How to legally deal with debt collectors and get rid of intrusive calls?
In the minds of Russian residents, collectors are bandits who “extort” debts from borrowers by illegal means. Unfortunately, people have this opinion for a reason. The actions of collection agencies often go beyond the law - threats, psychological pressure and strong intrusiveness appear. We'll tell you who debt collectors are, why they call about other people's debts, and how to deal with them legally.
Is the activity of debt collectors legal?
Collection agencies are official organizations that collect debts on loans and microloans from debtors. However, sometimes overzealous employees cross the line, and instead of civilized communication with the debtor, threats and blackmail are used. If a complaint to the agency's central office does not help, this is a reason to once again check the grounds for debt collection.
Collection services can operate on the basis of two types of agreements with banks and microfinance organizations:
- Assignment agreement.
This is the official name for the assignment of rights of claim under a loan or loan. In simple words, a financial institution resells your debt to debt collectors. After the purchase, the collectors become the creditor instead of the bank or microfinance organization, the legal right to demand repayment of the debt is transferred to them. They have all the rights under the loan - the right to demand repayment of the debt, charge interest, go to court and to the bailiffs. The statute of limitations also passes without changes - if collectors bought an overdue loan, then the court will refuse to collect them. If they bought a debt for which there are 2 months left before the expiration date, then they have 2 months to file a lawsuit. The assignment does not restore or change the limitation period. - Agency contract.
In this case, the bank simply hires debt collectors to interact with debtors. In this case, the citizen remains in debt to the bank, but demands for payment of the loan will come from collectors.
In both cases, the borrower must be notified of the involvement of third parties in collection. If the debt is sold, you have the right to demand a copy of the assignment agreement, in addition, the collectors must give you a notice of the sale of the debt with details of where to transfer the money.
How to check the sale of debt? Firstly, just call the bank or microfinance organization and clarify to whom, in what amount, and on what basis the claim was transferred.
Secondly, look at the federal resource. Banks are required to publish announcements about the sale of loans there. To view, log into your Personal Account through the Unified Identification and Logistics System and open the Collectors tab
Thirdly, send a written request for documents on debt redemption.
Written request for documents on the sale of debt to collectors - 11.6 KB
You should not pay the agency invoices until you receive the sales documents and details. Collectors do not have the right to accept money in cash or to an employee’s card - payment is transferred to the company’s bank account (can be checked on the website).
Considering the basis on which the collection service operates, there are various options for how to protect yourself from annoying collectors. Let's consider all the ways available to citizens to solve the problem.
Scam calls
The most alarming situation is if collectors called and reported a non-existent debt in your name. Most likely, these are scammers who are trying to defraud you of funds in this way. If the debt collector does not give the name and name of the organization where he works, if he uses prohibited methods of influence (threats, psychological violence, pressure) or provides deliberately false information, contact the authorities and do not contact the person on the other side of the phone. Fraud is not uncommon, but it is possible to combat it if timely measures are taken. You can request a copy of the agreement from the lender.
How to recognize unlawful actions of debt collectors
The actions of collectors are limited by the Law on Collection Activities No. 230-FZ.
The law clearly establishes the framework of communication, the rights and opportunities of debt collectors when communicating with citizens. In particular, collectors cannot interact with debtors more than the established limit:
- 2 calls per week, no more than once a day;
- 1 visit per week during the daytime;
- SMS and messages in instant messengers 8 per week, no more than 2 per day.
Any interaction is possible only from 8 to 22 hours on weekdays; from 9 to 20 hours on holidays and weekends.
How to talk to a debt collector correctly?
So, you received a call demanding that you repay the debt. You need to talk to collectors as follows:
- Ask the collector's first and last name and the name of the organization he represents.
- Find out what kind of debt we are talking about, receive in your hands or by mail the documents on the basis of which the debt is collected.
- If you disagree with the amount, offer to resolve the issue in court.
- If you try to put pressure on you, remind the employee about criminal liability in accordance with Article 163 (extortion).
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According to paragraph 6 of Art. 8 of Law No. 230-FZ on collection activities, the debtor has the right to refuse personal meetings and negotiations with collectors after 4 months of delay on the loan. The letter is sent by registered mail with a description of the attachment - after receiving the notification, collectors have the right to interact with you only in writing by mail. This way you can legally avoid calls from debt collectors.
