In order to adequately perceive collection agencies, it is necessary to understand that this is a private company not authorized to exercise any influence on the debtor. Like any commercial organization, a collection agency has rights exclusively in the civil legal field. The maximum that a debt collector can do is send a letter of claim and file a claim for debt collection in court. And then, only if the agency, in accordance with the procedure established by law, bought the debt from the creditor. The collection agency does not have any other powers. Only authorized government bodies, for example, the bailiff service, have the right to demand a meeting with the debtor, go to his home, seize property, or send requests.
The most common method of influencing debtors is a telephone call, often carrying signs of telephone terrorism. Agency employees can call at odd hours, make threats, conduct a conversation in a rude manner, methodically throwing a person out of psychological balance. If there is information about the debtor's friends or relatives, they have a similar effect on them.
A favorite threat of debt collectors is the promise to prosecute the debtor for fraud or malicious evasion of loan repayment. It is necessary to clearly understand that only law enforcement agencies have the right to initiate criminal cases. Collection agencies are not one of them. The court has the right to impose criminal liability by passing a sentence. In this case, it is necessary to prove that the debtor deliberately does not pay the loan or fraudulently took out a loan and did not intend to repay it (pay the loan). As a rule, this is very difficult and in practice there are isolated cases of criminal prosecution when a multimillion-dollar fraud involving a large number of victims is revealed. Of course, an ordinary person who finds himself in a difficult life situation that does not allow him to repay a debt (repay a loan) does not face criminal liability.
So, if you receive calls from organizations with which no contracts have been concluded, and there are no other civil legal relations, it is recommended to record the telephone conversation with a voice recorder. It is recommended to write down or remember the legal name of the organization, position and full name of the employee. You should request the submission of documents confirming the legality of the requirements. If calls are repeated or threats are made, you must immediately file a report of telephone hooliganism and extortion with the police. At the same time, this must be done for each incoming call. Otherwise, conversations with debt collectors may take months. If there are threats, use of physical violence, or seizure of property, you should also contact the police. If the police refuse to accept the application (which also happens), it is necessary to send the application by mail - by registered mail with notification. In this case, law enforcement agencies have no choice but to carry out work on each application. This is the only and effective method of dealing with collectors. The so-called anti-collection agencies have the right to provide exclusively legal advice and preparation of draft documents (statement of claim to the court, statement to the police). This is the same commercial organization as collection agencies and has the only goal - making a profit. Any other assistance from them will also be questionable and, possibly, not in accordance with current legislation. By resorting to the services of an anti-collection agency, the debtor risks spending an additional amount of money without getting a real result.
