# Inkasso Letters in Austria: What a Debt Collector May Charge (2026) > €20.35 cap on a claim under €73, 3 years to expiry: what an Austrian Inkasso agency may charge, how to dispute it, and where to get free help. Updated: October 12 2026 · By Jules de Bruin · URL: https://www.how-to-austria.com/banking/debt-collection Pay the **principal** and **4% interest** you genuinely owe, then check the fees. A collector may only charge costs that are **necessary and proportionate** (**§ 1333 Abs. 2 ABGB**), capped by a 1996 regulation still in force: **€20.35** processing on a claim under **€73**, **22%** on €73 to €364. Most consumer bills expire after **3 years** (§ 1486 ABGB), but only if you raise it. Go to a state-recognised **Schuldenberatung** first: free, confidential, and in every federal state. A garnishment leaves you at least **€1,308.39 a month** in 2026 (**§ 291a EO**). If debts cannot be repaid, the **Privatkonkurs** now means a creditor vote on a payment plan or a **5-year** Abschöpfungsverfahren: the **3-year** option expired on **16 July 2026**. ## How Much Can an Inkasso Agency Charge in Austria? | Size of claim | Processing, once | First reminder | Each further reminder or instalment agreement | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Up to €19 | €20.35 | €4.36 | €5.09 | | €19 to €73 | €20.35 | €7.27 | €9.45 | | €73 to €364 | 22% of the claim | €14.53 | €17.44 | | €364 to €727 | 17% of the claim | €24.71 | €27.62 | | Over €727 | 8% of the claim | €50.87 | €58.14 | Source: § 3 of the [regulation on maximum fees for debt collection agencies](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10007798), BGBl. Nr. 141/1996 as last amended by BGBl. II Nr. 103/2005, consolidated version on RIS read 12 October 2026. The printed amounts exclude VAT (§ 4 Abs. 1) and are linked to the consumer price index (§ 4 Abs. 2). They are ceilings, not prices. An Austrian Inkasso agency may charge only what was **necessary and proportionate** to collect the debt, and never more than the regulation’s caps. The legal claim comes from [§ 1333 Abs. 2 ABGB](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10001622), which lets a creditor recover the **necessary costs** of out-of-court collection where they stand in **reasonable proportion** to the debt. On a claim under **€73** the one-off processing fee is capped at **€20.35**; on **€73 to €364** at **22%**. The caps are not a price list, and that distinction is where most overcharging hides. The regulation dates from **1996** and is still in force on RIS; its euro amounts were set in **2002**. The **Arbeiterkammer Wien** plenary put it bluntly in a motion of **28 May 2026**: agencies routinely bill the **full maximum**, although the law ties the fee to the individual case, and an itemised breakdown is often missing. The AK asked for the regulation to be tightened. Until that happens, the cap is your ceiling and § 1333 is your argument below it. The regulation also caps the extras. An **address search** may cost up to **€17.44** in the agency’s municipality and **€30.52** elsewhere in Austria; a home **visit** **€12.35** to **€38.52** depending on distance; and **record-keeping** up to **€20.35** per started quarter on larger claims. Each of these still has to be necessary. A visit you never received, or an address search when the agency wrote to your correct address from the first letter, fails that test. ## What Does an Unpaid Bill Grow To After Inkasso? | Original claim | Processing | Two reminders | Maximum fees | Fees as share of claim | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | €50 | €20.35 | €7.27 + €9.45 | **€37.07** | 74% | | €120 | €26.40 (22%) | €14.53 + €17.44 | **€58.37** | 49% | | €500 | €85.00 (17%) | €24.71 + €27.62 | **€137.33** | 27% | | €2,000 | €160.00 (8%) | €50.87 + €58.14 | **€269.01** | 13% | Our calculation, 12 October 2026. Method: the § 3 processing cap for the claim’s bracket, plus the first-reminder cap, plus one further reminder, using the printed amounts net of VAT. Interest at 4% a year (§ 1000 Abs. 1 ABGB), address searches, visits and record-keeping are left out, so a real letter can be higher, and should usually be lower. Inkasso fees hit small debts hardest. On a **€50** bill, the processing cap plus two reminders comes to **€37.07**, or **74%** of the original claim. On **€2,000** the same steps add **€269.01**, just **13%**. The reason is the fixed **€20.35** floor for every claim up to **€73**. For a forgotten online order or a missed **Klarna** instalment, the collection costs can approach the price of the goods. The arithmetic gives you a rule for when to pay fast. Every further reminder adds between **€5.09** and **€58.14**, depending on the