Out-of-court debt collection (udenretlig inkasso)
Also known as amicable recovery, voluntary collection, pre-legal collection, frivillig inkasso, mindelig inddrivelse
Out-of-court collection is recovery without the courts — the letter, the call and the settlement, before the case may go to court.
Key facts
- Without
- The courts
- Resolves
- Most cases
In practice
The great majority of cases end here. A letter from an authorised debt collection agency with lawyers behind it moves markedly more debtors than the creditor’s own third reminder — not because the tone is harsher, but because the consequence is now concrete.
The out-of-court route is also the cheapest. If the case ends in a voluntary settlement, you have both the money and an enforceable instrument (eksekutionsgrundlag) should the agreement be broken — without ever having set foot in court.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- Skipping it and going straight to court. That is more expensive, slower and rarely necessary.