German Debt Collector?

SLZ

Basically I received a debt collection letter from Germany for something I believed to be settled but evidently not, I don't dispute the debt itself (68.40€) if I owe it and probably do but wasn't informed of such however I dispute the 250€+45€ administration/debt recovery charges (I presume is what they are) and at the moment I cannot actually pay due to loss of my job which is something they don't appear to be taking on board and I've somehow agreed to paying it off in 3 months (also something I can't do).

My question is, where do I stand as CAB can't help me as it's overseas and not something they deal with but they did try and help but after a while they threw in the towel as it goes but I'm still none the wiser as to whether I stand a chance of telling them flat out that I can't pay and if it's possible can we come to an arrangement (which isn't the stupid one they agreed to after I gave up on the phone) that is more feasible to pay off.

Or is this an instance whereby it's not enforceable in the UK and I could ignore it but then I don't want it to come to the UK and affect my credit profile here so I wouldn't want to leave it, not really.

This is my first experience with a debt collector and what makes it worse is that it's in Germany and I'm not able to talk to someone in English (I have spoken to one in English but it was terrible as we both got lost) as while my German is good, it isn't good enough for this kind of dispute.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!

sourcrates

Hi,

First, stay off the phone.

There are reciprocal agreements in place whereby debts racked up in an EU country can be enforced though the courts here.

As the amount been claimed is so small I doubt very much this will be pursued for very long, however it is still possible they may pursue it, but unlikely in my opinion.

Oh, and the fee they are charging is not enforcable either.

Can I ask, do they have your address ?
Because if not, there is nothing they can do.

SLZ

sourcrates wrote: »

Hi,

First, stay off the phone.

There are reciprocal agreements in place whereby debts racked up in an EU country can be enforced though the courts here.

As the amount been claimed is so small I doubt very much this will be pursued for very long, however it is still possible they may pursue it, but unlikely in my opinion.

Oh, and the fee they are charging is not enforcable either.

Can I ask, do they have your address ?
Because if not, there is nothing they can do.

I can stay off the phone, that's not an issue.

I thought that there would be agreement as such which is something I want to avoid as while I don't care about my SCHUFA in Germany, I do care about my UK credit file which is according to Experian and Equifax as Excellent/Very Good and I don't wish to damage it when we're looking at getting a mortgage.

Yes the actual amount owed is only 68,40€ (arrears amount which I can pay) but then they've charged 9€ collection fee plus 228€ future reference charge/administration charge (zukünftige bezugsgebühren) to be paid now with 45€ business fee (geschäftsgebühr) and finally 3€ for expenses (Auslagenpauschale) for a total of 353,40€. Are any of those enforceable?

They do have my address, that's how I got the letter whereby I phoned them to find out what's up and then I got talked into the 3 monthly payments which isn't what I wanted. We are looking to move in the near future but not for the next 2 months at least.

Thanks for your reply

Edit: Just found out that all of the additional charges are enforceable in various German civil codes hence why they're there. Not sure if this changes anything.

National_Debtline

Hi SLZ,


As this debt was taken out in Germany I would suggest that you try and get some local advice about your rights and the process of enforcement. It seems as though you may have already started to do this and I would have suggested that you would need to check the original contract to find out about whether or not the fees are enforceable.


The creditor has several options to try and enforce the debt in the UK, they could take action through the German court system and then transfer to the UK (possibly through a European Enforcement Order). Or they could use a UK debt collector and then use the UK system. If they enforce the debt here then they would be bound by our rules and you could call a free charity for advice if you get court papers.


If a CCJ is obtained then this will be on your UK credit file for 6 years unless the judgement is paid within 1 calendar month of the judgement date. If you cannot pay the instalments you have offered then you should put together a SOA and make them an offer based on what you can afford to try and discourage court action, but I am afraid there are no guarantees. Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline