§ 5. Personal requirements for those who carry out debt collection
The people who run a debt collection agency (inkassobyrå) must be trustworthy. This section states that board members, managers and major owners must submit a clean police certificate (politiattest). The actual manager (faktisk leder) of the company must also already have at least three years of practical experience with debt collection (inkasso).
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)
A debt collection licence (inkassobevilling) to collect overdue monetary claims (forfalte pengekrav) for others on a regular and commercial basis may, upon application, be granted to an enterprise when: a. the person or persons who actually manage the debt collection business (inkassovirksomhet) hold a debt collection licence under the second paragraph, b. board members, the general manager (daglig leder) and owners with a significant ownership interest are considered suitable to run the enterprise in accordance with laws, regulations (forskrifter) and good debt collection practice (god inkassoskikk), c. board members and the general manager have submitted a police certificate, d. the debt collection business is carried out from a permanent place of business within the EEA, and e. the enterprise has provided security as mentioned in § 29.
A debt collection licence under the first paragraph, letter a, is granted upon application to persons who are considered suitable to be the actual manager of an enterprise that collects overdue monetary claims for others on a regular and commercial basis. The applicant must submit a police certificate and demonstrate at least three years of practical experience with the collection (inndriving) of monetary claims during the last ten years. For the approval of persons with citizenship of an EEA state or Switzerland who have acquired their professional qualifications or had them recognised in another EEA state or Switzerland, as well as persons from third countries covered by Directive 2004/38/EC, the rules of the Professional Qualifications Act (yrkeskvalifikasjonsloven) apply.
A licence (bevilling) to purchase and collect overdue monetary claims for one's own account on a regular and commercial basis may, upon application, be granted to an enterprise when: a. board members, the general manager, the actual manager and owners with a significant ownership interest are considered suitable to run the enterprise in accordance with laws, regulations and good debt collection practice, b. board members, the general manager and the actual manager have submitted a police certificate, and c. the debt collection business is carried out from a permanent place of business within the EEA.
Conditions may be attached to a licence under the first and third paragraphs, including that the enterprise must be affiliated with a complaints board scheme as mentioned in § 22.
The enterprise must inform the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) of any change of actual manager, general manager and board members. The enterprise must also report the acquisition of a significant ownership interest in the enterprise and any increase in such an ownership interest under the same rules as in the Real Estate Brokerage Act (eiendomsmeglingsloven) § 2-8 first paragraph, second to fourth sentences, and third paragraph, with regulations. The duty to report under this paragraph is carried out as part of other reporting routines in accordance with more detailed rules laid down by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway. A change of actual manager must nevertheless be reported before such a change takes place.
A police certificate under this section shall only show entries concerning criminal sanctions for violations of the Act of 22 May 1902 No. 10, the General Civil Penal Code (Almindelig borgerlig Straffelov), chapters 15, 18, 22, 24 to 28 and 31, and the Penal Code (straffeloven) §§ 202, 203, 206, 207, 221, 271 to 281, 288, 321, 322, 324, 325, 327 to 333, 335 to 338, 340 to 342, 344, 351, 352, 354, 361 to 365, 370 to 372, 374 to 376, 378 to 380, 382 to 394 and chapter 31, the Debt Collection Act, competition legislation, bankruptcy legislation, accounting legislation, company legislation, tax and duty legislation and securities legislation. The violations shall be entered in accordance with the Police Register Act (politiregisterloven) § 41 no. 1. A renewed character check may be carried out in accordance with the Police Register Act § 43.
The King in Council (Kongen) may issue supplementary regulations on the conditions for granting a debt collection licence, including rules on which criminal offences are to be entered on the police certificate, and on the handling of the certificate. To supplement the rules in the Services Act (tjenesteloven), the King in Council may issue regulations on the processing of debt collection licences, including on deadlines and the legal effects of exceeding deadlines. Exceptions from the Services Act § 11 second paragraph may only be made when justified by overriding reasons of public interest, including the protection of private individuals' legitimate interests.
What does this mean?
Section 4 was about the company itself that carries out debt collection. This section is about the people who work there. The debt collection industry manages enormous sums on behalf of society, and it is allowed to charge extra fees (gebyrer) to people who are already in a vulnerable situation. That is why the state sets very strict requirements for who gets to sit in the boss's chair at a debt collection agency.
First and foremost, the management must be "suitable". This is a broad word. It means that board members, the general manager and those who own a large part of the company must have a clean record. They must respect laws and rules, and they must operate in line with good debt collection practice.
To prove that they are trustworthy, the management must submit a police certificate. This is not just any certificate. It must show whether the person has been involved in financial crime such as money laundering (hvitvasking), tax fraud, fraud, or breaches of competition law. This is quite logical: a person who has previously cheated people out of money should not get the state's permission to collect money on behalf of others.
There is also a special requirement for the person with the title "actual manager". While the board often consists of investors, the actual manager is the person responsible for the day-to-day handling of the debt collection cases. For a company to get a licence, this person must prove that they have at least three years of practical experience with debt collection during the last ten years. So you cannot hire a newly graduated 22-year-old with no experience to lead the debt collection processes. The knowledge must be there from day one.
Finally, the law requires the business to be run from a permanent office within the EEA. A debt collection company operating in Norway cannot just be a PO box on an exotic island. It must have an address where the authorities can carry out supervision (tilsyn).
What does this mean for you in everyday life?
When you are sitting with a payment reminder (purring) in front of you, sweating over your finances, it hardly feels comforting that the head of the debt collection agency has a clean police certificate. But indirectly, this is one of the most important safety mechanisms you have.
These strict requirements are the reason why most debt collection cases in Norway are handled in an orderly, professional way and without harassment. The debt collection companies have a knife to their throat: if the managers behave badly, embezzle money or break the rules towards debtors (skyldnere), the company loses its licence immediately. Then they lose their entire livelihood. This fear of losing the licence is the best guarantee that you, as a debtor, are treated with respect.
Example
Kari runs a small clothing shop and has customers who do not pay. She is considering using a new, cheap firm called "Kjapp Inkasso" to collect the money. This company markets itself aggressively on social media. The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway receives an application from this firm, but discovers that the general manager was recently convicted of fraud. At the same time, the "actual manager" lacks relevant experience with debt collection claims. The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway rejects the application. "Kjapp Inkasso" is never allowed to open its doors. Kari ends up using an established, reputable agency instead, and avoids being dragged into a scandal.
Common mistakes
- Believing that debt collection agencies are "crooks in suits". The rules make sure the industry is one of the most tightly controlled in the country.
- Being frightened by illegal debt collectors who threaten to show up at your door. Reputable, legal operators never do this.
- Believing that anyone who calls from a call centre is the general manager. The law sets requirements for the management, but ordinary case handlers only need internal training and work under the manager's responsibility.
What should you do?
You normally do not need to check the background of the managers of the debt collection agency that contacts you. The supervisory authorities have already done that job for you. But know that you are protected by these rules.
1. Stay calm — If the claim comes from a recognised agency (such as Kredinor, Intrum, Alektum, etc.), you know that they operate under extremely strict formal requirements. 2. Complain about misconduct — Because the management is personally responsible for making sure the company follows good debt collection practice, they are terrified of formal complaints to the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway. If the case handler is unreasonable or the handling of the case is unlawful, you can file a complaint against them. The management must sort it out.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone with a criminal record work at a debt collection agency?
Does the state check these people often?
If they lose their licence, is my debt deleted?
- § 4The requirement for business registration and solvency
- § 6The management's duty to ensure lawful operation
- § 31Rules on when the licence can be revoked