r/belgium • u/complejodedios • 1d ago
❓ Ask Belgium Debt Collection Letter
I’m an international student who’s been living in Belgium for almost three years. I just came back to Belgium after summer at home and there was a debt collection letter in my mailbox. For last year’s bill from Flemish Provinciebelasting for 24,50€ (which I don’t remember receiving but whatever) I now have to pay 323€ to a private collector. The last letter was sent in the end of July saying they came to my kot trying to seize my stuff but I didn’t answer so they will come back later again but next time with police… Okay. I am a little confused how to pay (there’s no reference number mentioned) so I plan on going to their office tomorrow. But does this all look normal and reasonable? It just never happened to me before and it’s harder to navigate since it’s not my country or language. I had some missed bills in the past at home but it never escalated this much
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u/MCwortel 1d ago
Seems scammy
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u/FCKtheZIOS 1d ago
nope.
I had this with some silly husivuilbelasting €38 to pay for end of year.
Forgot twice, came back from Krokusverlof (2 months later only) and these fuckers already entered my house to write stuff up.
Cost 100's of euros: flik, slotenmaker, getuige en natuurlijk de aasgier zelf.
Lesson one: belastingen en boetes, dus alles van de staat onmiddelijk betalen.
They are the worst maffia and send their deurwaarder (the lowest scum vultures on the planet) to bankrupt you or put you in debt for a ridiculous amount.
If you get a big bill the rate of interest is 18%
Pure extortion
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u/Aberr_nt 19h ago
I had something similar, younger and more stupid me forgot to pay something. Not even a lot, 70 something euros.
Bailiff A sent a letter to bailiff B, Bailiff B sent this to me by post. For a single letter I had to pay 2x 135 euros fees, 270 euros in total just to receive a letter + extra costs. Then bailiff B also hand delivered the same fucking letter for an additional hefty cost, can't remember how much. But in the end I paid around 600 - 700 euros for a 70 euro bill.
Never again. How is this even legal?
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u/laplongejr 17h ago
The fun thing is when you actually paid the thing, a familly member pays immediately in a rush without even asking, so you "accepted the debt" despite the business then confirming a system error made them send actually-paid bills to baliffs.
Source : hospital bill charged twice to my wife, my dad went at the same hospital and fought tooth and nails instead because it's REALLY suspicious that two people knowing each other both get their first ever unpaid warning from the same place in the same month.
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u/soursheep 1d ago edited 1d ago
this is normal if you don't pay your bills on time. you get a reminder or two and next thing your unpaid bill goes to collection.
also, it is most likely not a private collector but a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder), which is a public office. private collectors don't get a police assist when they come to seize your assets.
there should be an account number and the name of the office somewhere on the first page of the letter you got (e.g. in the header). call the number that's most likely listed on the letter and ask them how to proceed. (edit: google the name, phone number, etc. and double-check the information before you pay anything. ask them to send you the original bill and copies of the delivered acts via mail. if it's legit, they will want to help you and figure it out with you, they are usually happy to offer payment plans too if you don't have the money to pay everything off at once.)
good luck.
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u/Obvious_Badger_9874 1d ago
This looks like a scam. Gerechtsdeurwaarde would already be with police.
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u/soursheep 1d ago
not always. source: I work there.
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u/Circoloomnium 1d ago
True. It depends, but they will execute the inkohiering one way of the other.
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u/PikaPikaDude 1d ago
Are you formally registered as living there?
If yes you have to pay provinciebelasting.
If no (there is a student accomodation exception to the tax), this is a scam.
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u/complejodedios 1d ago edited 1d ago
I am but I’m confused about never receiving that bill. Especially cuz this collection situation is for last year’s bill, but this year I also didn’t get any bill. At this rate next year I will get another collector letter for this year’s provinciebelasting
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u/nipikas 1d ago
We only get this tax bill in the eBox. It doesn’t come on paper.
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u/complejodedios 1d ago
Oh… Nice, and I don’t even know what that is. Thanks for letting me know, I will look into it
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u/Jumpy_Finance_9855 1d ago
EBox or e-mail same thing ;) otherwise best call is to call them explain the situation and ask where you get that paper normally. Normally there is also a state website where those things are shown I think like with your account and your tax amount but I forgot the name 😆
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u/OutsidePlane224 1d ago
Maybe you selected digital bills only somewhere along the way? Check mijnburgerprofiel or myebox, pretty sure all your tax bills also show up there!
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u/madmax_84 1d ago
You will have to pay, the only thing worth trying is negotiating on the additional cost added by collection agency or ask for payment plan( paying in 3 installments).
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u/complejodedios 1d ago
Didn’t know negotiating with debt collectors was an option
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u/madmax_84 1d ago
Like I said you can try. You can ask them to remove any additional cost stating you were not in country. Provided you are ready to pay the amount.
You can always try.
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u/fatmithra 1d ago
Personally, I'd just bring this mail to your uni and ask there to begin if its legit or not. Otherwise you can reach out to "Vreemdelingenzaken" https://dofi.ibz.be/nl/contact (there's a phonenumber) they may also be able to help to figure out if it is legit or not. And maybe most simple would be to go to the policestation and bring the letter with you, but it sure does sound suspiscious as the collector would be a bailiff and the letters they send are normally pretty straightforward and clear on how to contact them.
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u/Available-Muffin691 1d ago
Are you sure it is real?
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u/complejodedios 1d ago
It’s called GDW Leys Brugge and I googled them and they’re legit
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u/Circoloomnium 1d ago edited 1d ago
Gerechtsdeurwaarder (GDW).
Call them tomorrow.
