In 2004-2005 I lived in the Netherlands as a foreigner and got into a personal crisis that I left a few hundred euros’ debt with my phone company, and possibly a few smaller debts in a few other companies. Not only did I become peniless back then, I had a terrible nervous breakdown that I didn’t even dare to open the bills that came in the mail and was too ashamed to show other people. I was in my late teens, had no relatives or family friends to confide in, and my life was simply a mess.
I moved back to my home country (outside Europe) and never settled the bills, because at that time I had simply ran out of resources as well as courage. However, I have never forgotten, and still want to pay back what I owe. Now I am resuming my studies and am living on allowance, so finances are very tight. I have not worked in the past 3 years because I’m occupied with psychological therapy. I am planning to get a part-time job later this year, and aim to be working full-time in a well-paying career within about 2 years.
By that time, I am planning to get married, and we have discussed ideas about returning to Europe to get our masters’ degree. Of course, I would like my bills to be settled by then… and I certainly would NOT want my boyfriend or parents involved in this.
What happens then to the debt? I only know that if a bill isn’t paid, Dutch companies usually forward the debt to a debt collection company. I remember Holland as being such a rigidly strict country. I have heard that unsettled bills will accumulate interest, and that debt collection companies would go as far as hunting down relatives of the debtor to pay for it. I even heard that if you missed paying for a parking ticket back in 1992 and left to go overseas, the police would hunt you down at the immigration once you land anywhere in the Schengen region. Does it get that bad? Because if it does, I certainly don’t want to experience it! Like, I would not like to find my 500 euro bill in 2005 has accumulated a 400% compounded interest and then get escorted by the police in the airport of Athens Greece when I land there in 2012!
However, I have also read that bad debts that are too far behind are eventually written off as a “charge-off”. Doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have to be repaid, but it simply means that the company decides to no longer pursue the debtor as they may never settle it anyway. The information I read was in an American context, but how does it work in the Netherlands? Because if there were such a policy, I would like to take advantage of it to legally protect myself, and settle the bills in a way that won’t jeopardise my reputation or my sanity.
What steps should I make in order to repay these debts?
What are some precautions I should take?
Where are some safe places I should be able to get help from and still have my privacy protected?
How do I calculate the numbers?
What’s a credit report, and how do I use it? I have heard about sites that give free credit report in the USA, but is there any such services for the Netherlands?
Thank you! 
Bill
Janet
As long as the debts were with private companies, and not government or city taxes or judicial (parking fines etc), you’ll be alright. Private companies do not have the power to make the police hunt you down so you won’t be arrested or anything like that. The worst private debt collectors can do is seize your bank accounts or your possesions, which of course is bad enough. In the past, private debt collectors would charge ridiculous amounts for collecting debts, where sometimes the amount you would have to pay back was ten times the original amount or even more. I’ve read somewhere that now finally the government is putting a cap on this allowing private debt collectors to only charge a maximum of 15% the original debt.
If, as you say, the total original debt is only hundreds of euro’s and not thousands, you don’t have very much to worry about. If you move back to the Netherlands, what you should do as soon as you get there, is contact the city hall of the city you live in and tell them about this problem, and they will help you set up a plan to pay back your debts.
If some of your debts were in fact government or city taxes or judicial (fines), you should really try to pay them back as soon as possible.
I would suggest contacting the free legal aid of the city you used to live in (bureau rechtshulp) and have them advise you on the matter. I would suggest doing this with a letter and not with a phone call. You could also try sending a letter to the city you used to live in.
There’s really no way to exactly calculate the numbers as it all depends on the steps taken by any private debt collectors and what they chose to charge you for those steps.
A credit report as used in the USA is not really available in the Netherlands as far as I know.
best of luck to you..
Comment by Vince has left the building... — June 18, 2010 @ 5:51 pm