claim. If you owe the money, paying the principal and interest straight after the first Inkasso letter caps the fees at processing plus one reminder, and you can still dispute the fees afterwards. Paying is not an admission that every fee is owed, as long as you say so in writing. Where the claim started with a bounced direct debit, your bank and the creditor will already have added their own charges before the agency’s. Our [payment methods guide](/banking/payment-methods) works through that first stage for a **€30** bill. ## How Do You Dispute an Inkasso Claim? To dispute an Inkasso claim in Austria, answer in writing and keep proof of sending. Check that the agency is real, ask for the original creditor and an **itemised breakdown**, pay any part you genuinely owe, and reject the rest with reasons. Never ignore a **court Zahlungsbefehl**: you have **4 weeks** to object ([§ 248 ZPO](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10001699&Paragraf=248)). The **Arbeiterkammer** and **Schuldenberatung** check letters for free. - 1Check that the agency exists Debt collection is a licensed trade in Austria ([§ 118 GewO 1994](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10007517&Paragraf=118)). Search the agency’s name in the public trade register [GISA](https://www.gisa.gv.at/). No entry, no licence. - 2Identify the original claim The letter should name the original creditor, the invoice or contract, and the date it fell due. If it does not, ask before you pay anything. - 3Ask for an itemised breakdown Principal, interest rate and period, and each fee with its legal basis. A lump sum labelled “costs” cannot be checked against the caps. - 4Pay what you owe, dispute the rest Transfer the principal and interest with a note that the payment does not acknowledge the fees. Paying the creditor directly is allowed; tell the agency the same day. - 5Get the letter checked The [Arbeiterkammer](https://www.arbeiterkammer.at/) consumer advice and the [Schuldenberatung](https://schuldenberatung.at/beratungsstellen/) offices review Inkasso letters at no cost. The difference between an Inkasso letter and a court order matters more than any fee. An Inkasso agency cannot garnish wages, freeze accounts or send a bailiff. Only a court can, and only after a **title**: a judgment or a **Zahlungsbefehl** you did not object to. Threats of an imminent “Pfändung” in a letter from an agency, with no court case number, are pressure, not procedure. If the claim itself is wrong, say so plainly and stop there. A claim for a subscription you never signed, a delivery you never received, or a bill you already paid is disputed in substance, and the agency must then take it to court if it wants to pursue it. Do not negotiate an **instalment agreement** on a claim you dispute: under the regulation each agreement is a chargeable step, and agreeing can count as acknowledging the debt. ## How Do You Spot a Fake Inkasso Letter? | Warning date | What arrived | The giveaway | | --- | --- | --- | | [9 September 2026](https://www.watchlist-internet.at/news/zahlungsaufforderung-hansevia-forderungsmanagement-fake/) | Email from “Hansevia Forderungsmanagement” demanding **€4,400** for a lottery service contract | Company in no register, address a family home, reply via WhatsApp | | [29 June 2026](https://www.watchlist-internet.at/phishing/arboe-mahnung-via-sms/) | SMS reminder in the name of the motoring club ARBÖ, citing a collection agency | Payment link in a text message | | [27 May 2026](https://www.watchlist-internet.at/news/fake-anwaltskanzlei-zahlungsaufforderung/) | “Final out-of-court demand” from a fake law firm over a prize-draw subscription | A contract you never signed, by email or post | Source: Watchlist Internet warnings, linked by date. A fake Inkasso letter in Austria usually fails one of three checks: the company is **not in GISA** or any company register, the claim is for something you **never ordered**, or it wants payment through an **unusual channel** such as WhatsApp, a paysafecard code or a foreign account. **Watchlist Internet** warned on **9 September 2026** about a **€4,400** demand from a firm that does not exist. Do not pay, do not click, and report it. Real agencies make mistakes too, so a check beats a guess. Look up the agency in GISA, then call the **original creditor** on a number you find yourself, not the one in the letter. A real claim exists at the creditor. If you already paid a fake demand by transfer, contact your bank at once and ask for a **recall**, then file a police report. Recovery is rare, but the bank can block the receiving account. ### Identity misuse looks like a real claim Some genuine Inkasso letters follow orders placed by criminals in