The Central Bank named the rules for safe communication with debt collectors

What are the risks of defaulting on a loan?

By signing a microloan agreement, the client undertakes to fulfill all the conditions of the lender: repay the loan on time, pay interest and fines in case of delay.

An MFO can carry out its activities by obtaining a license from the Central Bank. After the license is issued, the microfinance organization is included in a special register. If the name of a microfinance company is not in the register, this means that it operates illegally. In this case, the company will not be able to go to court to collect the overdue debt.

I sign the contract, each client must understand that:

• an electronic contract has legal force, on par with one signed in person in the office;
• the debt will have to be repaid;
• when applying for a long-term loan, MFOs do not remind about the repayment date of the mandatory contribution;
• if there is a delay, the companies continue to charge interest under the contract and penalties;
• in case of delay, MFO specialists have the right to call the debtor or contact persons, send requests for repayment via SMS messages or email;
• In case of prolonged non-payment, the case is referred to court.

Attention! If your salary is delayed, you can get an interest-free loan and pay off the current debt. However, don't get carried away. You can apply for a loan without interest here.

How to protect yourself from debt collectors?

Many borrowers of the Dengi Immediate Group of Companies complain about the illegal actions of debt collectors. Unfortunately, such situations are not uncommon. What you can do to protect yourself from illegal actions of debt collectors:

1. When a CA employee behaves incorrectly, you should first contact the Dengi Immediate Group of Companies. If KA works with debtors on the basis of an agreement for the provision of debt collection services, then the Dengi Immediate Group of Companies will most likely take action against the collection agency, since they still value their reputation and do not want to be involved in the illegal actions of collectors. If the borrower's debt is sold to CA, then it is better to immediately contact law enforcement agencies.
2. It should be understood that collectors often act using psychological pressure, constantly pestering the borrower with calls or visits. In this situation, it should be understood that the debtor is not at all obliged to communicate with the collector. If CA employees behave rudely, then you can blacklist their phone numbers, and in the event of a collector visiting your home, simply not open the door.
3. You can explain to the collector that all his actions are useless and ask him to quickly take the case to court.
4. In order to hold the collector accountable for illegal actions against the debtor, you can turn on an audio recording device, but in order for it to be accepted as evidence, you must warn the collector that an audio recording of the conversation will now be made.

When a borrower does not repay a debt to a microfinance organization, he certainly violates his obligations to the lender. However, this fact does not give collectors the right to humiliate the honor and dignity of a citizen and apply measures prohibited by law against the debtor.

Do microfinance organizations offer payment deferrals?

MFOs offer an extension of the contract period. When choosing a service, you will need to pay the accrued interest and sign an agreement to increase the term.

For example, OneClickMoney offers to extend the period of delay to 21 days. If after the specified period the debt is not repaid, they begin forced collection.

If an extension is not available, you should try to resolve the issue. Do not ignore calls from an MFO employee . You will need to answer the call, voice the problem and ask for an installment plan or refinance. This option is beneficial to both parties.

Attention! Regular borrowers who actively apply for loans can receive a deferment. In practice, they are offered refinancing or payment in installments. According to customer reviews, Money Man offers such conditions.

Legality of the bank's actions

Transferring accounts payable to a third party company seems illegal and counterintuitive to some borrowers. However, “knocking out” debts is not the main area of ​​activity of banks. Therefore, they are not always ready to spend time and resources on this, but prefer to get rid of the problem by assigning rights. Such actions of the creditor are permitted in Article 382 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which describes the rules for applying the assignment agreement.

Until 2014, creditors were only allowed to assign obligations under loan agreements that expressly stated such a right. But the massive spread of consumer lending and the number of “non-performing” loans have increased. Starting from 07/01/2014, banks were able to assign debts under all agreements, except those that included a clause that directly prohibited the transfer to a third-party creditor. That is, if there is no direct prohibition in the text of the loan, then the bank has the right to resell the debt to a collection agency.

In some situations, banks sell even those debts that are not overdue. For example, if a transaction to transfer all mortgages is financially attractive to the lender. In this case, the bank may assign them to another legal successor. The main condition is that the new copyright holder must have a valid banking license. The same scheme applies to the sale of the loan portfolio during the liquidation of the bank.

But banks only assign overdue loans to collectors. Such companies do not have a banking license. They are only given a certificate of registration in the list of legal entities that have the right to collect overdue debts.

Regardless of whose interests the collector represents—his agency or the bank, he cannot go beyond the legal framework. The main task of the debtor is not to avoid communication and contact with the creditor’s representative and not to refuse to pay the existing debt.

