Photo:
Dmitry Lokaj / Kommersant
Collectors, anticipating the imminent entry into force of the law restricting their activities, trying to recover from the debtors to the maximum. Borrowers delinquent on the eve of that event are actively increasing the number of complaints to the plaintiff, evidenced by relevant statistics. Whose activity will be more effective — only time will tell. So far, it seems, are collectors, after all, the Supervisory authority responsible for them is still not defined.
At the disposal of “Kommersant” were recent statistics from the National Association of professional collection agencies (NAPCA) to citizens ‘ complaints on illegal, in their opinion, the actions of debt collectors to recover debts. For ten months of this year, the number of complaints from citizens reached 3,163 million and 5.5% exceeded the entire last year the volume of complaints (about 3 thousand). While in October there was a surge of complaints of citizens on actions of collectors-for the month NAPCA received 427 such requests (67 more than in September), is a monthly significantly more than in the previous few months.
Prior to that, a noticeable spike of complaints was observed in February (compared with January-76 more), after 28 January, the Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko said that the activities of collection agencies need to be suspended, amid allegations of one of the collectors in the burning of the house of the debtor in Ulyanovsk, with the result that the hospital was two year old child. The increase in complaints continued in March (there were 84 more compared to February), once in February, Lord Matvienko and Sergei Naryshkin, who was at that time speaker of the state Duma, initiated the development and submitted to the Parliament a bill on strict restriction of activities of collectors.
For October, the largest increase in the number of calls peaked in the so-called legal treatment (27% vs 19% at the end of September). Significantly increased the number of complaints of “illegality” of the actions of collectors (12% vs 4% at the end of September). The proportion of complaints about calls to third parties — relatives and colleagues — made up 17% of the total number of references. NAPCA even the first time such treatment was allocated in a separate category. The increase in complaints in October, NAPCA associated with the fact that the debtors learned of the coming into effect with the new year, the major provisions of the law restricting the activities of collectors, which, in particular, forbid them to disturb third parties in connection with the debt of a particular borrower.
Collectors themselves confirm the October surge caused by the imminent entry into force the main provisions of the law “On protection of rights and legitimate interests of individuals with the implementation of overdue debt” adopted this summer. “Further appeals will be more: not all debtors know that he had not actually entered into force,” – said General Director of “Aktivbizneskollekshn” (captive Agency of the savings Bank), Dmitry Teplitsky. However, he is not inclined to dramatize the situation, calling the messages sent “feedback” and pointing out that most of them are associated with “legal and technical issues, not on criminal offenses”. Rise in complaints about collectors from debtors was confirmed by the Chairman of the Board of Finpotrebsoyuz Igor Kostikov: “the Population is becoming more educated in the financial plan that encourages them to practice to respond to actions that violate their rights”.
As expected, Mr. Teplitsky, in January and February, when debtors start to count the number of contacts with the claimants and to monitor compliance with other regulations in force of the law, will see a new surge cases. “Paradoxically, with the growth of civilized market of collection the increase will continue, as feedback in this market is highly demanded by the borrowers” – says Mr. Teplitsky.
However, the practical effect of these complaints is difficult to predict. “Everything will depend on how you will operate the Supervisory for collectors body that officially is still not defined,”– specifies Mr. Kostikov.
Yulia Polyakova