your name. Watchlist Internet describes the pattern: goods you never ordered, then reminders, then a collection agency. Dispute in writing at once, report the identity misuse to the police, and send the creditor the case number. An unchallenged claim can still end up at the **KSV1870**. ## When Does a Debt Expire in Austria? | Type of claim | Expires after | Law | | --- | --- | --- | | Goods, work or services from a business (phone, online shop, gym, energy) | **3 years** | § 1486 Z 1 ABGB | | Rent and lease payments | **3 years** | § 1486 Z 4 ABGB | | Fees of doctors, lawyers, notaries, private teachers | **3 years** | § 1486 Z 6 ABGB | | Interest arrears and other recurring payments | **3 years** | § 1480 ABGB | | Other claims, including private loans and court judgments | **30 years** | § 1478 ABGB | Read against the ABGB on RIS, 12 October 2026. Most consumer debts in Austria expire after **3 years**. That covers bills from businesses for goods, work and services, **rent**, and fees of doctors and lawyers ([§ 1486 ABGB](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10001622)), plus **interest arrears** (§ 1480). A debt confirmed by a **court judgment** runs for **30 years** (§ 1478). The clock starts when the claim could first be demanded, which for an invoice is its due date. Expiry protects you only if you use it. The court does not check limitation by itself; a party must raise it (**§ 1501 ABGB**). And the clock restarts if you **acknowledge the debt**, expressly or by conduct, before it runs out (**§ 1497**). A part payment, a signed instalment agreement or a written “I will pay next month” can all count as acknowledgment. If a letter arrives for a bill more than three years past due, answer that the claim is time-barred, and pay nothing. A lawsuit also interrupts the clock, as long as the creditor pursues it properly (§ 1497). That is why agencies sometimes file a **Mahnklage** just before the three years end. The resulting **Zahlungsbefehl** is where you raise limitation, inside the **4-week** objection window. ## Will an Inkasso Case Show Up at the KSV1870? It can. The **KSV1870** is both Austria’s largest credit bureau and a debt collector, and payment defaults reach its consumer database. The bureau does not publish a binding deletion schedule; secondary sources consistently report that a default stays **5 years after it is settled**, so a late payment does not shorten it. Check your file for free under **Art. 15 GDPR**. Every bank checks it before lending (**§ 7 VKrG**). The free self-disclosure is a legal right, not a product. The KSV1870 also sells a paid information package, and consumer groups have criticised how prominently it is placed next to the free request. Ask expressly for the **free disclosure under Art. 15 GDPR**. If an entry is wrong, for example a claim you disputed or one caused by identity misuse, demand correction in writing. A refusal can go to the [Datenschutzbehörde](https://www.dsb.gv.at/), which charges nothing. The stakes rise on **20 November 2026**. From that date the **Verbraucherkreditgesetz 2026** makes buy-now-pay-later a consumer loan with a mandatory credit check, so a small **Klarna** default can block the next purchase as well as the next mortgage. Our [loans guide](/banking/loans) covers how the KSV1870 score feeds into lending decisions. ## How Much of Your Income Is Protected From Garnishment? | Protected amount, 2026 | Per month | Rule | | --- | --- | --- | | Basic amount (allgemeiner Grundbetrag) | **€1,308.39** | Equal to the single-person Ausgleichszulage rate (§ 291a Abs. 1 EO) | | Raised amount, no separate 13th and 14th salary | about **€1,526** | Basic amount plus one sixth (§ 291a Abs. 2 Z 1 EO) | | Supplement per dependant, up to five | about **€262** | 20% of the basic amount each (§ 291a Abs. 2 Z 2 EO) | Our calculation from § 291a EO on RIS (12 October 2026) and the 2026 Ausgleichszulage rate of €1,308.39. The exact seizable amount for a given income comes from the Ministry of Justice’s annual Existenzminimum tables, which round slightly differently. If a creditor garnishes your wages in Austria, at least **€1,308.39 a month** stays with you in **2026**. That basic amount equals the single-person **Ausgleichszulage** rate ([§ 291a Abs. 1 EO](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10001700)). It rises by **one sixth**, to about **€1,526**, if you receive no separate 13th and 14th salary, and by **20%** for each person you support, up to five. Part of any income above these amounts stays protected too. Garnishment needs a court title first. After a judgment or an unchallenged **Zahlungsbefehl**, the creditor applies for **Exekution**, and the court orders your employer, as