Contacting the police against debt collectors: sample application

The time has come when debtors have the opportunity to resist debt collectors at the legislative level. Thanks to Federal Law No. 230 (On the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of individuals when carrying out activities to repay overdue debts) adopted on June 21, 2016, now any citizen can complain about collection services if their rights are violated.

An effective method is to file a complaint against debt collectors to five authorities:

1. FSSP.
2. Roskomnadzor.
3. NAPCA Association.
4. Law enforcement agencies.
5. Judicial system.

You can turn to Rospotrebnadzor for help, but only if bank employees violate consumer rights. If this is done by collection agencies (CA), the number will not work, since the debtors are not consumers of services and commodity-contractual relations.

According to Rosstat, over the past two years the number of people unable to cope with the financial burden has sharply increased. Moreover, these are not necessarily clients of credit institutions.

We are talking about debt obligations in all areas of the economy:

• loans;
• taxes/fines;
• Housing and communal services
• receipts.

Why did it happen? There are many reasons - Western sanctions with all the ensuing consequences, tightening of the tax system and complete control by the state, unemployment.

Most creditors (including government agencies) resort to a collection system and cannot do without serious monitoring. Therefore, deputies approved a law that controls collection, and also gave citizens the opportunity to punish collectors for the chaos that they have committed over the past ten years.

True, debtors still do not understand how to influence collection and continue to endure endless calls and visits from collectors.

According to the business Internet portal TAdviser, over the past 5 years the lending rate for Russians has been the highest. The total number of loans in 2021 increased by 12%, loans by 37%. At the same time, the number of debtors who do not repay the loan or are in arrears increased by 5.6%.

The average debt of a borrower, according to TAdviser, is 199 thousand rubles. Typically, to collect this amount, credit institutions resort to the help of collection agencies.

The bank either enters into an agency agreement for intermediary services, paying interest when repaying the debt, or sells a monetary obligation (assigns the right, Article 382 of the Civil Code). The consent of the defaulter is not required when making a transaction. He finds out about this from a written notice or demand for payment sent by the new creditor.

Many debtors experience negative feelings when receiving letters. Still would! It’s one thing to talk to a polite, albeit very persistent, bank employee, and another thing to talk to a debt collector. Dark stories about the methods of work of financial bouncers come to mind.

Schedule for raising funds by credit institutions (deposits, loans)

Regulation of collection activities - Federal Law No. 230

The Central Bank prohibits credit institutions from holding on their balance sheet an amount exceeding the limit of loans from third-party lenders. Banks borrow funds at a small interest rate and resell them to the end consumer (borrowers). Any unpaid debt under a loan agreement reduces the amount that the bank can re-borrow. It turns out that contracts need to be written off in order to get new money and sell to clients.

You can write it off in two ways:

1. Take the debtor to court and transfer the case to the bailiffs. The proceeds from the sale of the seized property will go to the balance sheet of the bank, which will put it back into circulation.
2. Sell ​​the debt to collectors, thereby getting rid of the contract. Debts are sold in portfolios for a small percentage, freeing up space for new loans.

It turns out that collectors are an integral part of the economy. Without them, lending becomes impossible in principle. Do the contracts have to go somewhere? Litigation over state fees is unprofitable and leads to large expenses. There are many debts not exceeding 500-1000 rubles, and the duty makes litigation pointless.

Going to court

This is the fifth - extreme measure of influence. In this case, the document acquires the status of a statement of claim. The injured party may refer to Art. 151 Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Used in cases of insults and humiliation. You can obtain compensation for moral damages. The court will consider the application received and a decision will be made taking into account the evidence presented.

Ways to file a complaint in court

The claim is sent to the inspection authorities in one of the available ways:

How does Federal Law No. 230 protect debtors?

It is no secret that collectors conduct business with an eye on the 90s and people working in the system are stuck there for a long time.

But everything has changed, now it won’t be possible to work this way (by intimidating and threatening). Agencies, banks and employees bear not only civil, but also criminal liability for their actions.

For example, the law clearly states fines for violations of its provisions. Collection actions will be controlled by Art. 14.57 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:

1. Organizations not included in the register - 200 thousand.
2. Spacecraft registered in the register - from 50 to 500 thousand.
3. Illegal activities of a CA - 2 million rubles + 1 million is imposed on the manager.