Under what conditions is communication carried out?
When making telephone calls or personal meetings, collectors must provide their full name, as well as the name of the organization in whose interests the work is being carried out.
In the SMS, collectors should indicate the name of the creditor, information about the overdue debt, as well as contact information.
If the collector sends a letter by mail, he must provide information about the creditor, including OGRN, TIN, postal address, e-mail, telephone number. You also need to provide the full name of the person who signed the message, information about the debt, and bank account details where the money can be sent to pay off the debt.
The font of the text sent to the debtor must be easy to read. When making calls, collectors are prohibited from hiding information about the phone number from which the call is made.
What to do if debt collectors break the law?
If collectors:
- they call more often than the law allows, they come and call after 22.00;
- threaten physical harm, communicate rudely, aggressively, use psychological violence;
- are stalking your family;
- disclose loan information to third parties;
- they took or damaged property - they entered the house, broke the door, broke the glass, damaged the car.
Do not panic!
Let's figure out where you can file a complaint about the actions of debt collectors. Below are legal methods of struggle recommended by experienced lawyers.
Contacting the office
If you really have credit obligations and an overdue loan, then communication with debt collectors can be kept to a minimum. To do this, you need to send a letter to the central office of the collection agency in which you require only written communication on debt issues (a sample is presented above). After receiving the letter, collectors are obliged to stop communicating with the debtor, and have no right to officially call or visit him.
It is better to send by registered mail in order to save the receipt and inventory - then you will have correspondence in your hands. In case of threats, blackmail, annoying calls or rude treatment, this will be additional evidence to the complaint against debt collectors.
Contacting the bank
If the bank has not sold your debt to collectors, then the way to get rid of bank collectors is to interact with a financial institution. We need to try to resolve the issue peacefully - agree on a schedule for repaying the debt in feasible payments.
There are several options to solve the problem:
- Debt restructuring.
It consists of revising the schedule and amount of monthly payments. At the same time, the bank can note part of the interest accrued for overdue payments, which will reduce the total cost of the debt; - Assignment of credit holidays.
This is the name of deferment of fulfillment of debt obligations to the bank. If the reason for non-payment of debts and overdue loan was loss of job or temporary disability, then the bank may provide the debtor with a deferment of several months.
The debtor can refinance the loan with another bank if the credit history is not yet hopelessly damaged.
In any case, the bank will notify the collectors about the resolution of the problem debt issue, after which they are obliged to stop interacting with the debtor. If the debt is sold to a collection agency, then all issues will have to be resolved only with them.
Complaint to NAPCA
We are talking about the National Association of Professional Collection Agencies. This is a non-governmental organization that controls the activities of debt collectors, monitors them and applies penalties in case of violations. The advantage is that the NAPC resolves the issue within 7 days - the agency will be issued an order, and management will quickly put an overly aggressive claimant in his place.
What to do if debt collectors call several times a day and are inundated with messages? You can contact NAPCA with an official complaint, providing evidence:
- call printouts;
- printouts of SMS messages;
- audio and video recordings of communication with collectors.
You can complain about debt collectors by filling out a form on the website.
NAPCA is obliged to take measures: fines, penalties, contacting law enforcement agencies, expulsion of the agency from members of the SRO.
Complaint to government agencies
What should you do if debt collectors came to your home in the middle of the night and started threatening you? The logical and correct way out of the situation would be to contact the FSSP, the police, or directly to the court.
The FSSP is the controlling government agency for collectors, so bailiffs can complain about any violations - from frequent calls to aggressive meetings. The FSSP will consider the case, the agency will be obliged to comply with the law, and in case of further violations, they may withdraw their exclusion from the register and prohibit them from working with citizens’ debts.
Complaint to bailiffs against debt collectors - 12.4 KB
Statement to the police regarding threats from debt collectors - 23.5 KB
Complaint to the prosecutor's office - 12.7 KB
If the situation becomes dangerous - they really threaten you, they knock on your door, they crash your car, they hint at children - call the police. This is a completely normal way of self-defense, the police are obliged to protect citizens, and having a loan does not deprive you of the right to safety and respect.
