§ 17. When the debtor must pay debt collection costs

§ 17 is one of the most important sections of the Debt Collection Act. It is about who has to pay the bill for the collection itself.

When you do not pay a claim by the due date (forfall), the person you owe money to may incur extra costs. They may send a payment reminder (purring). They may send a debt collection notice. They may spend time following you up. They may send the case to a debt collection agency (inkassobyrå). § 17 says that you as the debtor, as a general rule, must compensate the necessary costs of such out-of-court collection.

“Out-of-court collection” means collection before the case goes to court or to the enforcement officer (namsmannen). It is the ordinary debt collection process with a notice, a demand for payment (betalingsoppfordring) and follow-up. Collection through the courts (rettslig inndriving) is covered by § 21, not § 17.

But § 17 is not just a rule saying that you must pay. It also sets clear limits. You do not have to pay debt collection costs just because someone has sent you a claim. The costs must be necessary. The claim must have been handled correctly. And you must not have had a reasonable objection that should have been assessed first.

An objection is a protest against the claim. It may be that you have already paid. It may be that you never ordered the item. It may be that the service was not delivered. It may be that the amount is wrong. It may also be that you cancelled the subscription before the period they are demanding payment for.

If you had a reasonable ground to protest, the creditor cannot simply send the case to debt collection and demand that you pay the costs. In that case, the claim should have been assessed first. The law protects you from being pressured with debt collection fees when there is actually doubt about the claim.

At the same time, you must speak up in time. If you have a clear objection but say nothing until a long time has passed, it can backfire on you. § 17 says that you can avoid the costs even if the objection came after the costs were incurred, but not if you should have spoken up earlier.

When must you pay debt collection costs?

You normally have to pay debt collection costs when three things are in place.

First, the principal claim (hovedkrav) must be correct. If you actually owe NOK 2,000 for an electricity bill, and the bill is overdue, there is a claim.

Second, the collection must be necessary. If you do not pay after the due date and receive a lawful notice, it may be necessary to follow up the claim. The person who is owed money should not have to bear all the costs themselves if you simply do not pay.

Third, the rules in the Debt Collection Act must have been followed. You must have received a debt collection notice under § 9. You must have been given a deadline of at least 14 days. If the case goes to a debt collector, the demand for payment under § 10 must be correct. Before collection through the courts, the conditions in § 11 must be met.

If these points are in order, the starting point is that you must pay necessary debt collection costs within the rates that follow from regulation (forskrift).

When do you not have to pay debt collection costs?

You may avoid debt collection costs in several situations.

The first is if you had a reasonable objection. This does not mean that you must win the case in full. It is enough that your protest was genuine and reasonable to have assessed before debt collection was started. If the shop demanded payment for an item that never arrived, they should look into the matter before sending it to debt collection.

The second is if you paid within the deadline in the debt collection notice. Under § 9, the debt collection notice must give you at least 14 days. If you pay within that deadline, the creditor cannot demand that you cover the fee to a debt collector. In that case, you have paid before the case was really supposed to go further.

The third is if the creditor or the debt collector has breached good debt collection practice. Good debt collection practice in § 8 means that the collection must be orderly and must not expose you to unreasonable pressure, harm or inconvenience. If the debt collector uses heavy-handed methods, sends misleading letters or pressures you in an unreasonable way, the liability for costs may fall away.

The fourth is if the rules in §§ 9 to 11 have been breached. This may, for example, be that you did not receive a correct debt collection notice, that the deadline was too short, or that the demand for payment lacked necessary information. In that case, they cannot claim the fee to a debt collector.

What does “necessary costs” mean?

“Necessary costs” means costs that it was reasonable to incur in order to collect the claim. It is not a blank cheque to add on anything at all.

If a claim is small, the costs must be reasonably proportionate to the case. If the claim is disputed, it must be assessed before debt collection is pushed further. If the debtor pays quickly after a lawful notice, the case should not be built up with unnecessary fees (gebyrer).

In practice, many of the amounts are regulated by regulation. § 19 and § 20 are therefore closely linked to § 17. § 17 says when the debtor is liable. § 19 and § 20 deal with which amounts and maximum limits may apply.

What happens if the debt collector breaks the rules?

If the debt collector breaks the rules, you may not have to pay debt collection costs. This does not always mean that the principal claim disappears. If you actually owe NOK 5,000, you may still have to pay NOK 5,000. But you can dispute (bestride) fees, the debt collection fee (salær) and other costs.

It is therefore important to distinguish between the principal claim and additional charges (tilleggskrav). The principal claim is the original amount. Additional charges are interest, fees and debt collection costs. You can agree with the principal claim but disagree with the debt collection costs.

In that case, write clearly: “I acknowledge the principal claim, but dispute the debt collection costs because …” This makes the case clearer.

First check whether the principal claim is correct. Look at the date, amount, supplier and what the claim relates to.

If the claim is correct, check whether you received a debt collection notice with a deadline of at least 14 days. Also check whether you paid within the deadline.

If the claim is wrong, send a written objection straight away. Use email or a contact form where you get a receipt. Attach documentation.

If only the fees are wrong, write that you dispute the costs, not necessarily the principal claim. Ask the debt collector to explain why the costs can be claimed.

Keep everything. Letters, emails, text messages, payment receipts and screenshots can decide the case.