Payment reminder / dunning letter
Mahnung / Zahlungserinnerung · sent by Any company or authority you owe
Act now — this one has real deadlines
What this letter is
A formal reminder that an invoice is unpaid — first politely (Zahlungserinnerung), then with escalating Mahnung levels adding fees, ending at debt collection (Inkasso) or a court payment order (Mahnbescheid). German businesses use this ladder routinely and quickly.
What to do
- Check legitimacy first: do you actually have a contract with this sender? Fake-Mahnung fraud is common — verify the claimed contract, amounts and IBAN on the company's official site. Court payment orders (Mahnbescheid) come in distinctive yellow envelopes from an Amtsgericht — those are always real and always urgent.
- Legitimate and correct? Pay within the stated deadline including any fees; then check why the original invoice slipped (wrong address? failed debit?).
- Legitimate but wrong? Dispute in writing (email suffices) before the deadline, stating why — a documented dispute pauses good-faith escalation.
- Already at Inkasso? Don't panic-pay inflated fees; verify the underlying claim, pay the legitimate core promptly, and dispute unreasonable collection surcharges in writing.
- A yellow Mahnbescheid? You have exactly 2 weeks to file the objection (Widerspruch) with the enclosed form if you dispute it — or pay. Missing that window makes the debt enforceable. Take it to Migrationsberatung the same week if unsure.
General information, not legal advice. Always verify payment details on the sender's official website before transferring money.