Also, responsible persons who committed unlawful actions by agencies may be disqualified from office for a year, and the activities of organizations suspended for 90 days.

Important! Agencies that are not registered, as well as persons engaged in illegal collection, are advised to refrain from communicating with debtors. This will be cheaper than paying 200-500 thousand for each complaint.

Debtors and borrowers are required to know and understand their rights. As soon as judicial practice on punishing CAs is normalized, organizations will solve problems in the legal field.

Main provisions of the law:

• calls no more than twice a week;
• meetings with the debtor no more than once a week;
• the debtor has the right to revoke consent to transfer the debt to third parties;
• the collector has no right to exert mental and physical pressure;
• The collector must not have a criminal record.

How to write a complaint

Writing a complaint requires compliance with some of the requirements for writing official correspondence. Both handwritten and typed complaints are accepted. It is important that its contents make it clear:

• to whom is it addressed;
• who is the complainant;
• where he lives and how to contact him;
• who is the defendant in the complaint;
• where is;
• what are the facts of the offense on the part of the collectors (from the applicant’s point of view);
• what the applicant is asking for;
• confirmation of the identity of the complainant - personal signature;
• indication of the date the complaint was written.

Some information may be unknown to the applicant. For example, the last name or first name of the agency head, the last name or first name of the collector who committed the violation, their contact information (telephone numbers). This is not difficult to establish, so they can be ignored in the complaint.

Care should be taken to describe the nature of the violation. The description will allow you to qualify its severity. Each statement addressed to agency employees should be supported by evidence:

• references to witnesses;
• recordings of conversations on a voice recorder;
• video recordings;
• printouts of phone calls or SMS received from a telecom operator;
• a description of the damage that must be confirmed by appraisers or recorded by police officers;
• if physical harm to health is caused, attach the results of an examination by a doctor (bruises, abrasions).

Illegal activities of collection agencies

Penalties for “black” collectors are much higher. Individuals for illegal collection activities face a penalty of 50 to 500 thousand rubles. Legal individuals will have to pay from 200 thousand to 2 million rubles, and the manager from 100 thousand to 1 million (Article 14.57, paragraph 4 of the Administrative Code).

In addition, the claimant can be brought to criminal liability for extortion (Article 163 of the Criminal Code). If the debtor has received threats of physical assault. 119 of the Criminal Code, a “black” collector faces imprisonment or forced labor.

Results from filing a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor

Considering the specifics of the supervisory powers of Rospotrebnadzor, not all unlawful actions of debt collectors can be appealed to this body. It should be remembered that the scope of activity of this body, defined in the Regulations approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 428, is supervision of compliance with consumer rights.

Banks partially fall into this category of violators and are subject to the law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights.” Different rules of law apply to them. However, this does not deprive debtors of the right to appeal against unlawful actions of banks and collectors regarding the disclosure of personal data.

If such a violation is established, the perpetrator may face liability:

• disciplinary;
• civil law;
• administrative;
• criminal

All types of liability, sanctions and fines are contained in the summary table at the link provided.

Who are collectors

Collection agencies are commercial organizations engaged in collecting overdue debts, acting as an intermediary between the borrower and the lender.

Today there are a large number of companies in the country engaged in similar activities. But not everyone can contact debtors. According to the law, only CAs listed in the State Register have the right to work with a defaulter. The list is publicly available on the official website of the FSSP.

Collectors are required to perform work in accordance with current legislation. Exceeding authority entails administrative or criminal penalties.

In the collection services market, not all firms play by the rules established by law. And now we come across so-called black tax collectors.

They work unofficially and use methods that grossly violate the law:

• threaten the life and health of the debtor;
• damage property;
• they tarnish their reputation.

Thanks to such actions, the population has developed a negative attitude towards professional debt collectors.

Where can I go?

In any case, first you should try to resolve the issue with the employees of the claimant’s company. Or write a statement addressed to the director so that he can understand the situation.

The pre-trial method of conflict resolution is considered priority. If a citizen was unable to reach an agreement with the management of the debt office, then there are several other authorities where he can turn to protect his rights.

A citizen can also contact the financial ombudsman - this is a representative of the public who is ready to resolve the issue peacefully between the parties to the conflict in the event of unlawful actions by debt collectors.

