Sort out your debt situation

‍Debts include loans taken out from banks and other credit institutions, hire purchase agreements and other consumer credits. Any outstanding amount on your credit card is also a debt. Bills turn into debt when their due date has passed. Even if no debt is being collected at the moment, you may still have some debt left. It is very rare for debts to become time-barred.

Your debts may be dealt with by different operators depending on the stage of collection. Sometimes the same debt can be dealt with by more than one operator at the same time. The date of judgment of the district court, the case number of the debt and the name of the creditor or collection agency may help you determine whether two statements are for the same debt. The amount of the debt may vary from one debt balance statement to another, as different costs may have incurred on the debt at different stages.

Find out who you owe

Try to recall who you could owe money to. You can ask collection agencies to send you balance statements on any of your debts they are dealing with. The largest collection agencies provide e-services that you can sign in to and look into your debt situation.

You can also find information about your debts on paper or electronic invoices, payment reminders and bank statements. Furthermore, debt agreements and applications for a summons contain information about debts.

If a debt has been transferred to collection, you can request information from the creditor, the collection agency, the tax authority and the Legal Register Centre. The enforcement authorities will provide you with a ‘Debtor's enforcement matters’ printout, which contains information on the debts subject to enforcement and the debts that the enforcement authorities have returned to the creditor. An extract from the credit register shows debts that have resulted in a payment default entry.

The financial and debt counselling services will help you find out the total amount of your debts.

Make a list of your debts

It is a good idea to make a list of all your debts on paper or using one of the digital applications designed for the purpose. Write down the name of the creditor, the amount of the debt, the interest, the amount of monthly repayments, the monthly repayment date and the final repayment date. It is not necessary to write down all this information if you cannot find it.

The most important thing is to get an overall picture of your debt situation. Once you have a clear picture, you can start thinking about different options for paying off your debts.

Read more

Guide to finding out about your debts (available only in Finnish) on the website of the Guarantee Foundation

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