How often can debt collectors call? How many times a day do debt collectors have the right to call by law? Important! If you yourself are sorting out your own case related to calls from collectors, then you should remember that

Debt collectors often acted outside the legal framework. Debtors had to deal with rudeness, threats and damage to property.

In 2016, the question of whether debt collectors were legal was closed. Government officials set boundaries for them. Federal Law 230 was adopted, which spelled out point by point the methods by which agencies can collect debts.

Interaction with defaulters was limited to calls within a specified period of time, correspondence and personal meetings (with some reservations).

In 2018, creditors are not allowed to call from hidden numbers or write SMS. The debtor now has the opportunity to refuse overly intrusive debt collectors.

Rights of collectors under the new law

After the bill was passed, debt collection agencies had to cut back on their appetites. Previously, they could call and write to debtors (as well as their relatives) whenever they wanted. The rights of collectors under the new law are limited.

Officially, companies are allowed to take actions to collect debts from citizens of the Russian Federation. However, the methods used must not contradict existing legislation.

That is, any threats are prohibited, and even more so, damage to property (this also applies to offensive inscriptions, which collectors often use as a way to influence non-payers).

Agencies cannot contact a bank client who is behind on payments if the loan agreement does not contain a corresponding clause allowing the involvement of third parties. In addition, the financial institution is obliged to notify the debtor that his debt has been transferred to a collection company.

When communicating with a defaulter, a company employee must provide his personal information and name the organization he represents. If a debt collector attempts to contact you during a no-call period, you can file a complaint against them.

How many times can collectors call by law?

The new law on collectors established the main rule that people who encountered their activities had been waiting for. Now debt collectors have no right to call at night.

On weekdays, telephone call times begin at 8 a.m. and end at 10 p.m. On weekends and holidays, calls are allowed from 9.00 to 20.00.

The law does not limit the number of calls, but you can use a legal loophole. If you receive calls more than 20 times a day, this is considered an invasion of privacy and you have the right to take legal action. Also, employees of organizations are prohibited from calling relatives or friends of the debtor.

In addition, the number of personal meetings has been legally limited. The collector has the right to meet with the defaulter no more than once a day, 2 times a week and 8 times a month.

When and who can collectors call under the new law.

Do debt collectors sue?

Many people are concerned about whether debt collectors can sue if they do not get their money back. This argument is often used as a way to influence debtors.

Indeed, the company can appeal to a higher authority, but a person does not face a prison sentence for non-payment of a loan. The only decision that the court can make is to oblige the defaulter to repay the loan amount (for example, through monthly deductions).

Companies that have not been accredited and have not entered into an official agreement with the bank cannot apply to the highest authority.

If an appeal to the court occurs, the debtor will answer to the bank, and not to the collectors. Accordingly, there can be no talk of any repayment of exorbitant interest rates (which debt collectors often try to impose). They can only assign payment of penalties in accordance with the loan agreement.

You cannot sue if the statute of limitations on the loan document has expired (3 years).

Debtors' rights under the new law

Remember that collectors can call or write to you only within 4 months from the date the loan is in arrears.

After this period, you have the right to refuse to communicate with employees of collection organizations.

To do this, you need to write a written application and send it to the bank to which you owe money. The document must include the details of a lawyer authorized to communicate with debt collectors.

If an employee of a company violates the established rules (fails to introduce himself, makes threats, or calls at night), you can file a complaint against him. However, before going to court, it is worth stocking up on evidence of violation of the law.

What to do if collectors call

If you are not in the mood to communicate with creditors, you can simply not pick up the phone. There is no criminal or administrative liability for this.

You can also write to the bank that your phone is blocked and communication is only possible by email.

Another way is to blacklist collector numbers or change your phone number. However, in the latter case, you need to issue a new SIM card for another person.

Collectors are prohibited from calling certain categories of persons:

• pregnant women and women who have a child under one and a half years old;
• people who are undergoing treatment in medical institutions;
• disabled people of group 1.

If you don't mind communicating with creditors, speak politely and without insults. Harsh statements can be used against you if the case goes to court.

What to do if debt collectors threaten you in 2018

If your life, health or property is threatened, you need to collect evidence to go to court.

If threats come over the phone or in a personal conversation, use a voice recorder. The recording is subsequently provided to the police along with a statement about the threats received.

If they are trying to intimidate you via SMS, save the messages in your phone memory. In the future, they will also be used in court as evidence. You can simply ignore the threats if you do not plan to start a lawsuit.

List of prohibitions for collectors.

Where to complain if debt collectors call about someone else's loan

The biggest inconvenience is calls about other people's loans. This usually happens in several cases:

• your number was indicated by the person who took out the loan;
• the number previously belonged to the debtor;
• you are the guarantor for the loan.

The official text of the law prohibits collection agencies from contacting people who are not debtors. Therefore, you have the right to appeal to higher authorities. However, this process is long and you can go another way.

First, you should find out from the employee who called who the loan agreement was issued for and how your number is known.

If you are a guarantor or someone you know has provided your phone number, contact this person to clarify the circumstances.

In any case, you have nothing to do with repaying the loan, so you can simply refuse to communicate with debt collectors. If you receive threats, make a voice recorder and contact the police.

