What do collection agency employees have the right to when calling?
The activities of debt collection agencies are regulated by Federal Law No. 230 of 07/03/16. According to the law, the collection specialist has the right to communicate with the defaulter using various communication channels:
- by phone;
- via SMS notifications;
- by sending letters by e-mail;
- during personal meetings.
Regardless of the chosen method of interaction, the specialist must introduce himself and name the company whose interests he represents.
Can they call relatives and friends of the debtor?
Collectors, in order to remind them of the need to repay the debt, have the right to call third parties - relatives, acquaintances or colleagues of the defaulter.
However, there is one limitation: calls are allowed only in relation to those citizens who are co-borrowers or guarantors for the loan, as well as to those whose numbers the borrower indicated when receiving the loan.
Collection specialists do not have the right to call persons whose contact information the borrower did not provide..
You also cannot disturb certain categories of citizens with calls:
- disabled people of group 1;
- pregnant women;
- persons under 18 or over 70 years of age;
- people being treated in hospital.
To prevent collectors from bothering the debtor’s relatives, he can write a refusal to interact with debt collectors. The application has a form approved by the FSSP. Please indicate in your request:
- agency name;
- personal data of the applicant;
- contact information;
- notification of refusal of interaction.
Download the statement of refusal to interact with debt collectors
After receiving a written refusal, representatives of the collection company no longer have the right to harass the borrower or third parties.
What laws do debt collectors violate?
On July 2, 2010, Federal Law (hereinafter referred to as Federal Law) No. 151 “On microfinance activities and microfinance organizations” was adopted. But the issues of transferring rights to collectors were amended there a little later. On December 21, 2013, Federal Law No. 353 “On Consumer Credit” was issued and on July 3, 2021, Federal Law No. 230 “On the protection of the rights and interests of individuals when carrying out activities to repay overdue debts.” These three laws regulate the activities of debt collectors.
According to Art. 4 of Law No. 230 defines all possible methods of interaction with the debtor to which collection agencies have the right. Such actions are:
- personal conversations, including meetings and telephone conversations;
- transmission of messages using modern official means of communication (mail, telegraph, SMS, voice messages, e-mail, etc.);
- going to court.
Other methods of communication are permitted only with the written consent of the debtor. These include contacting third parties - it is permitted by law, but only with the consent of the borrower. In addition, paragraph 5 of this article says that even if you have written permission, but a third party has expressed his disagreement with interacting with debt collectors, then such communication is prohibited.
In addition, when communicating with third parties, Part 2 of Art. 183 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) – disclosure of information constituting bank secrecy and Federal Law No. 152 of July 27, 2006 “On personal data”. These violations are subject to administrative and criminal liability.
How to find out the phone numbers of the debtor, relatives, acquaintances
When receiving a bank loan, the borrower is asked to indicate the number of a relative or friend for contact. Using this telephone number, they have the right to inform the defaulter about the need to repay the loan.
But sometimes creditors call numbers not specified in the contract. They find contacts of relatives and friends of the borrower in several ways:
- Internet and social networks - people post their contacts in the public domain on social network pages, collectors only need to find the debtor’s account and they will be able to establish a list of his friends and their mobile phones;
- databases of credit and financial institutions - if relatives are registered with the defaulter at the same address and they have loans, then the contact number can be found in the bank database;
- external databases of telephone numbers - many collection agency employees are former employees of law enforcement agencies and can easily find any contact using their connections.
Creditors can come to the place of registration of the loan recipient and find out the contacts of relatives from neighbors.
Should you be afraid of debt collectors?
You shouldn't be afraid of debt collectors. They can only act within the legal framework. Their main method of influence is persuasion and reminders.
Any other actions, such as threats, damage to property, physical violence, etc., are illegal.
Sometimes the debtor is intimidated by legal proceedings. You shouldn’t be afraid of this either, because:
- collectors rarely go to court;
- the judicial authority may side with the borrower and oblige the lender to write off the debt;
- if a person repaid the loan within several months, he will not be prosecuted.
In case of illegal actions on the part of collectors, write a statement to the police and prosecutor's office.
What to do if the number or time of calls is disrupted
Such an action is a direct violation of the law. It is necessary to record the conversation, clarify the caller’s details (initials, position, organization), and record the time out loud. Then you should warn about the recording and your intention to file an application with the prosecutor's office. If this does not help, you should really contact the authorities with an audio recording and printout. The company will definitely be visited by an inspection; usually, after such active actions on the part of the borrower, unauthorized contacts are stopped.
Read Can banks sell debts to collectors without the consent of the debtor
Is it possible to negotiate with debt collectors?
If a company works for a bank under an agency agreement, it will not be possible to agree with them on writing off debts in whole or in part.
In this case, all rights of the creditor belong to the financial organization, and agency employees act as an operator for the transfer of information.
It’s another matter if the debt is purchased by a collection company. In this case, the collector is the creditor, and he decides how to collect money from the debtor.
Therefore, it is possible and necessary to negotiate with them on options for repaying the debt, as well as reducing its size .
Do debt collectors sue?
Many people are concerned about whether debt collectors can sue if they do not get their money back. This argument is often used as a way to influence debtors.
