Information about costs for late payment
Received a letter from Cannock?
Read here what it means and what kind of support may be available.
What costs may apply?
There are different types of costs, depending on what the payment is for:
- Collection costs: if you haven’t paid a company’s invoice on time.
- Enforcement costs: if you haven’t paid a municipality, province, or water authority on time.
The letter or email you received specifies which costs apply in your case.
What are collection costs?
Collection costs are additional charges on top of an unpaid invoice from a company.
These costs arise when you don’t pay on time and a collection agency is engaged to collect the amount.
According to the Dutch Collection Costs Act (Wet Incassokosten or WIK), companies may only charge collection costs after sending a final reminder giving you 14 days to pay without extra charges. If you pay within those 14 days, you avoid the collection costs.
How much collection costs do I need to pay?
The amount depends on how much you owe. The legal rates are:
- 15% on the first €2,500 (minimum €40)
- 10% on the next €2,500
- 5% on the next €5,000
- 1% on the next €190,000
- 0.5% on any amount above that (with a maximum of €6,775)
Special rules for recurring bills or subscriptions
If you don’t pay a (monthly) recurring bill on time, you’ll pay €40 extra the first time.
If you're also late in months 2 through 6, you may be charged a maximum of €20 extra per month. This only applies if the invoice amount is less than €266.67.
The exact amount is always stated in the letter you received from us.
Can there be additional costs in case of collection?
Yes, sometimes:
- Statutory interest: you may owe interest on the outstanding amount.
- Court-related costs: if a court has ruled on your debt, additional costs may be charged (e.g., legal fees).
- B2B (business-to-business) collection costs: for business customers, different agreements may apply.
Note: administrative or reminder fees cannot be charged separately in addition to collection costs.
What are enforcement costs (for government debts)?
If you don’t pay a municipality, province, or water authority on time, enforcement costs may apply. These differ from collection costs and are governed by the Invorderingswet 1990 (Enforcement Law).
Enforcement costs consist of fixed amounts and rates for extra work needed to collect the amount. For example:
- €9 in reminder costs for debts up to €454.
- €21 in reminder costs for debts over €454.
- Costs for enforcement orders, seizures, or execution (based on legal tariffs).
You’ll first receive a reminder or final notice that states what you owe. If you don’t pay on time, these enforcement costs may be added to the outstanding amount.
For more information, consult the Kostenwet Invordering Rijksbelastingen (Cost Law for Tax Enforcement).
What if you can’t pay?
Don’t worry. In many cases, a payment plan can be arranged.
- Do you owe a company? Then we’ll gladly look for a solution together.
- Do you owe a municipality, province, or water authority? Then different rules may apply, and a payment plan is not always possible.
In any case, please contact us — we’ll explore the options together.
Frequently asked questions
Need help or want to pay directly?
We’re here to help — without judgment.
You can pay safely via our online payment platform or contact us to arrange a payment plan.
For more information about financial help, visit our [Help with money issues] page.
Cannock is Wki-registered
Cannock complies with the Quality of Debt Collection Services Act (Wki) and is listed in the official government register of collection agencies under registration number 00020.
This means we handle payments and communication carefully and professionally.