GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS of Fortis Inkasso GmbH & Co. KG
§ 2 Membership; access; standard services
1. upon completion of the registration process via the Fortis website or dashboard/service portal
a paid membership relationship is established between Fortis and the client
(„membership“), which includes the use of the service portal and the use of the services offered there.
services provided in accordance with these GTC.
2. membership conveys - subject to deviating individual agreements - the
Authorization to submit claims and associated invoice or claim documents via the
service portal in any number and to submit them within the framework of the extrajudicial
receivables management (standard services).
3. fortis is entitled to suspend access to the service portal and/or individual functionalities from the
fulfillment of obligations to cooperate, the deposit of complete master data as well as the
to make the timely payment of due fees dependent.
4 Fortis owes the provision of the Service Portal in its respective current version within the scope of the
technical and operational possibilities. A claim to uninterrupted access at all times
There is no availability; Fortis is subject to maintenance windows and technical
Interruptions authorized.
5. access data must be kept secret and protected from access by third parties. Uses under
The proper use of the access data applies in the relationship between Fortis and
as having been caused by the client, unless the client proves that he was not responsible for any
is at fault.
§ 3 Membership fee; billing; term; termination
1. the client owes a membership fee of EUR 1,000.00 for the membership
net per calendar year (plus statutory VAT). The membership fee includes the use of
the standard services in accordance with § 2, including the submission and processing of
Receivables/invoice documents in any number via the service portal. The following remain unaffected
Third-party costs (in particular court and bailiff costs, register information, detective and authority costs, service of documents, translations, foreign collection costs) and separately
additional services commissioned, insofar as these are agreed in individual cases.
2. the membership fee is due for the first time upon completion of registration. Then the
Membership fees are due in advance at the beginning of each calendar year (01.01.). Fortis is authorized,
to issue invoices electronically.
3. the client has the data required for payment processing as part of the registration process,
in particular the IBAN. Fortis is authorized to pay the membership fee via the
registration process or to request payment.
Return debit/return fees charged by the bank for which Fortis is not responsible shall be borne by the customer.
Client.
4 Membership runs for an indefinite period, but at least until the end of the respective year.
calendar year. It shall be extended by a further calendar year in each case if it is not renewed in due time.
is terminated.
5. membership can be terminated by the client with a notice period of three (3) months to the end of a
calendar year (the date of receipt of the notice of termination is decisive). If no
If the membership is not terminated in due time, the membership continues for the following year. The right to
extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected.
6. fortis is entitled to temporarily block access to the service portal and/or
extraordinary termination if the client defaults on due payments despite a reminder.
or persistently violates essential obligations to cooperate or misuses the service portal.
uses.
B. Collection order / performance of services
§ 4 Placing of order and object of performance
1. the order is placed by handing over/transmitting the debtor and claim data;
it is not necessarily completed just by filling out a contact form. All
Quotations from Fortis are non-binding; in particular time specifications (execution deadlines etc.) are not binding.
non-binding, unless their binding nature is expressly confirmed.
2. without a separate and remunerated order, Fortis shall examine objections and defenses against
the claim transferred to it for collection.
3. the costs of the collection service shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the
Legal Services Act (RDG) and the Introductory Act to the RDG (RDGEG). Insofar as Fortis
collection costs as damage caused by default against the debtor, these are to be paid in accordance with § 4
(5) sentence 1 RDGEG is limited in amount to the remuneration payable to a lawyer in accordance with the
provisions of the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG). The calculation of fees
is - where applicable - in accordance with the RVG in conjunction with the remuneration schedule (VV RVG),
in particular according to No. 2300 VV RVG as well as the expenses according to No. 7002 VV RVG and - insofar as
applicable - VAT according to No. 7008 VV RVG.
4. the costs and expenses shall be borne by the client - insofar as they do not constitute damage caused by default vis-à-vis the
debtor - outside of the debt collection service, in particular the dunning procedure,
costs and expenses arising from enforcement measures and foreign debt collection.
5. fortis shall be entitled to take all measures necessary to facilitate the collection of the claim.
are. Fortis may agree installment payments and deferrals with debtors, payments
and - where legally permissible and expedient - agreements and decrees.
with regard to the principal claim and the costs.
6. if out-of-court collection efforts remain unsuccessful, judicial dunning proceedings will be initiated.
against the debtor only if the client instructs Fortis to do so. For this
purpose and, in the event of an objection or objection, Fortis will commission a
lawyer or a partner law firm with the prosecution of the claims; the
In this respect, the contractual relationship arises between the client and the lawyer.
lawyer; the client shall bear the associated costs, unless these are deemed to be
damage caused by default can be realized against the debtor.
§ Section 4a Remuneration in extrajudicial proceedings; legal bases; reference to success; default interest
1. to the extent that Fortis incurs collection costs in extrajudicial proceedings against the debtor as
damages caused by delay, this shall be done in accordance with the statutory provisions; the
Pursuant to Section 4 (5) sentence 1 RDGEG, the amount of reimbursement is limited to the remuneration that
a lawyer would be entitled to under the RVG (in particular No. 2300 VV RVG and expenses
according to No. 7002 VV RVG and - if applicable - VAT according to No. 7008 VV RVG).
2. in addition to the membership fee in accordance with §§ 2, 3, the client shall owe Fortis the following in extrajudicial proceedings
no additional remuneration separate from this procedure, insofar and as long as Fortis continues its
Collection costs within the legal framework are realized as default damages from the debtor. Fortis is
entitled to collect realized collection and cost reimbursement amounts as part of the collective settlement.
in accordance with § 6.
3. the client hereby assigns all claims for reimbursement of the collection and lawyer's fees
as well as all claims for payment of default interest from the claims submitted to Fortis.
claims to Fortis; Fortis accepts the assignment. Fortis shall pay interest on arrears - insofar as
legally permissible and realized - as additional, performance-related remuneration and are
to the client.