Collectors are interested in repaying the debt, and if the loan debt has become the property of the agency, then the company is much more likely to compromise with the debtors. This is explained by the fact that the agency buys back debts from the bank not for their full 100% value, but for 5-25%. Therefore, a compromise solution can and should be sought with them.

Before you start paying debts to a new creditor, you should:

1. Specify the full name of the company to which the right to collect debts was transferred. Its legal address and details.
2. Request documents on the transfer of debt and confirmation of the right of collection.
3. Study information about the full amount of the debt, including data on fines, penalties and penalties.

It is advisable to request copies of documents in writing, so that you have something to rely on when establishing the rights of the old and new creditor. So that it doesn’t turn out that you owe both companies at the same time, or the “new” creditor collects debts without reason. According to the law, when the right is transferred to a new successor, the previous creditor loses the ability to collect debts, and the amount of the loan and accrued fines is considered repaid.

The debtor must receive:

1. Notification of the bank about the assignment of rights.
2. A copy of the assignment agreement, which indicates the parties to the participant.

We invite you to read: Currency payments at a client bank - step-by-step instructions. Debit currency cards. What are the features of a certain currency clause?

Based on this data, the borrower can check whether the agency is included in the state register of collection companies. This data is posted on the official website of the FSSP. After checking, you should find the official website of the agency, where all contact information is indicated. They will be required if collectors go beyond the scope of legal actions or violate the civil rights of the debtor.

The last step before negotiations with debt collectors is to become familiar with the total amount of accumulated debts. If it doesn’t raise any questions, then you can start communicating.

When the loan debt already exists is meaningless:

• hide and avoid personal and telephone contacts with the creditor’s representative;
• waste time making excuses;
• wait for the favor of the court and a decision in your favor.

Compulsion to repay accumulated debt, even psychological, plunges into moral discomfort. But you should not panic or think that avoiding communication will somehow improve the situation. No one will write off debts, will not forget them and will not forgive them just like that. A deterioration in solvency may be temporary, but a completely damaged credit history or declaring oneself bankrupt entails more negative and lasting consequences.

Also, you should not deny debt for various unfounded reasons. Each borrower takes out a loan on a voluntary basis. At the same time, he must realize that he will still have to repay the borrowed funds. They are not a gift and the lender has a legal right to a full refund. Therefore, no amount of excuses or evasion will get rid of the loan repayment.

If this does not happen on a voluntary basis, then the debts will be collected through the courts. In 99% of cases, judges satisfy the creditors' claims. And after this, the borrower will have to reimburse legal costs as the defendant, in addition to repaying the principal debt.

Upon a court decision, bailiffs enter the case. They can seize accounts, impose a ban on traveling abroad, and sell property at auction. Restoring your financial reputation after such actions is many times more difficult than when searching for a compromise solution at the initial stage with the bank or after reselling the debt to collectors.

Most Russian banks cooperate with collection agencies and assign them the right to collect debts, including Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, Gazprombank and other market leaders. In this way, they improve their own financial performance and comply with the requirements of the Bank of Russia.

Voluntary recognition of your financial insolvency during a critical period of time will save you from subsequent problems. Most banks themselves help to find a way out of the situation. They offer debt restructuring, refinancing or credit holidays.

Which MFOs usually go to court?

On the Internet you can find many queries: “which companies go to court”, “how quickly microfinance organizations go to court”, etc. After studying reviews and messages on forums, a list of companies was created that are resolving the issue in court.

Attention! As clients assure on the forums, they take the case to court after 2-3 months of non-payment. This period is enough to increase the amount of debt to 1.5 times the original amount (FZ-230 “On the protection of the rights and interests of individuals”).

Which MFOs go to court?:

• Turboloan;
• Zaimer;
• Urgent Money;
• Viva Money;
• Money Man;
• FastMoney;
• Home Money;
• Rosdengi.

Example! Ivanov Konstantin took out a loan in the amount of 10,000 rubles. He was unable to return it on time, and as a result, the MFO continued to accrue interest. Three months later, Konstantin received a summons to appear in court. At the meeting, a decision was made to pay off the debt in the amount of 35,000 rubles.

How many days will it take before the debt is transferred?

When the bank detects that a loan is overdue for up to 30 days, it begins to work independently with the debtors. First, specialists try to establish the cause of the debt. If contact is not established or the debtor ignores payments, then the second stage begins - the involvement of the security department or a special department for the return of “problem” debts.

