According to Fredrik Engström, chairman of Svensk inkasso, the risk of unnecessary collection claims increases during the summer months, when many are away and do not have control over which invoices are sent home. He urges those who move to their summer cottage to forward mail or otherwise ensure that invoices do not lie on the hall floor for too long.
There is always a great risk that you miss paying things on time and it leads to unnecessary collection claims and costs, says Engström.
Increases after the summer
The collection claims are lagging and it is not until September and October that the summer purchases will be visible in the statistics.
The summer months are a period when a very large number of people spend quite a lot of money and that means we often see an increase during the autumn months when the things you bought on credit have to be paid.
A similar increase occurs in January and February when parts of the Christmas trade result in collection claims.
Fewer collection claims
Since last autumn, the number of new collection claims has, on the other hand, steadily decreased, shows the industry organization Svensk inkasso's monthly statistics. The decrease is believed to be due to weak trade.
The decrease in e-commerce is an important explanation for why we see a decrease in collection claims overall, says Fredrik Engström.
After the record year 2023 with 10 million new collection claims, Fredrik Engström believes that for 2025 it will land on 8 to 9 million new collection claims. At the same time, the number of collection claims that remain for a longer period is increasing.
It is not a dramatic increase but it is a clear increase. It indicates that there are a number of households out there that have significantly more serious payment problems.
