§ 3a. Can the debt collection notice be sent by email or text message?
Yes, a debt collection notice (inkassovarsel) or a demand for payment (betalingsoppfordring) can be sent electronically. This means you can receive the claims by email, text message, or in your digital mailbox (such as Digipost or e-Boks). The requirement is that the message is sent in a "secure manner". So a physical letter in your letterbox is no longer required for the debt collection (inkasso) to be valid.
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
Requirements in or pursuant to this Act that notices to the debtor (skyldner) shall be given in writing do not prevent the use of electronic communication if the notice is sent in a secure manner. The King in Council (Kongen) may, by regulation (forskrift), issue further provisions on what may be considered a secure manner.
What does this mean?
Traditionally, the rule was that all important messages about debt had to be sent as physical letters with a stamp. That is no longer the case. The law was updated to reflect the fact that we live digital lives, and that we check our phones and inboxes far more often than the physical letterbox by the fence.
When the law says that the requirement for writing does not prevent the use of "electronic communication", it means that an email, a message in a customer portal, a notification in Vipps, a text message or a letter in Digipost counts just as much as a letter on paper. If you receive a debt collection notice by email, the payment deadline (betalingsfrist) is just as binding.
But the debt collection company (inkassoselskap) cannot just fire off an email into the dark and hope for the best. The law sets an important requirement: it must be sent in a "secure manner". What does that mean in practice? It means the company must have good reason to believe that the message actually reaches you.
If they send the notice to a digital mailbox such as Digipost or e-Boks (which require BankID), this is always considered 100 % secure. If they send it by email, it should be to an email address you have actively used in your contact with them, or that you registered when you bought the item. They cannot just guess your email address or send a message to an old Myspace account you have not used in ten years.
This means that you as a consumer (forbruker) now have much greater responsibility for checking your digital inboxes. If you have chosen to receive invoices by email from your electricity company, you can expect the payment reminder (purring) and the debt collection notice to arrive there too. You cannot defend yourself by saying "I rarely check my email". That responsibility now lies with you.
What happens if the email ends up in the spam filter?
This is one of the most common problems people run into. You have bought something online, the invoice and the following debt collection notice go straight into the junk mail folder (spam), and you have no idea anything is wrong until the claim has suddenly doubled in price.
Who is to blame? Unfortunately, it is usually you who has to pay the bill. If the debt collection company can prove that they sent the notice to the email address you yourself gave when you ordered the item, they have done their job. The fact that your email provider (such as Gmail or Outlook) filtered it out is not the debt collection company's fault. The company has sent it in a "secure manner" because they used your contact information.
The exception is if they misspell your email address, or send it to an address you have explicitly told them you no longer use. In that case, they have not notified you in a proper way.
Can they send a debt collection notice by text message?
Yes, text messages are allowed and are becoming increasingly common. Text messages are often used as a supplement to email or Digipost. The message will often contain a link where you must log in with BankID to see the actual document. This is done to protect your privacy — "You owe NOK 50,000" should not appear right on your phone's lock screen where anyone can read it.
If you get a text message like this, it is your responsibility to click the link, log in and read the document. Ignoring a text message from a debt collection agency (inkassobyrå) is just as serious as throwing unopened letters in the bin.
Examples
Anne buys clothes online and chooses to pay through an invoice service (for example Klarna). She types in her email address but forgets a letter. The invoice and later the debt collection notice are sent to the misspelled address and never arrive. After a few months, the debt collection company calls her, and she is shocked at the high amount. Here, Anne gave the wrong information herself. The company sent the notice to the address they were given, which is considered secure on their part in an automated process. Unfortunately, Anne has to cover the fees (gebyr) because the mistake was hers in the first place.
Marius changes his phone number and email address. He updates the information in the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret) and with his most important contacts. A year later, he learns that he has an ongoing debt collection case from an old gym. The gym has sent text messages and emails to his old contact details, and the notices never reached him. When an agreement is old and the customer no longer responds, the company has a duty to check whether the contact information is still valid. If they keep sending text messages to a number that no longer belongs to Marius, and they could easily have checked this, the notice has not been sent in a "secure manner". Marius can then demand that the debt collection fees be removed, because he was not lawfully notified.
Common mistakes
- Deleting text messages from debt collection agencies because you think they are spam or fraud.
- Never checking the junk mail folder (spam) in your email.
- Not updating your contact information (especially email and phone number) with companies you have subscriptions with.
- Believing the case is not valid because "they didn't send a real letter in the post".
What should you do?
The digital landscape requires you to be proactive to avoid unpleasant surprises. Follow this checklist to make sure you do not miss important claims:
1. Check Digipost or e-Boks regularly — Download the app and turn on notifications. A great many debt collection companies automatically send your mail here. 2. Tidy your inbox — Take a minute every week to check the "Junk" or "Spam" folder. If an important notice has ended up there, mark it as "Not junk". 3. Update your information — If you change your email or phone number, log in to your electricity supplier, phone company and bank to change it immediately. 4. Be careful, but don't ignore it — Do you get a text message about a debt collection case you don't recognise? Don't click the link straight away if you are worried about fraud. Instead, go directly to the debt collection company's official website in your browser, log in with BankID there, and check whether the claim is correct.