The question of transferring the debt to collectors does not arise until 90 days have passed from the first day of delay. But three months later, the defaulted loans can be sold or assigned to a new lender.

The legislation does not establish a period when the bank receives the right to resell borrowers' debts. Such a decision remains at the discretion of the credit institution itself. Therefore, the assignment can occur at any time. As a rule, this is prescribed by the lender’s internal regulations for working with overdue debts.

Most often, banks resell debts for which:

• the minimum period of delay is 90 days;
• the borrower purposefully avoids communication with the bank representative and does not answer calls and letters;
• the borrower has received an oral refusal to repay the loan without explaining the reason and searching for a compromise solution;
• fraudulent actions on the part of the debtor have been identified.

The bank may resell the debt to a collection agency if any of the above circumstances are established. Or do not transfer the debt, but only attract collectors to cooperate. The borrower's approval for such actions is not required; banks can assign debts without the consent of the debtor. However, the lender is obliged to notify the borrower that the transfer of rights under the assignment agreement is taking place.

Sometimes banks specify in loan agreements the period during which they will assign the debt to collectors. Such a clause is included in the section of penalties or in the part where the responsibility of the parties is established. But there is not always such a point at all. Then the decision is made by the credit committee, the security service, the creditor's department for working with overdue debts or the risk department.

If the creditor reported that he transferred the debt to a collection company, then before paying using the new details, the borrower must request documents from him:

• indicating the full name of the company and its legal address;
• for the transfer of debt;
• claims confirming the right;
• the full amount of debt, including interest and penalties.

As a rule, all documents are in order and the collectors’ claim is 100% legal; the client needs to make contact with agency employees and not refuse to pay the debt. Regardless of the form of involvement of a collection company, it must work exclusively within the legal framework; any illegal actions are excluded.

Collectors are interested in repaying the debt quickly and painlessly for all parties, therefore, if there are good reasons, they make concessions to the client and can: revise the payment schedule or restructure the loan. Plus, during assignment, it is possible to write off the final amount of debt up to 90% inclusive.

What to do if the debt was transferred to collectors?

In most cases, microfinance organizations sell debt to collectors. Since debt collectors are interested in getting their money back, they offer a discount. Its size is agreed upon personally.

What does the discount depend on? The answer is simple, from the redemption value of the debt. For example, Matvey Ivanov has a debt to the microfinance organization in the amount of 37,600 rubles. The company sold the debt to the collector for 21,000 rubles. Collectors can offer a discount of 37,600 – 21,000 = 16,600 rubles. Just don’t hope for the maximum right away; this is relevant for problem borrowers who have not paid their debt to the collector for months. In practice, the discount amount is up to 10% of the debt to the microfinance organization.

An example from life! Olga Matveeva took out a loan for 17,000 rubles, ended up in the hospital and was unable to pay off the debt. A month later she was discharged, but the amount of debt increased to 27,200 rubles. Since Olga did not have the full amount to pay, she tried to resolve the issue with the collectors who were involved in collection. I was lucky that it was New Year's Day in a week. Olga was offered to return 80% of the debt. She paid 21,760 rubles (the amount was 340 rubles less than the planned loan repayment).

What Collectors Can't Do

The activities of collection agencies are significantly limited by Law No. 230-FZ. They have significantly fewer rights than bailiffs. The fact is that communication with debt collectors occurs at the pre-trial stage. Therefore, their main task is to help the borrower solve financial problems and persuade him to repay the debt. Collectors do not have the right to seize or damage the debtor’s property, enter his apartment, threaten him, or call more than twice a week, at night or on weekends.

The main weapon of a collection agency is the telephone.

What to do if the case is taken to court?

When drawing up a microloan agreement, not all clients carefully study the clauses of the agreement. As a rule, clients pay attention to an attractive slogan that says: “minimum package of documents”, “100% approval”, “passport loan”, “loan with a damaged credit history”, etc.

Attractive conditions hide large fines. They bring the borrower to the courtroom. It is worth defending your rights only if the loan was not repaid as a result of serious circumstances that will be documented.

For example, if you lose your job, you will need to present a copy of your work record. In case of illness, a certificate from a medical institution.

The court may impose one of the requirements:

• pay the debt in full;
• repay part of the debt, excluding excess accrued interest;
• pay the amount owed without interest;
• completely release the borrower from repayment if the statute of limitations of 3 years has passed.

