Can debt collectors and banks call on weekends, holidays and at night?

On average, the percentage of the Russian population with debt in 2020 exceeded 49% - that is, Russians owe banks half of their annual income. In most cases, taking out a loan is not difficult, but not everyone can pay it on time and in full. The result is debt. The borrower begins to receive calls: first from the bank’s debtor service, and then from collectors. Can banks or debt collectors call at night? What does the law say about this? Let's consider the topic in more detail.

When banks sell debt to collectors

It’s worth immediately considering that not all loans banks are ready to transfer to collection agencies

. Initially, they will solve the problem of delay on their own, notifying the client about his debt in the following ways:

calls to the specified phone number (when applying for a loan);
sending letters indicating the amount of overdue debt and the payment schedule;
calls to guarantors and friends/relatives whose telephone numbers were indicated when applying for the loan.

In some cases, banks independently go to court to force collection of debt from the borrower.

When a bank can sell a debt to collectors:

if he needs extra money (or needs to get rid of a dubious loan);
if the borrower does not pay the loan for several months and does not contact the bank (it is more profitable for the bank to sell the debt than to go to court);
the borrower’s refusal to pay the debt or communicate with bank employees;
fraudulent actions on the part of the borrower (he hides his true income and refuses to pay the loan).

In accordance with Art. 382 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, banks have the right to engage collection companies to collect credit debts

. The assignment of rights of claim or assignment does not require the consent of the borrower (if such a condition is specified in the agreement). The main thing is that the parties notify him in a timely manner about the transfer of debt.

Does the rule apply on weekends?

Yes, collection agencies do have the right to call clients on weekends and holidays: this possibility is prescribed by law. But the time frame for such calls is even stricter: no earlier than 9 am and no later than 8 pm. The limit on the number of calls per day still applies: if you have already been called twice on weekdays, collectors do not have the right to contact you on weekends. Of course, the other rules - polite speech, absence of psychological violence, the need to provide information about yourself - are still in force. The time at which you were called should be calculated according to your time zone.

When banks call because of overdue debts

As a rule, in practice everything happens like this:

If there is a delay of about 1 month, the bank can call the borrower once at the beginning of the billing period. It will send SMS notifications about the amount of debt and information about the acceptable period for repaying the debt.
If the delay has exceeded two months, the department for dealing with problem debts is involved in working with the borrower (each bank has its own name). Its employees already call the borrower several times a week or on those days when the borrower promised to pay the loan, but never did.
After the debt has already exceeded several months, bank employees call the loan guarantors or friends whose telephone numbers were indicated in the client’s application form when issuing the loan.

Every person should know that even if the borrower indicated his phone number in the application form when issuing a loan, this does not mean that he must pay the loan

. Moreover, in most cases, banks do not even call the specified phone numbers when issuing a loan. This fact can be easily proven in court if necessary.

Bank Calls Law 2021

a citizen will open a deposit in favor of a third party (including one linked to a bank card), replenishing the account with cash in the amount of over 600 thousand rubles,
or issue a refund to your card of the unused balance on your mobile phone balance in the amount of more than 100 thousand rubles,
or will receive a payment on your card under a life insurance or pension insurance agreement in the amount of 600 thousand rubles,
or will make a settlement from his bank account for a real estate transaction in the amount of 3 million rubles (a full list of controlled transactions is presented in Article 6 of Law No. 115-FZ).

Article 11. Civil liability of the creditor and the person acting on his behalf and (or) in his interests The creditor and the person acting on his behalf and (or) in his interests are obliged to compensate for losses and moral damage caused by their unlawful actions the debtor and other persons. Chapter 3.

When debt collectors call because of an overdue loan

Employees of collection organizations

They do not stand on ceremony with debtors. Their victims are not only borrowers, but also their relatives, friends, work colleagues and other acquaintances. Their communication with borrowers goes far beyond the bounds of decency. They can call about debt around the clock, every 15 minutes, and send SMS alerts. In general, making the life of the borrower and his environment unbearable.

In addition to constant calls, threats are added over time

. Some collectors take drastic actions, for example, injuring the debtor and his family members. There have been a sufficient number of high-profile cases throughout the country. Such actions are punishable by law, including criminal liability.

But even if the collector does not resort to physical violence, but simply calls all day long, this is already a violation of the law

Can debt collectors communicate on weekends in other ways?

