Problems with municipal debt assistance

There is a solution for people with problematic debts, under certain conditions. One may be eligible for forgiveness of all kinds of debts. The first step is to stabilize the (financial) situation so that no new debts are incurred. Some people can arrange this themselves, for others it is necessary to engage a debt-helper, a budget manager or a protection administrator.

If the situation is stable (enoudgh) and you meet certain conditions, you can register with the municipality’s debt assistance. The municipality will make an official decision whether you qualify for this. Such a decision is called a ‘besluit’.

If the municipality decides that you are eligible for debt assistance, they will start working on your case. They check if further stalisation is necessary and they contact all your creditors. The muncipality calculates how much you could save for your creditors over a period of (usually) a year and a halve. On this basis, the municipality will make a proposal to your creditors for the forgiveness of part of your debts. If the creditors agree, the (usually) year and a half amicable process will start. During this entire time you are obliged to adhere to all kinds of rules and conditions. If the amicable process is completed successfully, you should be rid of your debts.

The municipality may decide that you are not eligible for municipal debt assistance. The municipality can also decide to terminate the debt assistance prematurely. If you do not agree with such a decision, you can file an objection with the municipality. Advocatenkantoor Elberste can help with this.

If you adhere to all the rules and meet all the conditions, it may still happen that the debt assistance is terminated. This happens if your creditors do not agree to the forgiveness and it is also not possible to be enforced through a so-called compulsory agreement. If debt assistance ends for this reason, the municipality will inform you about the options for submitting a WSNP request. See the separate page about the WSNP by clicking here.

Pijnacker, Nootdorp en Delfgauw are all three part of the municipality Pijnacker-Nootdorp.