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Debts with companies
Do you have debts with companies? We refer to that as private debt. If it is established that you have been affected, we will help you as much as possible with debts incurred before 1 June 2021. However, you must report your debts to SBN yourself. It is also possible to pause your debts for 1 year.
Debt to companies is private debt
Has it been established that you were affected? If so, you can file debts with companies incurred between 1 January 2006 and 1 June 2021 with Loket Private Schulden of Sociale Banken Nederland (SBN). SBN can only help you if you were in arrears during this period. You are in arrears if you should have already paid a bill and failed to do so. Take, for example, arrears on your energy bills, phone subscriptions, or with companies such as bol.com. We call such a late payment a debt.
Example 1: You have not paid a dental bill
Did the dental treatment debt arise between 1 January 2006 and 1 June 2021? If so, we resolve this debt in most cases. That includes interest and other charges, such as collection costs.
Example 2: You have bought something on credit and are repaying in instalments
Have you bought something on credit and are repaying it in instalments? For example, to buy a car or a TV? Are you borrowing money, for example to buy a house? Or do you have a gym subscription? These are examples of a loan or financial arrangement. We do not see this as a debt. Are you behind on payments and have the charges mounted? If these arrears arose before 1 June 2021, SBN can help you with them. However, SBN will not pay off future instalments or the loan principal. That remains your responsibility. You will therefore have to continue to pay the monthly amounts yourself.
Example 3: You borrowed money from friends or family
Do you have a loan from family or friends? And did you record it with a civil-law notary between 1 January 2006 and 1 June 2021? If so, it is a formal loan. You can report arrears for this debt to SBN.
If the loan was not recorded with a civil-law notary before 1 June 2021, it is referred to as an informal debt. SBN cannot pay off informal debts for you.
Report these debts to SBN yourself
However, you must report your debts with companies to SBN yourself. We do not do that for you because we do not know what debts you have. You have 6 months to file your debts with companies with SBN. These 6 months start after it is established that you have been affected. This may be after the first assessment or after the comprehensive assessment.
Did we notify you before 1 July 2023 that you have been affected and are entitled to €30,000? If so, you had until 2 January 2024 to report your debts to SBN's loket private schulden.
This is how you report your debts to SBN
Log in with your DigiD on SBN's Loket Private Schulden website. Enter your debts online. Or download a form there to report your debts by post. SBN reviews your debts and contacts the creditor directly. You will then receive a notification from SBN with information on which debts will be paid off. SBN pays the creditor directly. You will not receive any money from SBN.
Do you live abroad? See the information on DigiD abroad.
List your debts with companies
Sometimes it is difficult to know what private debts you still have. If you get stuck, ask for help from a friend, family member or your local authority staff member.
We have 2 tips that could help you:
- Don't know the exact amount? Then pass on what you do know. SBN always checks the debt with your creditor.
- The Schuldenwijzer website (Dutch) has an overview for affected parents. You can submit this debt statement to SBN straight away. Please note: these are only debts with bailiffs. You know if you have any other debts.
Do you need help immediately?
Are you facing problems with a company debt incurred between 1 January 2006 and 1 June 2021? For example, because you may be evicted from your home, a bailiff has called on you, or your income has been attached. If so, call the Serviceteam: 0800 - 2 358 358 (free of charge). They will put you in direct contact with the Brede Hulp Team They will check if it is urgent and help you immediately.
Pausing debts with the pause button
As soon as you are acknowledged as having been affected, you can ask creditors for a pause button for your debts. The pause button lasts for 1 year from when you received €30,000. A formal word for this pause button is 'moratorium'.
During this year, creditors cannot compel you and your benefits partner to pay debts incurred before you received €30,000. They may still send you reminders. You should also continue to pay existing schedules. For example, your mortgage or a payment plan you entered into earlier.
Please note: the debts are not cancelled in this year. They are only paused.
Personal code for creditors
To pause your debts with companies, you must give the creditor a special code. Has it been established that you were affected? If so, you will receive a letter from us after about a month. This letter contains information about the pause button and your personal code for creditors. You must communicate that code to creditors. They will then check whether you have been affected and pause your debts.
Please note: the pause button automatically starts for debts with bailiffs. We do this because debts with a bailiff can sometimes have unpleasant consequences for you. We share your data with these organisations. You do not need to pass this on yourself.
