What rights do debt collectors have to collect? What rights do debt collectors have to collect debts?

Some borrowers strictly follow the basic rules of loans, extracting only benefits from them, paying off all their debts on time and even thereby improving their credit history. Others, for various reasons, become chronic debtors of banks and microfinance organizations.

Many people are interested in the question of the rights of debt collectors when dealing with debtors. Does a collector even have the right to demand a debt from someone who owes, in fact, not to the collector, but to a completely different organization? Can the debtor himself sue the collection agency?

Ignorance of debtors about the rights of collectors causes panic among the former and certain opportunities for the latter. Let's understand in detail what the legal right of a collector is and what rights he does not have, as well as what rights the debtor himself has.

The bank sold the debt to a collection agency

When it comes to a bank, the main issue in the question of whether the bank has the right to transfer debts to collectors is the contract. It is this document that usually spells out the conditions under which the bank sells debt to collectors.

Moreover, in a veiled form, of course, but most often it also indicates the borrower’s agreement with everything that is written in the agreement about collectors and their rights to receive debts.

Based on this, in each specific case, the loan agreement itself decides a lot. By signing it, you agreed with everything that is stated in it. Accordingly, the collector can collect the debt if this is specified in the agreement that you personally signed. Again, the main document designates the right to contact the debtor, indicating specific methods of communication.

All this suggests that the borrower himself, first of all, must carefully read all the clauses, subclauses (and especially the details in small print, under asterisks, footnotes, etc.) of the loan agreement, before signing it, expressing his consent . However, in addition to the contract, there are also general definitions rights of collection organizations and their representatives in relation to borrowers specified in the relevant federal laws.

Legal rights of debt collectors

It should be noted that in Russia, in general, employees of collection agencies act more harshly than in the West. But despite this, their legal actions in relation to debtors are very limited. Let's consider the existing rights of collectors in accordance with current laws:

Call the debtor or pay a visit home.
State the amount of the debt and find out the reason why the debtor has not paid off the debt until now.
Notify the debtor of the accrued fines and penalties and state their amounts.
Be interested in the planned repayment terms of the debt.
Require the debtor to cover the costs of debt collection. In this case, the specific amounts are determined by the court.
Call the debtor's relatives. Only if they are indicated as guarantors in loan agreement.
Sue the debtor. Theoretically, there is such a right, but in reality it rarely comes to this, due to the poor preparation of the collectors themselves in terms of the documentation necessary for the claim.

If debt collectors threaten to sue, ask them to provide documents proving the specific amount of debt. This will help you immediately understand what specific situation you are dealing with and how justified such threats are.

What a collector cannot do by law

Call the debtor or call the debtor's relatives at night.
Demand money from the debtor by illegal means, use blackmail.
The debt collector cannot threaten the debtor, use obscene language, or deceive the debtor in order to collect the debt.
The debt collector cannot describe the debtor's property. The right to seize property, accordingly, is also not included in the list of legal possibilities of collectors.
Call friends or relatives (if they were not indicated in the contract as guarantors), applying psychological pressure.
Come or call at work. This is a direct violation of the law on non-disclosure of personal information.
Call your employer.
Call on weekends.

What to do if collectors violate rights

So, collectors do not have the right to threaten debtors and do not have the right to seize the debtor’s accounts. They also have no right to enter his house without special permission.

Practice shows that collectors still sometimes commit unlawful actions. In such cases, the debtor has the right to sue the collector, clearly identifying all the violated norms.

From all that has been said, we can conclude: the higher your awareness of the rights of collectors and your own, the greater your chances of a decent, profitable way out of a difficult situation. Ensuring good knowledge of the issue is your main task. Study all the latest legislation regarding the activities of collection agencies. This will help you reliably protect yourself in such situations.

It often happens that a person is unable to repay the debts he has taken on. credit obligations. In such cases, he has to deal with representatives of collection companies. To be prepared for such communication, you should be well aware of the rights of collectors and your own.

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Who are collectors?

Collection companies in Russia recently. This practice of debt collection is borrowed from Western practice, where it has been used since the last century. A debt collector is a debt collector.

Today, such a profession in Russia has become quite in demand, due to the fact that, along with the increase in the number of people taken consumer loans The number of non-payments on them is also growing.

Moreover, the profit from the banks received credit interest more than covers all possible costs.

As for the collectors themselves, they are, in fact, hired workers companies of the relevant profile.

Since in Russian legislation No adopted law about collectors, they cannot be officially equated with officials and grant certain legal rights.