4. this shall not affect (i) the reimbursement of third-party costs and expenses that do not constitute damage caused by default
Fortis has disbursed, (ii) the costs of legal proceedings, and
enforcement measures and (iii) remuneration for expressly commissioned additional services;
These can be invoiced or requested separately in accordance with these GTC.
§ 5 Obligations of the client to cooperate
1. during the term of the order, the claim may not be settled by the client either directly or indirectly
be processed indirectly. In particular, the client may not disclose the information to a lawyer.
lawyer or another debt collection company at the same time or after the order has been placed.
The client shall hand over the claim documents for the purpose of verification and assertion. The client
shall also cease all its own collection efforts against the debtor. Something else only applies if
an agreement was reached with Fortis to this effect.
2. the client undertakes to support Fortis in the execution of the order and
any contact in relation to the disputed claim with the
debtor, i.e. to refrain from corresponding or negotiating with him and to refrain from
to take its own legal action, unless expressly agreed otherwise.
3. incoming payments by the debtor and other incidents are reported to Fortis immediately and
without delay. The customer shall be liable to Fortis for the legal validity of the
collection of the transferred claim and for the consequences of incomplete or incorrect information. If
claims for damages by third parties based on this incomplete or incorrect information
against Fortis, the customer shall indemnify Fortis against such claims.
§ 6 Settlement sequence; collective settlement; offsetting; assignment
1. payments received from the debtor shall - insofar as legally permissible - be credited in accordance with Section 367 (1) BGB
first to all costs (in particular collection costs, lawyer's fees, court costs and legal fees).
bailiff's costs, detective and authority costs, etc.), then on the interest and finally
offset against the principal claim transferred. Amounts of third-party money arising in the process are not
interest.
2. depending on the means of payment used to make the debtor payment, the settlement will be made therein
of any third-party funds contained in the claim at the earliest after expiry of the respective objection or.
chargeback periods.
3. collective settlement / client account (consolidated settlement):
a) Fortis is entitled to maintain an internal billing account for each customer, in which
all items arising from the contractual relationship - in particular
Claims/partial claims, ancillary claims, cost reimbursement claims,
Remuneration claims of Fortis (including performance-related realized remuneration components)
and other balance items - are recorded on a consolidated basis („client account“).
b) Payments that Fortis receives from debtors (irrespective of the individual claim to which they relate under
the debtor's submission) or from the client, shall - insofar as legally permissible - be
permissible - are initially recorded in the client account and may then be used within the scope of a
collective settlement to the respective open items. Fortis is insofar
authorized to allocate incoming payments to individual receivables for offsetting purposes.
at its reasonable discretion, unless mandatory statutory provisions, legally effective
repayment provisions of the debtor or overriding rights of third parties.
c) The Client expressly agrees that Fortis may, within the framework of the collective settlement - insofar as
legally permissible - may use incoming payments primarily for the repayment of such items that
Fortis from the contractual relationship (including from other, parallel or staggered
the same client) before a claim can be processed.
amount in favor of the client; the client acknowledges that in the
As part of the collective settlement, all receivables matters processed from the
resulting, performance-related remuneration and cost reimbursement items realized by Fortis
are chargeable.
d) The client shall only be entitled to payment if and as soon as the client account
any surplus in favor of the client after the aforementioned offsetting
and any withholdings/retentions (e.g. for chargeback/objection periods,
third-party costs, fee risks) are settled. Interest on arrears - to the extent assigned and realized
- in accordance with section 4a (3).
4. offsetting is only permitted with undisputed or legally established counterclaims.
§ 7 Termination of individual collection orders; right of retention
1. any collection order may be terminated by the client at any time. In the event of termination or
other termination of the contractual relationship, the client shall be obliged to pay all amounts due by
costs incurred up to that point (collection fees, legal fees, etc.) as well as disbursed
external costs.
2. termination or other termination must be in text form (e-mail is sufficient), unless mandatory
a stricter form is prescribed.
3. with regard to the enforcement documents, including the enforcement order, there is a
right of retention until the costs incurred and invoiced have been paid by the customer.
the client.
4. fortis shall be entitled to terminate the contractual relationship if the customer, after
negotiates with the debtor without the consent of Fortis or
continues to take action against him. If the client does not respond to Fortis' requests for more than one
month and after two requests, Fortis may terminate the order and
charge any fees and expenses incurred.
§ 8 Confidentiality
Fortis and the Customer are mutually obliged to disclose to each other all information relating to the execution of the
information and documents obtained in connection with the order in strict confidence. This also applies after
Termination.
§ 9 Data protection
Within the scope of the applicable data protection laws, Fortis is entitled to collect all necessary data,
to process, use and store the data. In particular, Fortis is entitled, in compliance with the
to obtain data from credit agencies (e.g. SCHUFA) in accordance with data protection regulations and
there, insofar as this is necessary to enforce the claim and within the legal framework.
is required.
§ 10 Place of jurisdiction / Applicable law
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply exclusively, to the exclusion of foreign law and the
international sales law. The place of jurisdiction for merchants, legal entities under public law or special funds under public law is Düsseldorf. The same place of jurisdiction shall apply if the
the client does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Switzerland at the time of the initiation of legal proceedings.
of the Federal Republic of Germany.
§ 11 Final provisions
1. amendments and supplements to these GTC must be made in text form, unless the law requires otherwise.
stricter form is prescribed.
2. should any provision of these GTC be or become invalid or unenforceable, the remaining
The validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. In place of the ineffective/unenforceable
In the event that the parties agree on a different provision, the one that comes closest to the economic purpose shall be deemed agreed.
The same applies to regulatory gaps.
Status: February 2026