third-party debtor, to pay the seizable part directly to the creditor. Your employer calculates that part from the official tables, so the protection works without an application in the normal case. Check the first garnished payslip against the tables anyway: the dependant supplement only applies if the employer knows about your dependants. An account garnishment works differently from a wage garnishment, and the rules for protected balances depend on where the money came from. If your account is frozen, contact the **Schuldenberatung** or the court that issued the order on the same day, because the protection on an account usually has to be asserted rather than applied automatically. We could not confirm the current procedure against the primary text, so treat this paragraph as a prompt to ask, not as a rule. Illustration of a bank card, a euro coin, and a bank building, for opening an account and choosing a bank or card in Austria. ## How Do Debt Counselling and Privatkonkurs Work After July 2026? | Stage | What happens | Duration | | --- | --- | --- | | Schuldenberatung | Full disclosure of debts, income and spending; an out-of-court offer to creditors; preparing the court application | Free; first appointments can take weeks | | Application at the district court | Asset list signed by you and a payment plan proposal (§ 183 IO) | Court costs can be deferred | | Zahlungsplan | Creditors vote on a quota you can pay from income | Up to the plan term agreed | | Abschöpfungsverfahren, if the plan fails | Seizable income goes to a court-appointed trustee; then discharge of the remaining debt | **5 years** (§ 199 Abs. 2 IO) | | Tilgungsplan | The faster route introduced in 2021 | **Expired for consumers** at the end of 16 July 2026 (§ 283 Abs. 9 IO) | Read against the Insolvenzordnung on RIS (§§ 183, 199, 283), 12 October 2026. Applications for a Tilgungsplan that reached the court before 17 July 2026 still follow the old rules. If you cannot pay your debts in Austria, start at a state-recognised **Schuldenberatung**: free, confidential, and in every federal state. In **2025** these offices supported **61,221 people**. If creditors refuse an out-of-court deal, the **Privatkonkurs** follows. Since **17 July 2026** consumers no longer have the **3-year Tilgungsplan** ([§ 283 Abs. 9 IO](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10001736&Paragraf=283)). What remains is a creditor vote on a payment plan or the **5-year** Abschöpfungsverfahren. The change matters for anyone who planned around the faster route. Under the 2021 reform, a consumer could be discharged after **3 years** on a Tilgungsplan. That provision was time-limited for consumers and ran out at the end of **16 July 2026**. An Abschöpfungsverfahren now takes **five years**, during which the seizable part of your income goes to a trustee ([§ 199 Abs. 2 IO](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10001736&Paragraf=199)). The **Zahlungsplan**, where creditors accept a quota, is unchanged and often the faster exit. The numbers show how common this is. According to [schuldenberatung.at](https://schuldenberatung.at/schulden-in-oesterreich/), the offices recorded **21,599 first contacts** in 2025, and **205,031** personal insolvency proceedings have opened in Austria since **1995**. The average debt of their clients was **€63,354** for men and **€46,284** for women. Most of that is not one large loan but many small claims, each carrying its own Inkasso fees. ### Before you sign an instalment plan with an agency If you have more than one creditor, talk to the Schuldenberatung before agreeing a payment plan with any single agency. Every instalment agreement is a chargeable step under the Inkasso regulation, and paying one creditor first can leave too little for the others when an overall settlement is negotiated later. ## Which Laws and Authorities Stand Behind These Rules? Four pieces of law decide almost every Inkasso case in Austria: the **ABGB** for what a creditor may claim and when it expires, the **Inkasso fee regulation** for the ceilings, the **Exekutionsordnung** for what is protected, and the **Insolvenzordnung** for the way out. The block below gives the statute, the authority, the free tool and the concrete right. The rules behind this page | Law | [§ 1333 Abs. 2 ABGB](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10001622): only necessary, proportionate collection costs; capped by the [Inkasso fee regulation, BGBl. Nr. 141/1996](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10007798) | | Authority | The trade authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft or Magistrat) licenses collection agencies under [§ 118 GewO 1994](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/NormDokument.