Their activities bring benefits both to the banks themselves and to the companies in which they work, which cannot be said about the borrower.

They, as a rule, have no education, but they are trained to intimidate people and tell them all sorts of tall tales about the horrors that await loan defaulters. This is what their instructions suggest.

If they fall on a person who knows his rights well and knows how to officially defend them, you will not envy the collectors, since it becomes much more difficult for them to do their job.

In such cases, they are left to ask themselves the question of what kind of nonsense they are talking about and, in general, why they are doing this work.

Basic rights and responsibilities

By law, collection companies have the right to collect information about an unscrupulous borrower.

The laws of the country in most cases do not prohibit debt collectors from behaving more harshly than is customary in such cases in Western countries.

However, collectors are obliged not to break the law in their actions. For example, calling the debtor, as well as his relatives, at night is prohibited by law.

In addition, according to the law, the collector does not have the right to use obscene language when communicating with the debtor, threaten him with arrest and deceive him, with the goal of collecting the debt.

When calling the debtor, the collector must introduce himself by his real name and surname, as well as name the company for which he works.

They cannot enter the apartment without special permission, seize property, or allow other actions that violate the rights of the borrower.

Collectors have the right to influence the debtor exclusively by methods of verbal persuasion.

They can voice the amount of the debt and inquire about the reasons for non-payment. Collectors have the right to inform the borrower of the amount of accrued penalties. They also have the right to inquire about the timing of debt repayment.

Due to changes in legislation, collectors have received the right to demand from the debtor the return of debt collection costs. Determination of specific amounts is within the competence of the court.

Do they have the right?

In practice, it happens that debt collectors abuse their rights and commit illegal behavior. It is useful for every citizen to know how competent the actions of collectors are in different situations.

Call the debtor's relatives

Collectors have the right to contact the debtor's relatives by telephone in cases where they are guarantors for a previously taken out loan.

In these cases, relatives share with the debtor the full extent of responsibility for the assigned credit obligations.

If this did not happen, calls from collection company employees to the debtor’s relatives should be regarded as methods of exerting psychological pressure on the borrower himself.

Collectors do not have the right to such actions and you can file a complaint against them for this.

Call at work

According to the current law, collectors do not have the right to call the debtor at work. Such actions fall under the article of the law on non-disclosure of personal data and may serve as grounds for contacting law enforcement agencies.

If they called directly the debtor’s boss or the human resources department, it is recommended to discuss the situation with management and agree on retention with wages a certain amount to repay the loan.

Go to law

By law, debt collectors have the right to sue the debtor, but in practice this rarely happens.

The fact is that collectors almost always have poorly prepared documents at their disposal, with which there is no reason to go to court.

Come home

By law, debt collectors have the right to come to the debtor’s home for an oral conversation.

Another question is that they do not have the right to enter the home without permission, or, even more so, to break into it.

In such cases, the client has the right to immediately submit a statement to the relevant law enforcement agencies, and it is recommended to support the statement with material evidence of unlawful actions of debt collectors.

Threaten

Collectors have the right to influence only by means of verbal persuasion, and threats are already considered violations on their part.

Call friends

Collectors often call the debtor’s acquaintances, trying through them to exert psychological pressure on him.

Actually direct legal law They have no right to do this if their acquaintances have nothing to do with the loan taken. It is recommended to remind them of this when the situation repeats in order to reason with them.

Describe property

Collectors have no right to describe the debtor's property. All such threats are completely groundless and no attention should be paid to them.

Such actions are possible only by court decision, but collectors do not always go to court, since the judicial executive branch in Russia often stalls in such matters.

What rights do debt collectors have under the new laws?

According to the new laws, debt collectors have the following rights to collect debts:

Conduct telephone conversations.
Conduct face-to-face meetings.
Send SMS messages and emails.
Send letters through post offices.

According to the new laws, collectors do not have the right to:

Make threats of physical violence against the debtor.
Cause damage to the debtor's property and voice similar threats.
Insult the debtor, humiliate his dignity and honor.
Communicate or write to minors, as well as to persons undergoing treatment in psychiatric hospitals.

Amendments 2019

The 2019 amendments essentially did not fundamentally change the rights of collection companies. According to these amendments, collectors have the right to communicate with debtors from eight in the morning to ten in the evening on weekdays and from nine to eight on weekends.

Calls and visits at other times are considered a violation of the law by debt collectors. Debtors also received the right to communicate with debt collectors through their official representative or to refuse such communication altogether.

