From January to July this year, the number of debt collection claims has risen to over 5.6 million cases. This is shown by new figures from the industry association Svensk inkasso. This is an increase of seven percent compared to the same period last year.
This is a significant increase compared to how it usually looks, says Fredrik Engström, lawyer and chairman of Svensk inkasso.
Last year, a total of over nine million new debt collection cases were received. And this year, the industry association believes it may be a record number.
There are some indications of this. If this development continues, it may exceed ten million cases for the first time this year.
Pressed households
The person liable for payment usually gets two chances to pay an invoice before the debt collection company sends out a debt collection claim, after which the case may end up with the Enforcement Authority.
Fredrik Engström believes that the reason why more people are having trouble paying their bills on time is the economic situation.
Many households are very pressed by the general price increases in combination with high interest rates and quite significantly increased rents.
On the other hand, the size of the debts has not increased. According to Fredrik Engström, this is because there are more debt collection claims for smaller amounts. As much as 86 percent of the new debt collection cases are for amounts under 5,000 kronor.
It also doesn't take longer for the debts to be fully paid. Of the new cases, 76 percent of the debts are paid within three months.
Tighter regulations
In most cases, it's about ordinary consumption, according to Svensk inkasso. For example, phone subscriptions or invoice purchases of clothes or other goods on the internet.
The Financial Supervisory Authority also points out that invoice purchases may be part of the problem, although they do not have their own statistics to confirm this.
It's quite easy and quick to do. And you don't check if the consumer has repayment ability when making invoice purchases, unlike when it comes to loans, for example, says Anna Hult, senior lawyer at the Financial Supervisory Authority.
According to the Financial Supervisory Authority, there will be changes in this area with new EU regulations from 2026.
We don't know yet how the legislation will look like in Sweden, but much indicates that there will be tighter regulations. Both regarding credit checks and also for "buy now pay later" as these invoice credits are called.
