Debt collection: do this if unpaid bills appear

Both authorities and banks have introduced a series of measures to help Norwegians overcome these difficult times, including by providing extraordinary unemployment benefits, lowering loan rates and offering interest-free payments.

Many struggled after three weeks.

However, many households struggle to make ends meet now:

• Figures from the SIFO Consumer Research Institute show that 192,000 households in Norway, or 8 percent, were in financial trouble already three weeks after Norway “closed” on March 12, reports NRK.
• Statistics Norway writes that one in four does not have the personal financial space to pay an unforeseen expense of NOK 18,000. The fact that many don’t have a good enough buffer also showed a Bank2 poll, which Dinside recently wrote about.

Lower income:

70 percent can’t pay the bills

According to SIFO, there is a clear connection between being among those who struggled to close the country shortly after the coronavirus outbreak and having low incomes as usual.

Almost everyone in the problem group struggles to pay the bills. According to the research institute, a large majority, up to 70 percent, owe money due to unpaid bills or interest and loan repayments.

Currently there is no increase in debt collection cases

Lindorff, Norway’s largest collection agency, writes on their website that they will do their best to find good solutions that are tailored to the individual’s situation. Therefore, they encourage all people experiencing payment issues to contact, so that they can find solutions that they can live with.

However, the Director of Marketing and Communications Bunny Nooryani in Lindorff can say that most of the cases the collection agency has for consideration were received before crown crisis.

“So far we have not seen an increase in the number of collection cases as a result of the corona eruption, but we believe this will change in 2020,” Nooryani told Dinside.

– Those who already had relatively high debt before the crown crisis, and who have now been laid off or unemployed, are the ones who struggle the most. In most cases we have found solutions for these people through installment agreements and payment deferrals, he concludes.

– Contact us as soon as possible

Pia Cecilie Høst, head of consumer dialogue at the Consumer Council, believes it is sad to hear that so many are struggling and having financial problems as a result of the pandemic.

Imagine:

– Try to pay the bills in the usual way. If that doesn’t work, contact the person you owe money to. It is not uncommon for providers to agree to postpone payment or split payments. This also applies to debt collection, Høst encourages Dinside.

Ask those who see that they will not be able to pay all of their bills to contact the debt collection agency as soon as possible and notify them.

If there are loans you cannot pay, both mortgages and consumer loans, you should contact your bank as soon as possible. Banks have put in place procedures to postpone repayment of loans, and authorities have allowed banks to accommodate clients, Høst points out in the Consumer Council.

– Also check if you can lower the interest rate on your loan, if you have not received lower interest rates now, he adds.