Similar amendments were adopted after hundreds of statements to the police about debt collectors beating up debtors.

Do banks have the right to transfer debts?

Most often, such a question can already be determined at the moment when the loan agreement is signed.

The wording does not matter, the essence comes down to the fact that the bank reserves the right to transfer debts to third parties.

Moreover, the agreements also stipulate in a veiled form the borrower’s consent to carry out this procedure. This explains the need to carefully read the loan agreement before signing it.

The bank most often transfers the debt to collectors after the delinquency is several months.

If problems arise with debt repayment, it is recommended to immediately inform the bank about it.

The bank can accommodate the debtor and offer several debt repayment options to choose from. Also, payment deadlines may be delayed.

What to do if they threaten?

When threats are made against the debtor, he needs to respond adequately. First of all, care should be taken to ensure that the fact of uttering threats is recorded.

This is necessary to support the application submitted to law enforcement agencies.

You can use an audio recording for this or film what is happening. It is recommended to immediately inform the collectors about this; such measures often sober them up. If the threats do not stop, you need to write a statement about them.

Where to complain?

Complaint about illegal actions Representatives of collection companies can be submitted to both the police and the prosecutor's office.

How to file a complaint?

The complaint submitted must state the essence of the case. It is imperative to indicate the first and last name of the debt collector with whom you had to communicate, as well as the company he represents.

When applying for a loan from a bank, a person may not fulfill his obligations. credit terms on timely repayment of debt. If the overdue payment continues to grow and the borrower stops contacting the lender, debt collectors will deal with the overdue loan payments.

In 2017, the law on the activities of the collection service was modified. We will discuss below exactly what changes were formalized in the law. And download Federal Law “On Microfinance Activities and Microfinance Organizations”

New in the law on collectors from January 1, 2017

The collection agency includes legal entities who have civil legal capacity, but do not have a special legal status and power. According to the Law, they do not have the right to go beyond the line of threats and blackmail, even if the debtor has borrowed a huge amount of money.

When working, collectors can use methods such as:

conduct of negotiations,

filing claims,

sending written notices to the debtor’s address (not threats!),

filing a lawsuit, contacting law enforcement agencies.

The new law applies only to the activities of ordinary citizens, individual entrepreneurs innovations do not work. Also legal act provides for the collection of only overdue debts.

According to the terms of the new Federal Law “On Collection Activities,” the collection service does not have the right to meet with debtors more than once a week and call no more than twice in 7 days.

Also, the creditor does not have the right to deal with the borrower in any way other than verbal form. By law, a collector is prohibited from:

Threaten;

Cause damage to the borrower's property;

Use physical force against the person who took out the loan;

Mislead;

Disclose confidential information to third parties and transfer personal data of the debtor;

Humiliate the honor and dignity of the debtor;

Interact with minors and persons undergoing treatment in a psychiatric hospital;

Inflate the value of the established debt (in written requests, a representative of the collection service indicates the amount and structure of the debt).

The issue of the procedure for calculating interest on debt is discussed in detail in the article. It says here that from the moment the delay occurs, the MFO (microfinance organization) has the right to continue accruing interest only for the unpaid portion of the principal amount. The debt will continue to grow untilachievements by him total amount interest payable (i.e. up to twice the amount of the outstanding part of the loan).

What are they entitled to?

The rights of collectors under the new law allow them to deal with the debtor using:

Personal meeting;

Postal correspondence and sending messages;

Telephone communication.

By law, a collection service has the right to interact with a person who has a debt a certain number of times a week.

On weekdays, you can contact the borrower from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

On weekends and holidays, you can contact the debtor from 9 am to 8 pm.

The maximum number of meetings is no more than one per week. Telephone communication with the person who issued the loan comes down to two calls in seven days.

Since the beginning of 2017, the Federal Law “On Collection Activities” contains an important clarification: after a four-month delay, the debtor is allowed to refuse to communicate with debt collectors and hire a lawyer who will independently negotiate with the service.

Until what time can they call?

During the week, collectors have the right to call no more than two times. However, making calls between 10 pm and 8 am on weekdays and from 8 pm to 9 am on holidays and weekends is prohibited.

Representative collection organization should not hide the phone number and keep the address secret Email. At the beginning of the conversation, the creditor must state the name, surname and address of the company of which he is a representative, without prompting the borrower. A person whose loan is overdue must know who he is dealing with.

Where to complain about debt collectors?

