Unsecured claim (simpelt krav)
Also known as unsecured claim, ordinary claim, non-preferential claim, § 97 claim, simple krav, § 97-krav, almindeligt krav
An unsecured claim is an ordinary creditor claim with no priority — it stands at the back of the queue and often receives no dividend at all.
In practice
The great majority of supplier claims are unsecured claims. That means they are only covered once the costs of the estate, the trustee’s fee, wage claims and every other preferential claim have been paid.
In practice there is rarely anything left. That is not an assertion that the estate is empty — it is an assertion that the queue is long.
The way out of that queue does not run through debt collection. It runs through security: a charge, a retention of title or a guarantee, agreed before delivery. That is the only decision that genuinely changes where you stand on the day the customer goes under.
Where it commonly goes wrong
- The ranking is only discovered once the estate is opened. By then it is too late. The security should have been agreed back when you said yes to the order.