Debt collection in the Netherlands is the legal activity of pursuing payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses in the Netherlands. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a collection agency. In the Netherlands most bailiffs (who are officers of the court, holding the monopoly on the service and execution of court decisions and enforceable instruments) also act as debt collectors. Attorneys-at-law (in Dutch: advocaten) are sometimes also active in the field of debt recovery. Collection agencies, baliffs and debt colllection attorneys typically act for a fee or percentage of the total sum owed.