The legislation stipulates several methods of communication, not only telephone calls: letters, telegrams, SMS messages. They are subject to the same time restrictions: the collection agency has no right to call in the middle of the night. Unscrupulous agents may take advantage of the borrower's ignorance of the law and claim that their attempts to contact are completely legal, but this is not the case. As for personal visits, they should be carried out during the day, preferably by prior arrangement. A person is not obliged to let collectors into the house: if an unscrupulous service employee insists on an invitation, you have the right to refuse.

Regulatory framework for regulating the activities of credit and collection organizations

List of laws, regulations and letters that regulate the activities of credit institutions and collectors in the fight against overdue credit debt:

Federal Law
No. 152 “On Personal Data” – protection of the debtor’s personal data;
Federal Law No. 149 “On information, information technologies and information protection” – control of the dissemination of data in electronic form;
Art. 857 Civil Code – control over the actions of collectors and banks;
Resolution of the Supreme Court No. 17 “On the consideration by courts of civil cases in disputes regarding the protection of consumer rights” - on the disclosure of information on loans to third parties who do not have a special license;
Letter of Rospotrebnadzor No. 01/8179-12-32 dated July 23, 2012 – on providing collectors with the information specified in the loan agreement;
Law No. 353-FZ “On consumer credit (loan)” dated December 21, 2013;
Law No. 230-FZ “On the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of individuals when carrying out activities to repay overdue debts...”.

The latest law is considered the most important in the fight against unscrupulous debt collectors. It has been in effect since 2021 and is constantly being amended. Global ones were adopted in 2021. They have tightened the requirements for collectors when dealing with overdue debts. Law No. 230-FZ contains the following information:

duties and powers of collection organizations (legal entities), including when working with debtors;
requirements for collection organizations, their registration in a special register, general procedure for joining an SRO;
restrictions and prohibitions, as well as conditions for carrying out certain types of activities of collection organizations;
the rights of debtors who have received claims from collectors;
rules for monitoring the work of debt collectors, as well as their responsibility for non-compliance with laws.

Every borrower should know these rules

, who clashed with employees of collection agencies.

Powers of collectors

At the federal level, a law was adopted in 2021 that established the list of powers of employees involved in debt collection.

According to its norms, collectors have the following rights:

meet with the debtor in person;
negotiate by phone;
send written requests for the need to return borrowed funds.

In addition to the opportunity to negotiate directly with the debtor himself, the collector or bank representative has the right to interact with the debtor’s relatives or his close friends to obtain information.

When may debt collectors call due to overdue debt?

Before Law No. 230-FZ was improved, there were a huge number of debt collectors who, using loopholes in the legislation, put pressure on the debtor using illegal methods. For example, they threatened and intimidated members of his family. Since 2020 the situation has changed dramatically

, and the number of collection organizations has decreased thanks to the adoption of amendments to Law No. 230-FZ.

When is it allowed to call collectors:

calls can be made on weekdays with the exception of night time from 22.00
.
00 to 8
.
00;
On holidays,
calls can be received from 9.00 to 21.00.

Regarding the number of calls, the following requirements must be met;

allowed to call once a day;
no more than twice a week
;
no more than eight times a month
.

Collectors have the right to communicate with third parties

, if their data was indicated by the borrower when applying for a loan, as well as with their consent. If telephone numbers were obtained illegally, there is a reason to go to court. When a collector communicates with a borrower, no types of violence, pressure, or threats are allowed.

Legislation on the activities of collectors

The negative opinion formed in society about collection agencies originates from times when their activities were regulated rather weakly or not regulated at all. As a result, numerous unscrupulous services often took harsh and even aggressive measures towards borrowers, which created a negative image. But as of January 1, 2017, Federal Law No. 230-FZ provides for how the work of agencies is regulated. The new rules established restrictions on the time and number of calls and other methods of communication with the client, and also determined how the collector must communicate with the borrower. Today, every conscientious, law-abiding agency strictly complies with the requirements of the Federal Law and aims not to scare, but to help.

What to do if debt collectors call at night or in the evening

Unfortunately, not all collection agencies comply with the law. Debtors still face unscrupulous employees of such organizations. What should I do if the calls do not stop at night?