The person himself chooses which of the listed institutions to contact. This mainly depends on the violation committed.

The total period for sending a response to a complaint should not exceed 30 days. In special cases, the review may be extended, but not more than 30 days. In this case, the applicant must be notified of the change in deadlines.

What is allowed to collectors

Indeed, until recently, collectors, while performing work, misled the borrower, threatening criminal punishment (Article 177 of the Criminal Code), and exerting pressure. But since January 2021, such methods are prohibited by law.

Limited communication

Art. 7 Federal Law-230 regulates the time and frequency of telephone calls and personal meetings. The agency representative has the right to disturb the debtor with calls no more than twice a day and only twice a week.

Time from 08.00 - 22.00, on holidays from 09.00 - 20.00. The collector is required to make audio recordings of conversations with the debtor.

The collection officer has the right to meet with the defaulter only once a week. And 4 months after demands for debt payment arise, the debtor may completely refuse personal communication (Article 8, Clause 6 of the Federal Law).

Responsibilities of the claimant:

• introduce yourself, give your full name;
• name the organization he represents;
• declare the amount of debt;
• leave contact information;
• indicate your current account.

Communication with third parties with the consent of the borrower

According to Art. 4 clause 5 of Federal Law-230, the collector has no right to interact with relatives, colleagues, neighbors of the debtor, call and ask questions. To do this, you must obtain the consent of the interlocutor and written permission from the borrower (which can be revoked at any time).

Letters

An agency employee has the right to send letters to the debtor. The contents of the message are clearly regulated by Art. 7 clause 7 FZ-230:

• debt information;
• information about the documents on the basis of which the claimant makes demands;
• details of the account to which the money should be sent;
• contact details of the organization.

What should be included in a police report?

The police report and accompanying documents must be submitted in accordance with certain rules:

1. The document is drawn up on an A4 sheet. 2. The text of the application can be in printed or handwritten form. 3. The appeal must be correctly formatted lexically and divided into paragraphs. 4. The header or introduction of the document is placed in the upper right corner. Next, the name is written in the center. 5. After the introduction, the essence of the problem is stated, which describes in detail the unauthorized actions of collectors. 6. At the conclusion of the application, proposals, demands or requests are written, dated and signed. 7. You should not make corrections or blots in the text of the application. 8. You should avoid grammatical and stylistic errors.

IMPORTANT.

All information specified in the complaint-application must be reliable.

A statement to the police is written in the case when the collectors carried out illegal actions, for example, threats of arson, car theft, bodily harm, etc. Calls to the borrower's work place, his friends and relatives, especially elderly people, disabled people and pregnant women are also considered illegal.

REFERENCE.

Even with frequent visits from debt collectors, you can write a complaint against them, since visits made more than once a week are considered frequent.

After writing a statement, a criminal case may be opened under one or more articles, in the following areas: “fraud”, “hooliganism” and “extortion”.

The application is written according to the following scheme:

1. It indicates the full name of the head of the authority in whose name the application is written. 2. Full names of organs. 3. The applicant indicates his initials. 4. The applicant indicates his place of residence and contact information. 5. It is worth indicating the name of the document; it could be a complaint, statement or appeal. It is worth considering that the appeal takes longer to consider than the complaint. 6. Circumstances or actions on the part of collectors that, in the opinion of the citizen, are illegal are outlined. 7. It is advisable to indicate the date and time of the violation of the citizen’s rights, with the full names of the participants. 8. It also indicates what actions were taken by the collection agency and the bank, and how the debtor tried to solve this problem on his own. 9. Indicate the full names of witnesses to the conflict or incident. 10. If you have legal knowledge, then provide links to the articles under which the borrower’s rights were violated. 11. Attached is also a list of materials, documents and other applications proving the guilt of the collectors.

ATTENTION.

Present all data in detail and in detail, this will be extremely important when opening a criminal case. If there are video and audio recordings, correspondence and other evidence confirming unlawful actions of collection agency employees, they must be attached to the complaint application.

Which companies are included in the FSSP register

In order for an agency to be included in the register, it must comply with the requirements of Art. 13 FZ-230:

• the constituent documents of the main OKVED of the company indicate - collection of overdue debt;
• authorized capital from 10 million rubles;
• It is mandatory to have annual insurance in the amount of 10 million rubles (a guarantee of compensation for possible damage to the debtor);
• An organization must have licensed software and a website.