Indeed, the company can appeal to a higher authority, but a person does not face a prison sentence for non-payment of a loan. The only decision that the court can make is to oblige the defaulter to repay the loan amount (for example, through monthly deductions).
Companies that have not been accredited and have not entered into an official agreement with the bank cannot apply to the highest authority.
If an appeal to the court occurs, the debtor will answer to the bank, and not to the collectors. Accordingly, there can be no talk of any repayment of exorbitant interest rates (which debt collectors often try to impose). They can only assign payment of penalties in accordance with the loan agreement.
Read also: How to obtain a certificate of no criminal record at the MFC
You cannot sue if the statute of limitations on the loan document has expired (3 years).
How to talk to debt collectors correctly
To avoid unnecessary problems when interacting with creditors, you should know how to communicate with them correctly:
- ask the caller to introduce himself and name the company he works for;
- find out on what basis he is calling - details of the assignment agreement or power of attorney;
- do not be rude or rude to your interlocutor;
- if you want to record the conversation, inform the collector about it.
If the debt really exists, do not refuse it. Let them know that you cannot repay it at the moment and try to negotiate a loan restructuring. When communicating, remain calm and do not try to piss off your interlocutor.
Attention! If the debtor refuses to introduce himself or name the company, hang up. Collection agencies work officially, and if a person avoids answering, it may not be an employee at all, but a fraudster.
When the conversation is over, say goodbye to the specialist and hang up. According to communication rules, debt collectors do not hang up first.
What to do when debt collectors call your work or relatives
Agencies have the legal right to call all contacts that you indicated as authorized for communication with the bank when concluding a loan agreement. However, if you do not want this information to go beyond your home, you can send a response refusing to be informed to these numbers. We recommend using a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, then you will not have to prove that it was not sent or received or got lost.
In addition, a third party who is not an interested party can write an application in any form, according to which he does not want to receive information about other people’s debts. Further calls will no longer be considered legal.
Is it possible to send obscenities?
When calling the debtor, the collection company records all conversations. Therefore, you should not swear at the calling specialist.
The use of profanity and insults to another person entails administrative liability under Art. 5.61 Code of Administrative Offences . For such an act a fine of up to 3 thousand rubles is provided.
To get rid of annoying calls, you don’t have to be rude or yell at the person. You can competently send the claimant, but in such a way that they will not be held accountable for it. Say that all issues will be resolved only through the courts.
What to do if you set your phone to auto-dial
One of the ways of psychological pressure on a defaulter is an auto-dialer. The phone receives a constant call, which leads to a complete lack of peace for the owner of the device. Besides, no one can reach him by phone.
If the phone is set to auto-dial:
- talk to collectors and ask them to turn off automatic calls;
- block the number from which continuous calls are coming;
- change the SIM card;
- If they are calling from different numbers, set your phone to block incoming calls from unknown numbers.
Auto dialing activities are illegal . Complain to the prosecutor's office, police or Roskomnadzor.
Tired of debt collectors: what to do and where to complain
You can contact:
- To the bailiff service. The application will be reviewed within 30 days. The decision may impose a requirement to stop unauthorized activities or exclude the company from the State Register.
- To the prosecutor's office. If there is a violation, an investigation will be sent.
- To Roskomnadzor.
- To the police.
Please note: evidence may include video and audio materials, messages, phone records of calls and their times, as well as the words of witnesses.
They call about someone else's loan, what to do?
If a person has no debts, this does not mean that he will not be bothered by a collection agency.
Calls may come if he is a guarantor or co-borrower on the loan. In this case, you can avoid communicating with employees of the debt collection company only by sending a refusal to interact.
Creditors may call by mistake. This often happens when a person buys a new SIM card that previously belonged to the loan recipient.
In this case, explain to the specialist that you recently purchased the number and have nothing to do with the loan. As a rule, such an explanation is enough for the phone to be removed from the database and to stop being disturbed.
Can they conduct telephone conversations?
Yes, this type of communication is completely legal. It does not matter whether it is a personal (mobile) or landline phone number. Only what is said, when and how often calls occur, and whether the conversation is audio-recorded is regulated.
Read the Settlement Agreement in bankruptcy proceedings: terms and conditions of termination
They can call you during the time period from 8 am to 10 pm, and most often they always call after 7, when you come home from work. If it is a weekend or holiday, then the procedure is only possible from after 9-00 to 20-00. Holidays - according to the calendar.
In addition, employees can interact via SMS. Messages are allowed to be sent no more than twice a day (at any time, even at night), four times a week, eight times a month.
Summary
If the debt is referred to a collection agency for collection, remember:
- employees can call no more than once a day, and at strictly limited times;
- collectors have the right to make calls to the telephone numbers of third parties, which the borrower indicates in the application form when applying for a loan;
- do not insult the calling specialist, administrative liability is provided for this;
- Make an audio recording of your communication with the claimant, having notified him of this in advance;
- there is no need to be afraid of debt collectors, they do not have the right to use physical force or threaten;
- If debt collectors exceed their official powers, file a complaint with the authorized government agencies.
More…
- Do debt collectors have the right to sue a debtor?
- Is it worth making voluntary insurance against involuntary job loss?
- How to properly notify the bank about the inability to pay a loan, sample application
- What does debt restructuring mean in simple words, how to properly restructure a loan
