General Terms and Conditions

Art. 1 These general terms and conditions apply to all agreements and offers regarding the provision of debt collection services.
Art. 2 The Client agrees to these general terms and conditions by ticking the “agree to general terms and conditions” box when entering and submitting a case file, or by using the debtor management services provided by ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’.
Art. 3 Agreements deviating from these terms and conditions shall only be binding upon ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ if expressly confirmed in writing.
Art. 4 Should any provision of these terms and conditions conflict, in whole or in part, with any provision of mandatory law, the remaining provisions shall continue to be in full force and effect. Art. 5 ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ reserves the right to refuse any assignment, without being required to provide a reason.
Art. 6 Any assignment given to ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ for debt collection is deemed not to be subject to a specific timeframe for completion, although every effort will be made to handle the matter as quickly as possible. Assignments relating to ‘debtor management’ are considered agreements with a minimum term of one year, automatically renewed for successive one-year periods unless properly terminated. Termination must be effected by means of a registered letter sent to the registered office of ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ at least three months prior to the end of the scheduled term. In the event of unilateral termination of the agreement without adherence to these procedures, ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ shall be entitled to compensation equivalent to the value of the remaining term of the agreement. Art. 7 If the client instructs ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ to collect a claim, the client authorizes ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ to perform, on its behalf, all collection actions it deems necessary. This includes:
● Contacting debtors—whether in writing, by telephone, or in person
● Charging interest and costs to the debtor
● Receiving funds into a third-party account
● Arranging a reasonable payment plan, taking the circumstances into account
● Acting as an authorized representative in judicial debt recovery proceedings
Art. 8 The client is required to notify ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ as soon as possible—and no later than within 4 days—upon receiving payments, issuing a credit note, or accepting returned goods in relation to an ongoing debt collection case. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of contract and results in a compensation charge of €125, in addition to the commission due as per the rate schedule available at incassoGeka / Bizzon.
Art. 9 Legal action is always preceded by at least one formal demand for payment from ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’.
Art. 10 ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ reserves the right to terminate its collection activities if it becomes apparent that payment cannot be obtained without legal proceedings and the debtor disputes the claim on legal grounds. In such cases, the client will receive a file closure notice containing advice on potential next steps.
Art. 11 ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ cannot be held liable for currency exchange losses.
Art. 12 Costs may be charged to the client in accordance with the rate schedule available at incassoGeka / Bizzon. Interest and penalty charges are payable automatically and without prior notice of default from the invoice due date.
Art. 13 Payment is deemed to have occurred when the debtor has settled the claim with ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ or directly with the client. Payment is also deemed to include any counter-performance undertaken by the debtor vis-à-vis the client, set-off of the claim, the issuance of a credit note, or the return of delivered goods.
Art. 14 If the client withdraws a collection instruction, concludes a payment arrangement or reaches a settlement with the debtor independently of ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’, or otherwise obstructs further collection proceedings, ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ is entitled to charge a commission on the claim submitted for collection in accordance with the rate schedule available at incassoGeka / Bizzon.
Art. 15 Any payment made by the debtor shall first be applied to settle the costs incurred by ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’.
Art. 16 ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ offers the option to send a final reminder to debtors on its own letterhead and in its own name, without taking further measures. This option applies to all claims no older than 60 days past the due date. In this reminder, the principal amount is increased by administrative costs, and overdue interest may also be charged to the debtor. In the event of non-payment, the client may transfer the claim to ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ for collection.
Art. 17 The client is obliged to keep all information provided to it by ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ confidential and not to disclose it to third parties. Art. 18 ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ is not obliged to return documents made available to it by the client.
Art. 19 If the client fails to fulfill its obligations under an agreement—for example, by failing to pay an invoice that has become due—‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ is entitled to suspend its obligations under any agreement existing between the parties.
Art. 20 Extrajudicial and judicial debt collection shall be at the client’s expense and risk.
Art. 21 ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ shall not be liable in the event of force majeure. Force majeure is defined as any circumstance beyond the control of ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ that temporarily or permanently prevents performance of the agreement. By way of non-exhaustive example, force majeure includes: war, threat of war, terrorism, civil unrest, strikes, transport difficulties, fire, and other serious disruptions to the operations of ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ or those of third parties engaged by it. In the event of force majeure, ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ has the right to extend the performance period of the assignment(s) by the duration of the force majeure or to dissolve the agreement—insofar as it has not yet been performed—without ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ being liable for damages.
Art. 22 ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ shall not be liable for damage caused by acts or omissions of its employees or of third parties performing work on its behalf, nor for damage resulting from the insolvency or financial difficulties of ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’.
Art. 23 Payment of amounts invoiced by ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ must be made within 14 days of the invoice date, without any deduction or set-off. If this deadline is exceeded, ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ has the right to charge interest at a rate of 8% per month, calculated from the due date. In the event of non-payment, the client shall be liable for all judicial and extrajudicial costs. ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ is entitled to charge an administrative fee of €10 per payment reminder. Collection costs amount to 20% of the outstanding claim (including interest), subject to a minimum of €50 excluding VAT.
Art. 24 ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ is entitled to offset outstanding invoices against funds it holds on behalf of the client in question, on any grounds whatsoever. Art. 25 Belgian law applies to all disputes between the parties.
Art. 26 Disputes shall be submitted exclusively to the competent court in Hasselt.
Art. 27 The rates are set out in a separate rate schedule, which is deemed to form part of the General Terms and Conditions in their most recent version. These terms and conditions always refer to the most recent rate schedule.
Art. 28 ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ reserves the right to amend the rates by issuing a new rate schedule, which shall also apply to ongoing assignments. ‘Incasso Geka / Bizzon’ shall notify the client of the new rate schedule in good time.