Firstly, the debtor must clarify whether such a collection organization exists

, whose employees are annoying with calls. To check, you can use the FSSP register, which lists all collection organizations that have licenses to carry out such activities. If there is no such company in it, then the debtor has become a victim of fraud.

Secondly, the debtor must inform the collector that he is violating the law by annoying calls at night

. Find out his last name and first name if the collector has not introduced himself. It is better to talk to him without aggression.

The main thing is not to agree with forced debt collection in a telephone conversation - this can only be done by a court decision. It must be remembered that only bailiffs can enforce debt collection. Often, debt collectors provide clients with false information about court decisions in their favor. Any court warns the defendant about the conduct of the trial, as well as the decision on it.

If the calls do not stop, you need to record them and take a printout of incoming calls

. All this will become evidence of the collector’s unlawful behavior. You can contact them:

with an application to the court;
write a complaint to the prosecutor;
contact NAPKA or FSSP.

The latter organization ensures that collection agencies comply with the law

. In accordance with Art. 14.57 part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, if a creditor or collector commits illegal actions to collect overdue debts, he faces administrative or criminal liability.

Where to complain about bank employees for frequent calls

Before you go to complain about the actions of the bank, it is first recommended to learn how to talk to the bank if you are a debtor. You should not ignore calls from a financial organization, much less be rude to its employees.

Employees of the collection department only do their job, and they have nothing to do with the exact reason why the client is unable to repay the loan on time. If you establish normal contact with employees of a financial organization, you can count on debt restructuring or a deferment in its repayment. In such situations, the best course of action would be to find a compromise.

If the bank has a special number for working with clients, you can call it, log in as a client and leave a complaint about the actions of employees

But if there is no way to reach an agreement peacefully, and bank employees continue to persistently call at night and pester friends and relatives, then in this case it is necessary to seek protection from the state.

In case of unlawful actions on the part of the bank, a citizen has the right to file a complaint with the prosecutor's office and police authorities regarding extortion and violation of the law.

If employees of a financial institution threaten or blackmail a debtor over the telephone, this will be a direct criminal offense that must be dealt with by the police.

A complaint about illegal actions on the part of collectors and employees of the bank loan collection service must be drawn up in free written form, indicating all illegal actions on the part of the financial institution.

In order to eliminate the possibility of any errors or legal inaccuracies, it is recommended to draw up such a paper together with a qualified lawyer.

Who you are not allowed to call

Debt collectors do not have the right to harass certain categories of persons with calls:

Debtors who are undergoing inpatient treatment in a hospital;
Incapacitated or partially incompetent citizens, as well as minors, except those who have been legally emancipated.
Those debtors who warned the collectors that all conversations and questions should be resolved through an authorized lawyer.
Group I disabled people.
Those citizens who declared themselves financially insolvent, and bankruptcy proceedings were launched against them. In such a situation, all communication occurs through an authorized financial manager. Direct contacts between the collector and the debtor are prohibited.

The debtor provides supporting documents to collectors that he belongs to one of the above categories. For example, a disability certificate, a certificate of incapacity or partial incapacity, or other papers.

Calls from collectors after the trial

When a bank assigns debt rights to debt collectors, they legally demand repayment of the debt from the borrower. But there are situations when collectors besiege the borrower after the trial, when the obligation to control payments is transferred to bailiffs. In this case, collectors are prohibited from harassing the borrower and demanding fulfillment of obligations.

If collectors break the law: they continue to call, send letters and come home, contact the prosecutor’s office and write a statement to the collection agency.

Example

Anatoly's debt in the amount of 300 thousand rubles. handed over to collectors, but he did not receive a notification. Anatoly fully acknowledged the debt and even paid it to the best of his ability. But the collectors demanded immediate repayment of the entire debt. They called five times a day. And when Anatoly reminded the collectors about the rules for calling, the manager began to threaten and make claims. Anatoly sent a complaint against the collection agency to the FSP, which issued a warning to the company. The calls stopped, and Anatoly eventually successfully paid off the debt.

If the court left the issue of paying the debt to a bank or agency, calls from collectors are legal. There is no need to hide and hide from debt collectors. But there is no need to panic.

To solve the problem, contact the manager and tell him when approximately you will be able to make the payment. Try to agree on payment terms. When you have no money or lost your job, explain your situation and support it with evidence. For example, present a certificate from the labor exchange or 2-NDFL about your salary. The collection agency will look into the situation and accommodate you halfway, but this does not always happen.