The following methods are used to collect debt::

• seizure of a deposit or current account;
• deduction from official wages;
• seizure of property at the place of residence in order to pay off the debt with the proceeds from the sale.

I made payments at the MFO office. Now it is closed, and there are no contacts for the new lender. What to do?

Very rarely, but it still happens. There are several options for how to act in this situation:

1. Try to find out on your own who your debt was transferred to. Check the information on the MFO website. Call the SRO in which she was a member - perhaps they have information about the new creditor.
2. Look at the agreement for the MFO's bank account. Perhaps the account is still working and you can deposit money into it at a bank branch, through a mobile application or personal account on your bank’s website. If the account is closed, the payment will not go through and your money will be returned.
3. You can contact a notary and put the balance of the debt on deposit with him. When a new lender shows up, the money from the notary will be proof that you honestly tried to repay the loan. The lender will not be able to charge you a fine, and your credit history will not be damaged by the delay. True, notary services are paid: you will have to pay 0.5% of the amount on the account (but not less than 1000 rubles), and also pay for technical and legal work - up to 10 thousand rubles.
4. Just wait for a new lender to find you. But this way you risk getting a fine for late payment and ruining your credit history. Even if it turns out that neither the old nor the new creditor sent a notice of debt transfer and thus violated your loan agreement, it will be possible to challenge the fines and correct your credit history only through the court.

Evaluate which option is more suitable for you.

Answers to popular questions

The last section contains answers to popular questions asked by borrowers.

Question answer:

• Can you go to jail for debt??

No. Credit cases are considered as civil cases. There is no criminal liability for them.

• What is the statute of limitations?

3 years.

• Can an MFO sell debt to collectors??

Yes, if such a clause is in the loan agreement. If it is not there, then you should defend your rights.

• Can they take away an apartment for debts??

No, if this is the only housing. Since the summer of 2020, microfinance organizations have been prohibited from issuing loans secured by residential property.

Options for interaction between a bank and a collection agency

The decision to sell debt to a collection agency is made by the bank independently based on their internal credit policy towards clients and correspondents. First of all, they strive to get rid of small debts, the costs of collecting which are comparable to the costs that the bank will be forced to incur if it does this on its own. This takes into account:

• amount of debt;
• the financial condition of the borrower at the time of applying for the loan;
• the presence of collateral, guarantors or co-borrowers;
• location of the debtor;
• his desire to make contact with the creditor.

The smaller the loan amount, the higher the likelihood that when payments stop, the bank will sell such debt.

When issuing loans, banks expect to repay the borrowed amount and pay interest during the use of the borrowed funds. But not all borrowers fulfill their loan obligations on time and in full. Banks try to recover lost funds in several stages. When it is not possible to appeal to the conscience of defaulters with the help of its own employees, the bank turns to collection agencies. There are two scenarios in which the interaction between the bank and collectors occurs.

• The loan is not transferred anywhere, the debt remains on the bank’s balance sheet, and collectors only provide assistance in the process of returning borrowed funds.
• Assignment of rights of claim. This means that the bank sold the debt to a collection agency, and now it will search for an unscrupulous client and collect the debt on the loan.

Having received information about an old debt taken out from a bank from collectors, you must carefully read the letter and determine whether there is an assignment of claims, or whether the collector represents the interests of the same bank.

How to apply?

Microloans in this MFO are issued only in cash, and the personal presence of the borrower is required to sign the loan agreement.

However, company employees strongly recommend submitting an online application to the Money At Once MFO on the company’s official website. In this case, the client will need to come to the office only after receiving prior approval.

Pre-submission of an application significantly saves the borrower time and allows you to receive money within 20-30 minutes - this is exactly the period indicated on the company’s website.

However, from customer reviews published online, we can conclude that efficiency is not the strong point of this MFO.

Applications are sometimes processed within 24 hours, and employees also most often do not meet the stated deadlines: clients complain that they spend more than one hour getting money. Let's hope that representatives of microfinance organizations will read our review and try to somehow solve this problem.

You can submit an online application to the Money At Once MFO by calling the hotline. Clients also have the opportunity to order a call back through the feedback form on the website.

In this case, the call center employee will fill out the questionnaire himself - the potential borrower will only need to answer his questions. This method is provided for the company’s clients who have difficulty using a computer - there are many such citizens among MFO clients.

A mandatory step in obtaining a microloan is a personal interview with a credit manager. It is very important that a person makes a favorable impression. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you come to the office to sign the agreement neatly dressed and sober - otherwise, a justified refusal to issue a microloan may follow.

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