How to revoke personal data

If you are tormented by calls from collectors or bank employees, there is no need to rush to write a statement to Rospotrebnadzor, the prosecutor's office, Roskomnadzor, the Central Bank or NAPKA. First of all, contact the bank where you received the loan with a request to withdraw your personal data. This action will first of all let bank employees know that you will not allow your rights to be violated with impunity. Also, this appeal will be an additional plus in your favor if the matter comes to trial. You can write such a statement correctly using a sample.

When sending such a request, be on the safe side. Send it both to the legal address of the lender and to the branch where the loan was directly issued. If collectors participate in this action, another copy must be sent to them. The best way is the postal service. Just don't rely on a regular letter. Order the post office employees to send documents with a description of the attachment and notification of receipt of the letter by the addressee. Your post office will tell you how to do this correctly and what papers you need to fill out. There is one caveat: the registration address must be the same as when applying for a loan. If your registration changed during this time, you should have notified the bank about it. Otherwise, violations of the agreement will only benefit your tormentors. Provided that the registration address is the same, but the actual residence is in a different place, you must indicate this information in the “address for receiving correspondence” section.

How to protect yourself from debt collectors

You can protect yourself from psychological or physical pressure by filing a complaint with law enforcement agencies. It is advisable to make an audio or video recording of the communication as evidence of illegal actions, and obtain testimony from witnesses.

Police officers will take the necessary measures and bring the offender to justice.

Important! The time of “black” collectors is running out. The state is developing a law prohibiting credit institutions from dealing with companies not included in the State Register.

What to do if you didn't take out a loan?

You may face claims from collectors, even if you have already repaid the debt, or have never been late at all. This may be due to the following reasons:

• if errors were made when drawing up the assignment agreement or executive documents (for example, if information about the namesake was incorrectly indicated in the writ of execution);
• if the bank sold the repaid debt to collectors;
• if the collection organization initially collects a non-existent debt.

If you are not a debtor, any actions taken by debt collectors against you are a violation of the law. Immediately contact the police or the FSSP and describe in detail all illegal actions. If a mistake was made by banks or courts, it is necessary to submit a request to eliminate it. Our lawyers will provide you with the necessary assistance in these matters.

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Where to complain about debt collectors

Complaint to the FSSP

Complaints against debt collectors to the FSSP are now a priority. The fact is that bailiffs were made the supervisory body for working with collection agencies.

First, it is checked whether the agency is on the register. This can be done on the FSSP website. If the legal organization is registered, then a complaint is filed to verify its activities.

How to file a complaint:

1. Evidence of offenses is collected, for example, call printouts from which it is clear that agency phones called more than twice.
2. Call the bailiff hotline at the numbers listed on the website.
3. Select the region where the agency is registered and contact the local FSSP office.
4. The bailiffs website allows citizens to file complaints electronically. To do this, you need to go to the “Appeals” section.

Important! Citizens' claims are registered within three days, and verification actions are carried out within 30 calendar days.

The problem is described in any form and the necessary documents are attached.

Complaint to Roskomnadzor

We complain about collectors for calling Roskomnadzor. It is necessary to understand that this body does not consider the dialogue with penalties, but checks the fact and number of calls. For example, if they call a hundred times a day, you can stop this by writing a complaint electronically.

You can also restrict the subscriber to incoming calls and take a printout.

Important! It is necessary to use such an appeal only to demonstrate intentions. At the moment it is of little use, but in the future any confirmation of violations may be beneficial. For example, during a trial.

Complaint to NAPCA

You can file a complaint on the official NAPCA website. If the agency is on their registry, don't be shy about flooding the association with emails.

Most likely, such an appeal will be of a preventive nature for further actions. But we still recommend writing such an appeal.

Application to the prosecutor's office or police

A statement to the prosecutor's office or the police is written in case of physical and psychological pressure from collectors. The sample will be provided at any branch or electronically on the UK website.

Law enforcement agencies are required to look for evidence of agency guilt on their own, but if you attach a recording of the negotiations, this will significantly speed up the process.