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10007517&Paragraf=118); check a licence in [GISA](https://www.gisa.gv.at/) | | Free tool | [State-recognised Schuldenberatung](https://schuldenberatung.at/beratungsstellen/), free and confidential, plus the Arbeiterkammer consumer advice | | Your right | On a claim up to €73 the processing fee may not exceed €20.35, and 22% on €73 to €364, net of VAT, in force since 28 March 1996 with euro amounts since 1 January 2002. In 2026 at least €1,308.39 a month is protected from garnishment (§ 291a EO). | ## Related Guides [Personal Loans: Rates, the KSV1870 score and buy-now-pay-later from November 2026.](/banking/loans) [Payment Methods: Direct debit refunds and what a bounced debit costs.](/banking/payment-methods) [Open a Bank Account: Including the basic payment account every resident is entitled to.](/banking/open-bank-account) [Credit Card Interest Rates: What revolving balances cost before they become a collection case.](/banking/credit-card-interest-rates) [Austria’s Consumer Credit Act 2026 (VKrG 2026): From 20 November 2026, BNPL through Klarna becomes regulated credit with mandatory checks.](/banking/consumer-credit-law-2026) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Do you have to pay every fee in an Austrian Inkasso letter? No. You owe the **principal**, interest at **4% a year**, and only collection costs that were **necessary and proportionate** (**§ 1333 Abs. 2 ABGB**). The Inkasso fee regulation sets **maximums, not entitlements**: on a claim under **€73** the processing fee may not exceed **€20.35**. Pay what you owe, ask for an **itemised breakdown** in writing, and dispute the rest. ### Can a debt collector add fees if you already paid the creditor? Not for work done after you paid. If you settled with the **original creditor before the handover**, there was nothing left to collect and **no collection cost was necessary**. Send the agency **proof of payment** with the date. If you paid after the handover, the creditor can still claim costs that arose until then, within the caps. ### How long does a debt take to expire in Austria? Most consumer bills expire after **3 years**: goods, work or services from a business, rent, and fees of doctors and lawyers (**§ 1486 ABGB**). Interest arrears also expire after **3 years** (§ 1480). Other claims and **court judgments** run **30 years** (§ 1478). You must **raise expiry yourself** (§ 1501), and **acknowledging the debt** restarts the clock (§ 1497). ### How long does an Inkasso case stay on your KSV1870 record? The **KSV1870** does not publish a binding deletion schedule. Secondary sources consistently report **5 years after settlement** for a payment default (not confirmed by KSV1870). Check what is stored with a **free request** under **Art. 15 GDPR**, and take a refused correction to the **Datenschutzbehörde**, which costs nothing. ### What happens if you ignore a Zahlungsbefehl from the court? It becomes **enforceable**. A **Zahlungsbefehl** is a court payment order issued without a hearing. You have **4 weeks** from service to lodge an **Einspruch** (**§ 248 ZPO**), and the deadline **cannot be extended**. If you do nothing, the creditor can apply for **Exekution**. An Inkasso letter is not a court order; a Zahlungsbefehl is. ### How much of your salary is protected from garnishment in 2026? The basic protected amount equals the single-person **Ausgleichszulage** rate, **€1,308.39 a month** in **2026** (**§ 291a Abs. 1 EO**). It rises by **one sixth**, to about **€1,526**, without separate special payments, and by **20%**, about **€262**, per dependant, up to five. Part of the income above that also stays with you. ### How long does a Privatkonkurs take in Austria after July 2026? **Five years** if creditors reject your payment plan. The **3-year Tilgungsplan** expired for consumers at the end of **16 July 2026** (**§ 283 Abs. 9 IO**), unless filed before 17 July 2026. What remains is the creditor-voted **Zahlungsplan** and, if that fails, the **5-year Abschöpfungsverfahren** (§ 199 Abs. 2 IO). ### Is debt counselling in Austria really free? Yes. The state-recognised **Schuldenberatung** offices are **free, confidential and voluntary**, with offices in every federal state. They do not lend money. In **2025** they supported **61,221 people** and recorded **21,599 first contacts**. Ignore paid debt-relief services that ask for an **upfront fee**: the recognised offices prepare even a **Privatkonkurs** at no cost. --- Source: https://www.how-to-austria.com/banking/debt-collection Last updated: Updated: October 12 2026 Format: LLM-readable Markdown twin (.md) of the canonical HTML page.