Legal Help with Debt Collection Problems | Free Advice


Questioner

Situation sketch: I recently cancelled my Pathe Unlimited and subsequently also blocked the direct debit. It turns out that I still owed Pathe an amount of 14.10 euros which could not be written off. Pathe sent me 2 payment reminders and a final formal notice by email. Because Pathe also regularly sends advertisements, I have everything with "Pathe" in the title in a spam filter and therefore never saw these emails. Pathe has now called in a debt collection agency and costs of 40.00 euros are added to the already outstanding amount of 14.10. The emails below are the communication between me and the debt collection agency. Mail 1: On 23 Jun 2016 19:04 CEST I sent an email to cancel my Pathé Unlimited. Then, when I received the verification of this, I also blocked the direct debit because the contract had ended. I have not used the Pathé Unlimited service since the beginning of June and therefore expected that this would be the end of it. Now I have not paid attention to my email for a few weeks and I have an active spam filter that moves everything with 'Pathé' in the title to spam and it turns out that I suddenly owe 40.00 to your Collection Agency. mail 2: I would like to refer you to Article 82 of Book 6 of the Civil Code: '1. Default occurs when the debtor is put in default by a written reminder in which he is given a reasonable period for performance, and performance fails to occur within this period.2. If the debtor is temporarily unable to perform or if it appears from his attitude that a reminder would be useless, the notice of default may be given by a written notice stating that he is held liable for the failure to perform.' I would also like to point out that Pathé has not informed me in writing about its intention to engage a debt collection agency, the emails from Pathé do not meet the written information requirement. Pathe regularly sends advertisements under the same name and is then also in my spam filter, these emails have therefore not been read. I will therefore not pay the €40 that you want to charge on this basis. I may wish to pay the €14.10 owed to Pathé, depending on your response. Response from collection agency email: Dear, We take note of the following. We would like to hear from you when we can expect to receive the outstanding amount of €54.10. We will not respond to any further objections. With kind regards National Collection Agency My questions now are as follows: is an unwritten final summons in this case legally valid, despite the fact that it has never been seen? It also seems very likely that this collection agency has no interest in informing me at all, they only want money, does it often happen that a case of 54.10 euros actually ends up with a bailiff and then in court?

Lawyer

Pathé has fulfilled its obligations by informing you 3 times. According to the receipt theory, sending to an email address is legally sufficient. The fact that you have not read the emails is your own fault, according to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, I must inform you that the law is not on your side. Calling in a bailiff can be an option, so make sure that the costs do not rise enormously. The fact that the collection agency responds in this way does not deserve a beauty prize.

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