When the pause button ends
Your debts are paused for 1 year. After that year, creditors can compel you to pay again. Perhaps some of your debts have been resolved. The debts that have not been resolved will have to be paid again from then on. Creditors will then contact you directly. You can also contact your creditors yourself and agree on how you will pay off the debts.
Paying debts earlier has benefits
You do not need to wait to pay. You can make payments even if the pause button is still running. The advantage of paying off earlier is that you will have less debt when the pause button ends. We recommend that you continue to pay debts with companies incurred after 1 June 2021. SBN cannot resolve these debts for you.
Already paid debts are refunded in some cases
affected parents have sometimes paid debts that the debt settlement would resolve. In some cases, you can get this money back. However, you must submit these debts to SBN yourself. Do this no later than 6 months after it is finally established that you have been affected.
Frequently asked questions
Can anyone help me file debts with SBN?
Unable to work it out yourself? In that case, ask for help from a (debt) relief worker, budget manager or someone from your local council. They can help make an overview of your debts. Or they will help you if you want to file your debts with SBN.
What happens after I submit my debts to SBN?
SBN will contact the creditors you have entered on your debt list:
- You submit your debt list to Sociale Banken Nederland (SBN).
- SBN checks your debt list and compares the amounts with those of the creditors.
- SBN will send you a letter within 6 months: the decision. This shows which debts are fully, partially or not resolved.
- SBN pays the creditor within 2 weeks of the decision.
- SBN asks the creditor to delete the negative BKR record
The aim is for the whole process to take no more than six months. More information can be found on SBN's Loket Private Schulden website.
I borrowed money during the period of the childcare benefit problems to pay my health insurance and energy bills, for example. Will I also get those amounts back?
Only outstanding debts (arrears) incurred between 1 January 2006 and 1 June 2021 will be paid off. If you have already paid this off before, you no longer have any outstanding debts, so they will not be paid off.
What happens to my (possibly former) allowance partner's debts with companies?
Your allowance partner can also report debts with companies to SBN. For this, your allowance partner also has six months from the date it is established that you have been affected. Read here how we determine who your allowance partner is.
There is a separate recovery scheme for former allowance partners.
Will the associated negative BKR records disappear automatically when my debt is paid off?
If SBN can resolve the debt for you, they will immediately ask your creditor to delete the negative BKR record. You can also remind your creditor of this yourself.
What happens if I pass on my private debts to SBN late?
If you submit your debts after 6 months, SBN cannot process the debts. You will receive a letter about this. Is there an exceptional situation that prevented you from submitting your debt on time? If so, please explain this in your response to the letter.
What if I am in a Wsnp or Msnp process?
We also help parents and benefit partners in a debt process as much as possible to resolve company debt. After we inform you that you have been affected and are entitled to €30,000, we will approach your administrator or debt counsellor.
The date on which the Wsnpor Msnp process started determines what is possible and whether you have to report debts to companies to SBN yourself. Your administrator or debt counsellor can tell you more about this.
Will my debts with companies be paid off even if I live abroad?
If you have been affected and live abroad, you can also report debts with companies to SBN's Loket Private Schulden. Do you have debts with a foreign company that arose before 1 June 2021? You can also report debts to foreign companies to SBN. Please bear in mind that SBN must always check the debt with the creditor. With creditors abroad, this often takes longer to do.
Will my business debts also be paid off?
Have you been affected and are you self-employed (ZZP) or owner of a partnership, VOF, CV or shipping company? If so, you are personally liable for business debts of these corporate forms. In these cases, if you have business debts with companies incurred before 1 June 2021, you can also file them with SBN's Loket Private Schulden. You have six months to do this from the time it is established that you have been affected.
When reporting your debts to SBN, you can indicate whether it is a business debt. Have you passed on your debts? An SBN employee may contact you with questions.
Business criminal fines and debts due to serious abuse or fraud do not qualify. Business debts from a BV or NV also do not qualify. You cannot file these debts with SBN.
Please note: If you have business debts, you can have up to €300,000 cancelled or reimbursed over 3 years. Stricter rules also apply in some sectors. This is because of European state aid rules. If you are potentially close to this limit, Team Zakelijk Schulden will contact you to further review your situation and determine what is possible.
I am in bankruptcy. Do I have to file debts with SBN myself?
No, the trustee will do this for you. We will approach your trustee after we let you know that you have been affected and are entitled to €30,000. Your trustee will then get in touch with the Wsnp/Msnp counter.