Although administrative follow-up and legal follow-up are both credit card collection statuses, they differ in many ways in how they work and how they are structured:
| Administrative Follow-Up | Legal Follow-Up |
| Usually starts on the 61st day the debt remains unpaid. | Usually starts on the 91st day the debt remains unpaid. |
| The debtor is given time, and the debt is expected to be paid in installments. | The bank tries to collect the receivable through legal means. |
| Only default interest accrues (forgone profit share at participation banks). | Attorney and court costs are added on top of this interest. |
| No seizure is applied. | Enforcement proceedings are started to collect the receivables. |
| If the customer pays the debt, the card is reopened. | If the customer pays the debt, the card is not reopened. The customer may need to apply for a new card. |
| The customer is not blacklisted. | The customer is blacklisted. |
| The negative effect on the customer's future credit card processes is low. | The negative effect on the customer's future credit card processes is high. |
What can be done to avoid falling into follow-up?
Before moving a card into a follow-up status, the bank usually sends several warnings. Contacting the bank at this stage and asking for a restructuring can shorten the process.
In legal follow-up, costs increase and credit records are negatively affected for a long time. So taking early action as soon as payment difficulties begin reduces both the cost and the risk of a negative record.
Day counts and practices may differ by regulation and by bank; you need to talk to your bank about your own situation.