Important! KA will reject any attempts to prove guilt in violating the law and shift the blame to employees. We advise you to write a statement not about the specific person who made the threat, but about the agency as a whole and its management.

Lawsuit

Any citizen or legal entity has the right to go to court in case of violation of their rights and interests (Article 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Violation of Federal Law 230 is a direct violation of rights, which serves as a basis for a claim. We advise you to find a qualified lawyer to defend your interests.

Important! In any subject of the Russian Federation there are colleges of lawyers that are obliged to provide a lawyer absolutely free of charge.

You can also always consult on our website by asking a question in the comments or by contacting the specialist on duty in the form of a pop-up window.

Comments: 74

Your comment (question) If you have questions about this article, you can tell us. Our team consists of only experienced experts and specialists with specialized education. We will try to help you in this topic:

Author of the article Irina Rusanova

Consultant, author Popovich Anna

Financial author Olga Pikhotskaya

1. Anna
   09.27.2021 at 21:55 Hello, my loan is overdue, they are calling me at work! They call every day, write that it negatively affects the current situation, how to get rid of it!?
   Reply ↓ Anna Popovich
   09/29/2021 at 02:23

   Dear Anna, you can familiarize yourself with the rights of collectors at this link and if your interests are violated, then complain about their actions to the FSSP.

   Reply ↓

Bottom line

Federal Law 230 gave debtors the opportunity to complain against debt collectors, knowing that the law would help. Of course, such a system is still poorly debugged, but within a year it should show its effectiveness.

Try to complain comprehensively: NAPKA, the prosecutor's office, bailiffs, courts, Roskomnadzor, etc. The more complaints you receive, the higher the chances of pressing the collectors.

1. Today, debt collectors are not financial bouncers who use harsh methods of psychological or physical influence. Their activities are carried out strictly within the framework of the law (Federal Law 230).
2. Violation of the Code is punishable by large fines or suspension of activities. If the organization is repeatedly held accountable, it is excluded from the register.
3. Only organizations included in the State Register of the FSSP can demand repayment of overdue debts.
4. Organizations not listed in the register are deprived of the right to demand payment of debt. As a rule, they use illegal methods of influence in their work. In this case, the debtor should contact law enforcement agencies.
5. You shouldn't be afraid of dialogue. The debtor will be able to defend his rights if they are violated by the collection.

What actions of debt collectors are considered illegal?

The concept of illegality stems from the rule that guides lawyers when interpreting the legality of a particular offense: it is permissible to do everything that is not prohibited by law. Following this rule, it is not difficult to establish which actions of collectors are lawful, and which a borrower whose rights have been infringed can safely complain to regulatory authorities. This can be determined by clause 1 of Art. 4 of Law No. 230-FZ, which lists the rights of collectors. There are few of them:

• make calls;
• meet with the debtor in person;
• send SMS or voice notifications;
• send postal correspondence.

Complain to the Central Bank

So, you have decided to deal with the violators of your peace on your own, without turning to experienced lawyers for representation. You can try to write a complaint against the bank to the Central Bank. Here you can only get protection from unlawful actions of bank employees. Threats, insults and similar actions on the part of lenders are a problem for the prosecutor’s office and Rospotrebnadzor. This means that in your application you must describe only those actions of the bank that violate the laws governing its work.

There are two main options for violating your rights. The bank sold the debt into the hands of collectors, but its right was not properly stated in the agreement. Either the actions of the bank or collectors violate the law on non-disclosure of personal data.

For example, debt collectors came to your work and voiced their demands (and not always legitimate ones) in front of your colleagues. Or they conveyed the demand for repayment of the debt through their neighbors. Or they called on the phone, and one of the relatives or even strangers answered the phone, and announced the amount of debt. These calls are illegal. At the same time, the norms of legislation on the activities of banks, and to be more precise, on bank secrecy are violated.

If you want to write a complaint specifically about this, then you really need to contact the Central Bank. The actions of the Central Bank in this case may be ambiguous. The maximum that can be achieved is an order from the Central Bank to the violators to correct themselves as soon as possible. The minimum is complete ignorance of your application or meaningless replies. And there is no guarantee that the calls will stop. The only thing you will most likely achieve is a reduction in aggression on the part of the creditor and collectors, since understanding your legal literacy will slightly reduce their ardor.