What can be stated in a complaint:
- blackmail the debtor or his relatives, threaten, or their actions led to damage to the debtor’s property;
- collectors annoy the debtor with calls and visits at night, with frequent calls and visits;
- the debtor’s personal data was disclosed: publication of information about his debt in the public domain, transfer of it to third parties, etc.
Before contacting government agencies
It is advisable to collect an evidence base: a printout of incoming calls, photo and video evidence of violation of a citizen’s rights by collectors, witness testimony.
Declare yourself bankrupt
Bankruptcy of a citizen is a legal way to write off debt. Despite the fact that this procedure lasts on average about a year, an application to declare a citizen bankrupt is reliable protection not only from debt collectors, but also from bailiffs. If you are looking for an answer to the question of how to get rid of loan debt, talk to our personal bankruptcy lawyer.
From the moment the bankruptcy procedure of an individual is initiated, all actions regarding debts are suspended, including the accrual of penalty interest for late payments. And the appeal of collectors to the debtor during bankruptcy is unlawful.
Calls after debt payment
You have paid off the loan, and collectors call and report that you still have a debt: a rare situation, but, unfortunately, it does occur. If the agency that called you is definitely not a scammer (the information is in the FSSP register, the agents themselves act in accordance with the law), a technical error may have occurred. In such a situation, it is best to politely explain to the collectors what exactly happened and ask the collection agency for a certificate of no debt. If the loan is actually repaid, the organization is obliged to issue it. The certificate should be submitted to the agency, proving that no obligations should be required from you.
Is it worth hiding from debt collectors?
This option, oddly enough, is chosen by many debtors. You can’t run forever, sooner or later the collectors will go to court and the debt will hang on you. Then the bailiffs will get to work and may take the following measures:
- writing off money from accounts, deducting 50% from wages, pensions, self-employed income, unemployment benefits;
- seizure of property;
- ban on traveling abroad of the Russian Federation;
- temporary revocation of a driver's license;
- seizure and sale of the debtor's property.
What to do if you have nothing to pay the bailiffs, we described in this material.
How to deal with debt collectors if they are persecuting you for someone else's debts?
No one is safe from calls regarding other people's loans. Even if you did not take out loans, your number may appear on the list of collectors as follows:
- You recently purchased a SIM card that was previously registered to a defaulter.
If the number is not used, then mobile operators put it up for sale again. And a new subscriber has every chance to experience the “delights” of communicating with debt collectors, even if they have no loans. - If, when applying for a loan, a person was indicated as a guarantor or contact person
. When guaranteeing a loan, the issue will have to be resolved directly with the banking organization, since by law the guarantor is responsible for the debtor’s fulfillment of loan obligations. The contact person does not owe the collectors anything; you can safely send them to court. - A stranger indicated your number when applying for a loan
. There are often situations when clients intentionally or accidentally indicate incorrect numbers in a loan application. In this case, it is enough to explain that you have nothing to do with this debt and the borrower himself.
Who can collection services contact?
One of the reasons why debt collectors call if there is no debt is a close relationship with the borrower. Indeed, agencies have the right to contact not only directly the client himself, but also those whose number he indicated when concluding the loan agreement. Collection service specialists can check with the client for contact information. If a third party wants to pay off the debt or begin another interaction, the creditor must be provided with a corresponding written consent completed by the debtor. There are also misunderstandings when calls are made to people who are not related to the loan: for example, if the borrower changed the number, and later another person received this number. Finally, unfortunately, there are cases of outright fraud or mistakes on the part of the organizations themselves.
Relatives and friends.
According to the law, the collection agency can indeed contact the borrower’s relatives and friends. However, an important condition: their telephone numbers must be received from the bank, that is, the agent can only call the number that the person provided to the banking organization.
Colleagues.
The same principle applies as in the previous case: when taking out a loan, a person is able to indicate the number of the employee of the organization in which he works. But if he has not done this, the agency cannot call his colleagues. If the number was obtained legally, a reasonable decision on the part of the employees would be to inform the person about calls from collectors and advise them to answer them: the agent can offer favorable terms for repaying the debt.