Example 2

Anastasia, an employee of a travel agency, took out a loan for 600 thousand rubles. in the bank. I paid on time and without delays, but due to the coronavirus pandemic I lost my job because flights to other countries were banned. She was unable to continue to fulfill her obligations to the bank, and was refused debt restructuring.

Six months later, the bank assigned rights to the debt to collectors. After the trial, Anastasia became obligated to pay the collection agency. Managers acted within the law, called and sent emails. But Anastasia thought that after the trial the collectors were forbidden to bother her and turned to the police. The application was denied because the collectors did not violate the law, and the rights to the debt were completely transferred to the company.

Purpose of the call

If this is only the initial stage of the delay, you just recently missed the deadline for making a payment, then bank employees call to find out what happened. Try to objectively talk about the reason for the delay. Maybe you got sick, maybe your wages were delayed, or some difficulties occurred.

The manager will ask you when you will deposit funds into your account. Typically, a bank employee conducts a dialogue so that the debtor promises to repay the debt in a short time instead of all fines. Typically, this is given a short period of time, for example, no longer than a week.

Also, the purpose of the call is to inform the debtor about the amount that he needs to pay. Do not forget that after a delay, you owe not only the principal amount of the current monthly payment, but also the accrued penalties.

The bank calls every day - how to stop it

I have already written about this in detail in an article, you can read it. And to briefly describe the essence: after 4 months of debt, simply send a refusal to interact. You can see a sample in this article. And the bank should stop making calls. Tested using the example of my clients. Below you can see the response from the bank regarding one of our clients:

Do debt collectors have the right to come to your home?

If you are unable to repay the loan, then federal law No. 230-FZ with a long and uninteresting name is guarding your well-being, both physical and moral. In short, this law regulates the activities of official debt collection specialists.

According to this law, people engaged in “knocking out” debts have the right to:

visit you no more than once a week, and this should be done by one employee, and not the entire staff of the organization;
call you (to inquire about your condition, including financial) no more than twice a week from a company-registered number from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and even more strictly on weekends or holidays—from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
And other restrictions kindly provided by our legislator.

Fortunately for debtors and, unfortunately, for collectors, this law does not provide for any forest walks, irons, soldering irons or other “delights.”

The work of collectors in Russia is legal

There are two ways for collectors to stop bothering you with their visits, letters or calls. You must either repay the debt to them in full. Or go through bankruptcy proceedings in accordance with the law. In case of fictitious bankruptcy, you risk being left with existing obligations and continuing to communicate with specialists in the collection of overdue debts.

How do collectors behave?

In the event of a significant violation of the loan repayment schedule, these “specialists” will politely and within the law (if you’re lucky) convince you to repay the debt.

In the event of a gross violation of the law regulating collection activities, resulting in harm to the health, life or property of the debtor or his relatives, such an organization may be excluded from the register.

This means that she will no longer have the right to work to collect debts.

That is, purely theoretically, you can continue to be bombarded with “chain letters”, calls and SMS, until the debt is completely repaid. Or until you or one of your relatives gets a heart attack from such “attention”. However, 4 months after the start of the delay, you can write a refusal to interact with debt collectors.

(19.1 KB)

Collectors will lose the right to call you and communicate with you in person, but they will retain the right to send you messages by regular mail. Well, and sue you for non-payment of the loan.

Official companies are unlikely to violate the law. Moreover, as a rule, they buy back overdue debt from credit institutions in large quantities and at a significant discount.

The bank has the right to sell the debt both during the debtor’s bankruptcy procedure and after its completion. In the first case, at the request of the new creditor, the court will make changes to the register of claims.

Instead of a bank or microfinance organization, the creditor will be a collection agency. But in the second case, the collectors will be left with nothing. All this is done within the framework of freedom of contract by mutual consent (in the first case) or through the carelessness of the latter (in the second case).

Because according to the law, the primary creditor cannot be unaware that his debtor has filed for bankruptcy. Banks and other creditors are notified of this by the debtor himself at the beginning of the procedure or by the financial manager. In addition, all data on open cases is freely available on the Fedresurs website.

An agreement on the assignment of rights may involve dozens or even hundreds of debtors. And the price of such a transaction is significantly lower than the level of debt. Because both the bank and the collectors understand that it is unlikely to get money back on such loans (otherwise the bank would not get rid of such debts).