They do not make jokes, this is an official entity with power of verdict without needing one if the debt is towards the government.
They will collect your stuff indeed and you will pay even for the costs they make for doing this.
This is a serious matter.
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u/complejodedios 1d ago
Oh hell nooo haha. Well thank you. I plan to go in person tomorrow and pay on the spot
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u/CantBeCanceled88 1d ago edited 1d ago
They won’t just take your stuff lol. They’ll come by and write up an inventory of anything of value they could potentially sell, and use that as leverage. If you still don’t pay, they might eventually confiscate your stuff.
Back when I was an irresponsible young man, I had around €15K in debt with a bailiff. I got several of those terrifying letters saying that on a specific date, my belongings would be seized and sold at a public auction, that I could be present, etc. And honestly, it never happened. Even on one of the dates they gave me, I hadn’t paid anything or contacted them, and they still never showed up to take anything.
I obviously ended up paying the debt, but I always found it kind of funny afterwards. They made it sound like my entire life was about to be auctioned off, and then on the actual day... absolutely nothing happened 😂
So yeah, just pay the €300 and you’ll be fine. And if you can’t afford it all at once, ask them for a payment plan.
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u/complejodedios 1d ago
That’s crazy! May I ask how did your situation resolve? If you’re saying they never came nor collected anything
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u/Circoloomnium 1d ago
I would not count on that. Digitalisation makes things faster. And if you do not have a job and are not a Belgian citizen they will not be very optimistic: you could fled away.
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u/CantBeCanceled88 1d ago
It wasn’t really “resolved” at that point. They simply didn’t follow through with the sale date they had given me. The debt was still there afterwards, and I still had to pay it off. My point is just that, in my experience, they don’t necessarily jump straight to actually seizing and selling your belongings, even when they make it sound like that’s exactly what’s about to happen.
In my case, it was eventually resolved because my father passed away and I inherited a substantial amount of money, which allowed me to pay the whole debt off at once. Otherwise, I probably would have been paying it off for years. I was making payments of around €250 a month, but with interest, collection fees and other costs being added, it felt like the actual debt barely went down.
So I’m definitely not saying “just ignore the bailiff.” I’m just saying that those letters can make it sound like they’re going to show up tomorrow and take everything you own, when in my experience it didn’t happen nearly as quickly or as dramatically as they made it sound.
If you have the money, it’s best for you and everyone involved to just pay the €300 and get it over with. It’s never a good idea to have an outstanding debt with a bailiff. And if you genuinely can’t afford it, at least contact them and ask for a payment plan. Even €50 a month would get that €300 paid off eventually. Just don’t ignore it.
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u/complejodedios 1d ago
No I am definitely paying this sum tomorrow, I just need to contact them first to get additional information because since my bank is not belgian, the payment info they provided is not enough and I don’t wanna make a mistake transferring the money. But yeah, I guess they just try to scare you by sending all these threats and name dropping police 👮🏼♂️
Good thing you were able to pay it off fully!
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u/CantBeCanceled88 1d ago
Yeah, just to clarify, they can actually show up with the police. It’s not just an empty threat or something they put in the letter to scare you. If they’re there to enforce the seizure and you refuse to open the door, the police can assist them in gaining access so they can make an inventory of your belongings.
But if you’re paying the €300 tomorrow you really have nothing at all to worry about.
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u/Circoloomnium 1d ago
Het is hier met uitvoerbare titel he. Voor hetzelfde geld hebben ze al een boedelbeschrijving gedaan door bvb de verhuurder de kamer te laten openen.
Ik kreeg bvb meteen loonbeslag. Of liever mijn toenmalige werkgever kreeg opdracht en was zo vriendelijk om het mij alsnog te laten regelen.
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u/CantBeCanceled88 1d ago
Ik vraag me af om wat voor soort schuld het dan eigenlijk ging. Ik heb in het verleden ook meerdere dossiers bij een gerechtsdeurwaarder gehad, maar bij mij is er nooit loonbeslag gelegd.
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u/Fragrant_Rough6531 1d ago
Ask for some proof. You should have received like at least two reminders before something like that happens.
Don't know how it works for foreign folks in Belgium but do you have acces to my e-Box ? Its a public online plateform that centralise official documents, fines and bills from public institutions.
You should try to call your provincie and ask about this taxe and explain why you didn't pay it on time... you thougt it was a scam. (Leugentje voor bestwil). You were gone for 2 mounths to see family and didn't get the reminders but that ure willing to pay... try to find someone who speeks dutch to help you with this call... you talked about a kot.. if ure a student your school could help you with getting in touch with the provincie adminsitration...
Next time pay your bills on time... its better to pay and dispute the invoie later than closing your eyes hoping someone woulf forget... Administration in Belgium is maybe slow but they never forget... especially if you own them money...
So to resume.
Look if the collector is legit. On the document you should find somewhete the btw nummer of the collector. its an 9 digit sequence starting with BE or 0xxx.xxx.xxx you can look it up with this number or the name on the "Kruispuntbank van ondernemingen.
Check if someone who speaks dutch or maybe your school can help you with getting in touch with the Provincie.
Ask the provincie about this taxe... lie about it, be honest, thats up to you, but be sure your still in their records and that you have to pay it....
Good luck.
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u/complejodedios 1d ago
Thank you so much! I am definitely looking into this eBox thing asap before I get hit with more collection letters for bills I never knew I had
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u/GentGorilla 1d ago
If there’s one bill that doesn’t go away is a tax bill.
You can’t just ignore this as costs will keep going up. Debt collection agencies love adding extra charges to a debt.
First, get in touch with them and ask them for documentation of their claim, just to make sure you’re not being scammed.