Recently, the legislature adopted the law of May 4, 2023 1, amending certain aspects of consumer debt recovery and introducing new obligations for businesses.
👤 FOR WHO ?
These new rules apply to any business 2 engaging in amicable debt recovery from a “consumer,” defined as any natural person acting for purposes outside their commercial, industrial, artisanal, or liberal profession.
Note that these new rules do not apply to debt recovery based on an enforceable title.
🆕 WHAT’S NEW ?
1. New Deadline
Before invoking any indemnity clause in case of non-payment, the business must send the consumer a formal notice in the form of an initial reminder.
Only after this initial reminder and a waiting period of at least 14 days can the business invoke said indemnity clause.
This 14-day period is calculated as follows :
- If the reminder is sent electronically, this period starts from the day after the sending of the reminder ;
- If the reminder is sent by any other means, this period starts from the third working day following the sending.
2. Mandatory mentions
To be valid, this initial reminder must contain, at a minimum, the following four mentions :
- The remaining amount due as well as the amount of the indemnity clause, in the event that the consumer does not settle the debt within the given deadline ;
- The name of the company as well as its business number ;
- The designation of the product or service giving rise to the debt, as well as the due date of the debt ;
- The 14-day period within which the debt must be paid before any fees, indemnities, or late interest may be claimed.
3. Free Shipping Costs
The sending of this initial reminder is free, and no costs can be charged to the consumer. Regarding additional reminders, the costs cannot exceed 7.50 €.
However, an exception exists for contracts involving regular delivery of goods and services. In this case, no fees can be charged for the first three payment reminders.
💰 WHAT AMOUNTS ?
The business can claim the following indemnities, except for amounts agreed upon in the contract :
- Either in the form of late payment interest, provided they do not exceed the interest rate set at the central bank’s key rate plus eight percentage points, as referred to in Article 5, paragraph 2 of the law of August 2, 2002.
- Or in the form of a lump-sum indemnity, provided it is expressly provided for in the contract. However, its amount cannot exceed :
| DEBT AMOUNT | MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF INDEMNITY |
|---|---|
| Debt ≤ 150 € | 20 € |
| 150,01 € < Debt < 500 € | 30 € plus 10% of the amount due for the portion between 150.01 € and 500 € |
| 500 € < Debt | 65 € plus 5% of the amount due for the portion exceeding 500 €, with a maximum of 2000 €. |
📆 FROM WHEN ?
Starting from September 1, 2023, these rules apply to contracts concluded from that same date.
Starting from December 1, 2023, these rules also apply to contracts concluded before September 1, 2023, but for which a payment default arises, and whose due date falls after that same date.
❗️ WHAT ARE THE RISKS ?
Failure to comply with these rules by the creditor company may result in the following sanctions :
- The consumer is automatically exempted from paying the indemnity, unless the minimum mentions of the formal notice have not been correctly applied.
- The court may order that payment obtained in violation of these rules be considered as validly made by the consumer to the company and that it must be reimbursed to the consumer by the party who received the payment.
📋 IN YOUR TO DO LIST !
In conclusion, make sure to adjust and update your terms and conditions to make them compliant. Otherwise, you risk having some of your clauses considered null and void.
For any further information, feel free to ask for advice and consult the “Moniteur belge”.
Article written by Elisa Lopez and Frédéric Dechamps
