There are times when a person borrows money from a bank, but due to some circumstances cannot pay off the amount of debt on time. Instead of smiling loan officers, collectors enter the business, whose impudence sometimes knows no bounds. To avoid stressful situations, you need to stay calm and follow proven guidelines.
What is a collector? Translated from English, collector is an object, device, etc. to collect something. In essence, a collector is a debt collector.
The first task of the collector is to call debtors. Collectors are specially trained in psychological techniques in order to find out from the debtor as much information as possible: why he cannot pay, are there any relatives, etc.
Often, telephone conversations are conducted in a stern "metallic" voice and resemble interrogation with partiality. The debtor begins to feel guilty and tell the reasons for his insolvency and so on.
However, in the Constitution of the Russian Federation there is such a concept as inviolability of private life. Even after becoming a debtor, you have not lost your rights as a citizen of the Russian Federation. It is rather difficult to identify a person's identity over the phone - you can introduce yourself as anyone, so you are not obliged to conduct a so-called “blind” dialogue with a stranger.
At the first call of the collector, ask who he is, what kind of organization he represents and on what basis he is calling you. Ignore all counter questions, such as: why don't you pay the loan? Request a postal notification with all insignia and seals.
Collectors can exert psychological pressure by accusing you of fraud. Don't get fooled by such a farce. The law provides for the presumption of innocence, that is, the fact of fraud has yet to be proven. If you did not take out a loan on someone else's documents, did not give deliberately false information about yourself in order to take a loan free of charge, then you have nothing to fear.
Many banks repeatedly violate banking laws, so they rarely go to court to resolve a debt dispute. It is much easier to sell debt to third parties.
The law provides for the sale of debt (assignment of the right of claim), but if the identity of the creditor is important to you, the bank is obliged to notify about the sale of the debt in advance. Simply put, if you yourself applied to this bank, and it was not the bank that imposed its services on you, then the identity of the lender mattered to you.
Therefore, selling debt without your consent is illegal. If you are worried about people who have nothing to do with the lending bank, feel free to send them to hell.
Sometimes collectors present themselves as bailiffs and display fake IDs. Do not rush to open the door to scammers. You can check whether a lawsuit has been opened against you on the official website of the bailiffs.
Remember that the illegal actions of the collectors are: persistent calls, threats, a desire to get to your apartment, visits to unsuspecting relatives, scribbling the entrance with the phrases "the debtor lives here", a public statement about your problems to neighbors / colleagues at work, etc. … Fix such violations and contact the police.