But if you took money from a dubious organization that does not have a lending license, then be prepared for night calls, threats, and signs at the entrance. And other troubles, because the established rules for communicating with debtors do not apply to them. The only way is to complain about such creditors and collectors to law enforcement agencies.

How to Deal with Collectors During Bankruptcy Proceedings

During the bankruptcy procedure for individuals, the financial manager is responsible for organizing a meeting of creditors and compiling a register of their claims. Therefore, from the moment the financial manager is appointed, all communication with creditors regarding the repayment of debts should occur exclusively with him.

If you are tormented by the question of what to tell debt collectors when you have already filed for bankruptcy, answer the truth. That you are currently going through the procedure of declaring you bankrupt and the financial manager is responsible for all issues related to the formation of a register of creditors’ claims, the sale of property, the organization of auctions of this property, and the return of debts (if there is something to pay them off from).

In addition, by law, collectors lose the right to disturb a future bankrupt from the moment the procedure begins - that is, from the first court hearing at which the bankruptcy application is recognized as justified. Or from the moment the data about the person who filed for bankruptcy through the MFC is entered into the register on the Fedresurs website.

When do debt collectors stop calling?

According to current legislation, calls, as well as visits from debt collectors, must stop from the day when the arbitration court recognizes the application for declaring a person bankrupt as justified. However, this does not mean that they will forget about you the very next day.

The financial manager, whose responsibility is to notify creditors of the commencement of the procedure, has 15 days to send such notices by mail. That is, it is quite possible that specialists in the collection of overdue debts will call you and ask you to visit for about another month during the bankruptcy procedure, until they receive official confirmation that the procedure has begun.

Alas, creditors can send “chain letters” to debtors before the end of the bankruptcy procedure, in the hope of “what if?” But you have the right not to react to them. And even complain about such letters in court.

When will the collectors stop?

After the bankruptcy procedure is completed and the debt is written off, any communication between “specialists” and the debtor is meaningless and illegal.

The arbitration court may refuse to write off debt in the following cases:

the debtor obtaining a loan by providing knowingly false information or documents;
when committing a deliberate or fictitious bankruptcy, for example, you deliberately took on an obviously unfulfillable obligation - you issued several credit cards from different banks, and the amount of obligatory payments exceeded the amount of your monthly income.

With such completion of bankruptcy, communication with specialists in collecting overdue debts will continue in full and until the debt is fully repaid.

If debt collectors send threats to the life and health of you and your relatives, harass you after writing off a debt, or violate the rules of communication established by law, you have the right to file a complaint with the FSSP of Russia or the prosecutor's office, attaching supporting documents.

Sample complaints against debt collectors to the FSSP (18.7 KB)

Sample complaints against debt collectors to the Prosecutor's Office (18.7 KB)

Therefore, it would be a good idea to arm yourself with a recording device when communicating with such “specialists” face to face or over the phone.

The main mistakes of the debtor:

Depressed internal state. Don't blame yourself for finding yourself in a situation where you can't pay. This is life and this happens. Now we need to act wisely to get out of this situation with minimal losses. And if you are in a bad fighting spirit all the time, then nothing good will come of it.
My first advice to get out of this situation: you need to have information. Know your rights. As soon as you understand where to go and that it is not so scary, but even interesting, you will immediately feel better. Read the articles on my blog and a lot will become clear to you.
Some borrowers start paying off their debt in very small payments. This is a road to nowhere. All your payments initially go towards writing off fines. And it's endless.
Many debtors believe what collectors tell them over the phone and begin to panic. I wrote about the main horror stories that frighten banks and debt collectors in this article. Everything they tell you is nonsense. You will resolve all issues through the court.
Many debtors begin to seek help from credit lawyers or anti-collectors. And this is good. But the main thing is not to make a mistake in choosing a lawyer; read how to do this here. You can get all the document templates and a step-by-step algorithm of actions at the very beginning of an overdue debt below:

FIND OUT MORE

PS Dear subscriber, feedback from you is very important to me. Write to me in the comments, is everything clear, was the article useful? Maybe there are some unanswered questions left? How many calls a bank can make per day is determined by law. The bank's task is to follow him.

Best regards, Alexander Izotov. Service Veles .