Received a debt collection letter – do I really have to pay?

A debt collection agency is demanding money and threatening further costs? I check whether the claim is actually justified, whether it may already be time-barred, and whether the fees demanded are lawful.

A letter from a debt collection agency lands in your letterbox, often with amounts printed in bold, short deadlines and the announcement of further legal steps. Many clients pay immediately out of worry — or ignore the letter out of defiance. Both can be a mistake. A debt collection letter is, to begin with, merely one company’s assertion that you owe something. Whether that is true, whether the claim is still enforceable, and whether the additional costs demanded are even owed at all, are three separate questions — and these are exactly what I clarify for you before you transfer a single euro.

How I can help you

• Checking whether the underlying claim exists at all, and in what amount
• Checking whether the debt collection letter contains the information it is legally required to disclose
• Checking whether the claim is already wholly or partly time-barred
• Assessing whether the debt collection fees demanded are recoverable in that amount
• Drafting a response to the debt collection agency or the original creditor
• Representing you if the debt collection process turns into a court order for payment (Mahnverfahren) or litigation

Check first, then respond: is the claim actually justified?

A debt collection agency is neither a court nor an authority. It acts on behalf of a creditor and, in principle, may not assert any claim going beyond what the creditor could actually demand. Before I advise you on any response, I therefore get an overview: where is the claim supposed to come from — a contract, an invoice, a subscription, an alleged tort? Is the amount stated mathematically comprehensible? And has the claim possibly already been paid or disputed?

Since the reform of the Legal Services Act (Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz), debt collection service providers must, when first asserting a claim against consumers, clearly and comprehensibly disclose certain information: the name and address of their principal, the specific basis of the claim — for example which contract was concluded and when — a comprehensible breakdown of any interest claimed, and a breakdown of the debt collection costs by type, amount and reason for their occurrence. If this information is missing or remains vague, that is, for me, an initial warning sign and often a good basis for formally disputing the claim and demanding evidence as a first step, rather than paying prematurely.

Limitation periods and the debt collection agency’s costs

A second, often overlooked point is limitation (Verjährung). Most contractual claims — for example from purchase, service or tenancy agreements — become time-barred after the regular three-year period. However, this period does not necessarily begin in the year the claim arose, but only at the end of the year in which the creditor obtained knowledge, or ought to have obtained knowledge, of the claim and of your identity as debtor. Especially with older claims, or claims that have been sold on several times, it is therefore worth calculating precisely whether limitation has already occurred — because you no longer have to satisfy a time-barred claim, even if it was originally justified.

Even where the principal claim exists, that does not automatically mean you must bear the debt collection costs in full. Under German law, these costs are a claim for damages by the creditor, which in principle requires that you were already in default of payment — for example because a reminder went unanswered or a payment deadline had passed. In addition, the law caps the recoverable debt collection costs: as a rule, a creditor may only claim as much as a lawyer could charge for comparable work under the Lawyers’ Remuneration Act (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz, RVG). You do not have to accept debt collection fees that are excessive or simply charged as an arbitrary flat rate — I check for you where the limit lies and what you actually owe in your specific case.

More on the areas in which I support you in civil law can be found at Civil Law.

A debt collection letter is no reason to panic, but nor is it one to look away from: deadlines keep running, and anyone who fails to respond at all risks a court order for payment (gerichtliches Mahnverfahren). Send me the letter — at the initial consultation I will get an overview, tell you honestly whether and in what amount a payment obligation exists, and take over communication with the debt collection agency for you.

This article provides general information and does not replace individual legal advice.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-07-13.

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