Population: 16,407,491

Economy Overview:

The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing, chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labor force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU partners, began circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country continues to be one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001-04, as part of the global economic slowdown, but for the four years before that, annual growth averaged nearly 4%, well above the EU average

General Business Practices.

1. Most business transactions are conducted in Dutch, however English is used for international transactions. The official language in court proceedings is Dutch. 2. The primary monetary unit used in the Netherlands is the Dutch guilders (Hfl.)

Collections

A. Background of Industry.

1. In Netherlands the collection of overdue debts has been practised for quite some time. As with most European countries the collection of overdue debts was mainly concentrated on trade debt until the mid sixties. . 2. Collection is handled by collection agencies, lawyers and bailiffs. 3. Collection is undertaken on both commercial and consumer accounts.

B. Licensing Requirements

Within the Netherlands, the absence of specific government regulations permit any person or legal entity to start the collection of overdue debts without any restrictions when operating within the general legal frame. Collection agencies do not need permission and are not subject to specific sanctions should abusive methods ever be used. Due to the lack of any specific intervention by the government all kinds of persons are attracted to practise debt collection.Lawyers and bailiffs are bounded by the rules set up by their professional organisations, the rules of which are binding to all members.

C. General Procedures

1. Collection agencies will generally send a letter to the debtor. Generally a series of letters are sent requesting payment, and then a telephone call is made to the debtor. House visits are also arranged when there is no response to the letters or telephone call.2. Lawyers will typically send letters of demand to the debtor. If there is no response to the letters the lawyer will generally take legal action.

D. Charges & Remuneration.

1. Lawyers charge on an hourly basis, and they charge for every minute they spend on the case, including time spent in writing letters and time spent on the telephone. 2. Collection agencies will normally charge on a commission basis, with the amount of the debt determining the commission charged. A general tariff is a contingency fee of 15 percent. 3. In January 1992 the Dutch civil code was changed in such a way that the debtor has to compensate the creditor for all reasonable cost made to obtain payment. The debtor is also obliged to compensate the creditor for the loss of interest 4. Interest is also collectable on overdue accounts. The basic level of compensation for the loss of interest, is the level of the "legal" interest. This rate is officially revised by the government every six months. In case a higher or lower interest rate has been agreed upon, which may be the case when the debt is in a foreign currency, this agreed rate is applicable