-of court debt recovery through a debt collection agency

If you decide to recover your debt through a debt collection agency, this actually means that you will be seeking a recovery of outstanding debts by circumventing the court or the services of a bailiff, i. e. without interference from state institutions. This method of debt collection is usually a long, slow and at times fruitless process because debt collection agencies do not have any exclusive power to enforce your right to receive payment without the intervention of a court or the assistance of a bailiff. If you opt to use this method, the process would unfold as follows:

The payment of an invoice is due on a specific date.
If 14 days have passed since the due date, you send a reminder notice (Norw. purring) to your debtor, extending the payment date by 14 days and additionally claiming a statutory charge in the amount of NOK 70.
If the debtor is 28 days past the payment date, you send a warning letter that you will seek debt recovery through a debt collection agency (Norw. inkassovarsel), indicating a new payment date extended by a further 14 days and claiming an additional statutory charge of NOK 70.
If the debtor is 42 days past the payment date, you send a warning letter demanding the payment of the overdue invoice (Norw. betalingsoppfordring) with a time limit of another 14 days and add a statutory charge in the amount of NOK 210.

If you have not received your payment 56 days past the due date, your debt collection agency may start the debt recovery process (Norw. lett inkasso) – a more expensive option for the debtor. This process may be initiated if at least 28 days have passed since the due date indicated in the warning letter for the payment of the overdue invoice (Norw. betalingsoppfordring). In this case, the extra charge can now be increased to, for example, NOK 700; however, in general, this amount depends on the size of the outstanding debt.
If the debtor is 84 days past the payment date and if more than 28 days have passed since the due date indicated in the warning letter for the payment of the debt (Norw. betalingsoppfordring), the debt collection agency may start the debt recovery process (Norw. tung inkasso) – an even more expensive option for the debtor. The extra charge can now be increased to a reference amount of NOK 1,400; however, in general, this amount depends on the size of the outstanding debt.
If 6 months have passed since the day the warning letter for the payment of the overdue invoice was sent (Norw. betalingsoppfordring), you may no longer initiate the debt recovery process through the court or with the assistance of a bailiff. If you want to do this, you must send a new warning (Norw. betalingsoppfordring) for the payment of the overdue invoice and wait until a payment period of 14 days elapses.