Grounds for complaint against debt collectors include: violation of human rights and rules established Federal law №230.

The following are considered offenses:

Failure to provide a document confirming authority;

Insulting the debtor and his family members;

threats towards the debtor and his family (for example, threats to set fire kindergarten, where the debtor’s children go);

attempts to return funds in an inhumane way (attempts to “knock out” the debt by force).

The person who must repay the loan has the right to write a statement to the prosecutor's office against the actions of the collection service. You can also file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor and the police. In any of these institutions, the debtor indicates the name and surname of the collector and the company of which he is a representative. It is important to clearly indicate the essence of the claim and provide evidence in the form of recorded audio or video recordings. The fact that violations have been identified will benefit the interests of the plaintiff and increase the chances of winning. You can download a sample complaint against debt collectors

The occurrence of debt under a loan agreement occurs quite often. Previously, this problem was resolved by the claims department of the bank itself, but over time the number of debtors increased significantly, and banks were forced to resort to the help of specialized agencies or the help of collectors.
Today we will talk about what changes have occurred over last years in connection with the activities of such companies and what collectors can do with the debtor in 2019.

Features and legislative issues relating to the activities of collectors in the Russian Federation
Collectors have long become famous for their negative actions and illegal actions. Of course, first of all, their activities are aimed at exerting a psychological influence on a person, however, such an influence may be enough for the debtor’s well-being to deteriorate and health problems to arise.
Until recently, there was no law regulating the activities of debt collectors, and few Russians knew what rights and powers employees of such agencies had. As a result, situations often arose when debt collectors moved from telephone threats to real influence and thereby caused harm to the health of the debtor and his relatives.
Of course, law enforcement agencies dealt with especially egregious cases and qualified their activities as a criminal offense. At the same time, many citizens simply could not contact the police because they were very intimidated and feared for the life and health of their loved ones. Fortunately, government agencies promptly drew attention to this problem and it was adopted new law, which made it possible to limit the powers of collectors.
What information is contained in the new law?
The new bill is called “On the Protection of Rights and Legitimate Interests individuals when carrying out debt collection activities.” The document made it possible to significantly narrow the possibilities of collectors, namely:
employees of debt collection agencies are strictly prohibited from carrying out any physical acts of a violent nature towards the debtor or members of his family;
financial organizations do not have the right to influence a citizen psychologically and cause harm to the debtor’s property;
As for telephone calls, this method is allowed to be used no more than twice a week. However, this cannot be done: on weekdays from 22 to 8, and on weekends - from 20 to 9;
the collector can visit the debtor at the address specified in the loan agreement, but not more than once a week;
all phone numbers from which collectors call must be officially open. The same rule applies to email addresses.

An important addition is that a citizen can now completely refuse to communicate with such an organization. To do this, it will be enough to transfer a notarized document to the agency’s address. It is better if it is a registered letter with notification of receipt.

What other prohibitions have been introduced for collectors?
According to the new law, no actions are taken in relation to persons with disabilities of the first group, minors undergoing rehabilitation or unable to work due to health problems.
An important decision for many debtors was the imposition of a ban on notification of debt to third parties. Eg, we're talking about about the illegal actions of collectors on social networks, as well as regarding the posting of leaflets and posters near the borrower’s place of residence.
What to do if collectors do not comply with the provisions of the new law?
In order to avoid getting into an unpleasant situation and not encountering the activities of debt collectors, it is worth correctly assessing your capabilities even before taking out a loan. Failure to make monthly payments on time can lead to dire consequences. In this case, the loan will still have to be repaid, but under very difficult circumstances.
Every citizen should know that the state is protecting his interests, and at any time he can contact the police, but the appeal must be based on solid grounds. In other words, in order to receive protection and relief, it is necessary that the organization that issued the loan violated the terms of the loan agreement or the law. In turn, the injured person is obliged to present specific facts confirming his words.
As supporting documents or other evidence, you can attach recordings of telephone conversations with agency representatives, as well as written statements of witnesses. It is worth worrying about receiving detailed information about an employee who acted in violation current legislation. Such actions will allow you to protect yourself from the negative actions of debt collectors.

Conclusion
Last year, a law was issued regarding the work of collection agencies. Today, people who have debts to banks do not have to fear threats from such collectors, since the powers of these persons are very limited. If problems arise, as well as in the event of collectors exceeding their powers, the injured citizen can contact law enforcement agencies or the prosecutor to bring the guilty citizens to justice.