Formulation of a 2nd warning

When is a reminder necessary?

• A reminder, for which the law does not prescribe a specific form, is the request to the debtor to provide the due service. You should always write a reminder for later evidence and keep a copy. If you send a reminder by e-mail, save your text with the date it was sent.
• The reminder is basically necessary to put the debtor in default, so that from this point in time you can also demand compensation for damage caused by default such as interest and dunning costs.
• In Section 286 of the German Civil Code, however, the law regulates numerous exceptional cases in which you do not have to send a reminder so that the debtor is in default.
• If, for example, an exact time for the payment is determined according to the calendar, the default occurs even without a reminder. The reminder is also unnecessary if the debtor has seriously and finally refused payment or if there are special reasons that justify the immediate occurrence of the delay.
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• The most common case in business life is regulated in § 286 I 3 BGB: According to this, the reminder is superfluous after 30 days after the invoice has been issued. So if you have sent a proper invoice for your due claim, you can collect it without a reminder after 30 days in the judicial dunning procedure.


Do I have to pay dunning fees?

If you've been billed for late fees, there should be a reason you're ...

Formulation of a 1. and 2. warning

• Due to the earlier legal situation, which did not yet have a 30-day period, many companies have the regular rotation of three Keep reminders, which is why some debtors still do not take the first warning seriously and often a second one as well to ignore. Also, keep in mind that many customers are just forgetful and you shouldn't offend them right away.
• However, if someone has not paid an invoice after three weeks, you should write an initial payment reminder in a friendly manner.
• If you have not received any money for two weeks, the 30-day period has expired and you can, if you wish, assert the claim immediately in court. You probably want to give your debtor a second Give a reminder one last chance to pay, because this may save you the advance payment of court costs for a dunning procedure.
• When formulating the wording, make sure that you remain factual, but that you emphasize your demands.
• The reminder must show exactly what the claim is, so you should state the invoice date and the invoice number in the subject and the amount in the text.
• Set an exact payment deadline and inform your debtor that after the deadline you will take legal action without further notice. Also refer to the previous reminder and make it clear that you will demand reimbursement of the additional costs due to the delay.
• Example: After I received no payment reminder from 09/22/2012 on my invoice from 09/01/2012 Was able to determine receipt of payment, I will now set you a final payment deadline until 17.10.2012. After the deadline has expired without further notice, I will assert the claim in court. You have to bear the resulting costs.
• If you have such a 2. If you have sent a reminder as the last request, you should of course also show consistency instead of setting up further reminders.

In each individual case, consider whether you would like to exercise goodwill with regard to future customer loyalty and send a second or third payment reminder. However, you shouldn't be afraid to apply for a dunning notice directly against obvious refusals before wasting valuable time with dunning letters.