Reply to a debt collection letter — disputing the claim or the collection costs (Austria)
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This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
Your reply to a collection agency in Austria that demands money from you on a creditor's behalf: you dispute the claim in full or in part, or only the collection costs, give your reasons and ask for a breakdown of the principal, the interest and every cost item. Collection costs are owed only where they were necessary and proportionate to the claim (§ 1333 Abs 2 of the Austrian Civil Code, ABGB); the maximum rates set by ordinance for collection agencies are caps, not an entitlement. An undisputed amount is paid expressly towards the principal. In German.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Debtor
- Debtor's address
- Collection agency (name as in its letter)
- Collection agency's postal address
- City
- Date
- Collection agency's reference
- Date of the collection letter
- Creditor
- Amount claimed
- Collection costs demanded (amount)
- What you dispute (the whole claim, part of it, or only the costs)
- Undisputed amount you will pay (otherwise 0)
- Reasons for disputing (e.g. already paid on …, never ordered, faulty goods, excessive costs)
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Do collection agency costs have to be paid in Austria?
- Only within limits. The creditor can claim the costs of out-of-court collection only if you were at fault for paying late, and only so far as they were necessary, appropriate and proportionate to the claim (§ 1333 Abs 2 ABGB). A contract clause on such costs binds a consumer only if it sets them out separately and itemised (§ 6 Abs 1 Z 15 KSchG). The ordinance on collection agencies' maximum rates sets caps only. If the claim does not exist, no costs of collecting it are owed either.
- What can a collection agency in Austria do if the debt is not paid?
- It cannot seize anything without the court. Enforcement (Exekution) requires an enforceable title, usually a court payment order (Zahlungsbefehl). Money claims up to €75,000 go through the payment-order procedure; you can object to the order within four weeks of service without giving reasons (§ 248 ZPO). If you miss the deadline, the order becomes enforceable. So always collect court mail (RSa or RSb letters) and note the deadline.
- How should the dispute be sent to a collection agency in Austria?
- No form is prescribed; what matters is proof that your letter arrived. Send it signed by registered post, or as a signed PDF by e-mail to the address in the collection letter, and keep the receipt and a copy; a copy to the creditor does no harm. Pay any undisputed amount by transfer or payment slip (Zahlschein) with the reference 'principal' (Hauptforderung).
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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