If you do not know the defaulter, you should contact the bank for a statement of no debt. The document is provided to the collection company explaining the situation. After this, the calls should stop.

How can a debtor sue debt collectors?

If you are being harassed by debt collectors, and even threatened, you should go to court. First, collect evidence of violations (audio, video recordings), which you will provide to law enforcement agencies. Initially, you should contact the police or prosecutor's office with a description of the conflict situation.

If you continue to be harassed, take legal action. Before doing this, conduct an independent examination of the loan agreement and send a complaint to the Central Bank. You can submit an application to the court in person, or you can entrust this to your legal representative.

After the law came into effect, there were fewer conflict situations. However, unaccredited organizations that violate all legal norms continue to operate. Government officials plan to toughen penalties for this category of agencies.

Since the beginning of this year, a law regulating the rights of collectors has been adopted. Particular attention is paid to the legal component of the activities of such organizations, and a list of actions that they cannot perform has been introduced. In particular, many borrowers are interested in the question, how many times can collectors call? Let's take a closer look at it.

The meaning of Federal Law 230 on collectors

In our country, organizations whose main activity was collecting debts from borrowers appeared quite a long time ago. They have been operating for about 15 years, but all this time their work has not been regulated in any way.

Taking advantage of the lack of legislation in this area, debt collectors often acted too brazenly, without fear of punishment. They were rude, rude, threatened, damaged property, and sometimes even went so far as to cause serious injuries to the debtor or members of his family.

This could not continue for long, and in 2016, the lawlessness of the collectors was partially limited. Federal Law 230 was adopted, which clearly indicated the methods by which collectors could claim debt obligations.

Communication with defaulters has become strictly limited. This:

• personal meetings (if certain circumstances occur);
• correspondence via SMS or other means;
• telephone calls within the allotted time period.

This year, amendments were made to the law, according to which the debtor could not be disturbed from numbers that were not identified. Thus, excessive intrusiveness of collectors has become illegal.

What can't debt collectors do in 2018?

Collection agencies, of course, have every right to collect debt obligations from citizens of our country, but now collection methods must be in accordance with the legislation of 2018.

• It is worth noting that not so long ago debtors had to change SIM cards. This was due to the fact that collectors called them an unlimited number of times a day. According to the new law, this cannot be done.
• Threats and damage to property are now prohibited. This also includes offensive inscriptions at the entrance and in the courtyard of the house.
• In addition, it is important to know that agencies do not have any right to contact the debtor at all if he has carefully read the terms of the agreement and has not checked the box that allows the involvement of third parties.
• If this checkbox is still checked, the bank where the loan was taken is obliged to notify the borrower that the debt has been transferred to collectors.
• When communicating with a defaulter, the collector must first introduce himself and name the company on whose behalf he is acting.

Note!

When a debt collector calls, writes SMS, or comes to a meeting at hours not established by law, you can complain about him to a judicial institution.

How long can you call debt collectors?

According to new legislation, a rule appeared in 2018 prohibiting debt collectors from demanding a refund at night.

• On weekdays, the collector can call from 8 to 22.
• On weekends - from 9 to 20.

Unfortunately, the old law did not limit the number of calls per day. But due to its imperfections, there were other loopholes. For example, if the number of calls per day exceeded 20 times, this could be regarded as an invasion of privacy. A statement of claim has already been filed with a court regarding this.

At the moment, the number of calls has been limited. A collection agency representative can contact the borrower by telephone no more than once a day, 2 times a week, 8 times a month.

In addition, agency employees should not call the borrower’s relatives if their contacts are not specified in the loan agreement.

Note!

The law also does not contain any information regarding the very concept of “call”. Will it be counted when the parties communicate with each other or the borrower can simply drop calls or not pick up the phone.

What is prohibited?

The law establishes a ban not only on phone calls, SMS, etc., but also on other actions. Forbidden:

• seize or damage the debtor's property;
• humiliate the borrower;
• have a psychological impact;
• cause harm to health;
• threaten verbally or with weapons;
• communicate with relatives of the defaulter.

Who can't collectors call?

Typically, debt collectors will do everything in their power to get the money back. After all, their earnings directly depend on this. If they cannot find the debtor, they call his relatives. Federal Law 230 defines at the legislative level a list of people with whom they are prohibited from communicating in any circumstances. You can't call:

• pregnant women;
• persons undergoing treatment in a hospital;
• families with a child under 1.5 years of age.

Any calls to people over 70 years of age are prohibited, and punishment will follow, even if the telephone conversation is of an informative nature.

In addition, you cannot send SMS or talk to people who have group I disability.

Can debt collectors call an employer?

Many debt collectors call the borrower's work place. Previously, it got to the point that they threatened the debtor’s management with unscheduled inspections. This was done with one purpose, so that the employer would “put pressure” on the debtor and persuade him to communicate with collectors. Now such actions are illegal. They can be regarded as blackmail and hooliganism, which is criminally punishable.

In fact, debt collectors have every right to make calls to an employer only in strictly limited situations. The law allows telephone communication with the debtor’s employer when:

• it is necessary to clarify information regarding whether the borrower is currently working there;
• you need to find out whether the debtor provided the correct information about the length of service and position;
• the collector wants to convey, with the help of the employer, a request to contact him. However, they do not have the right to indicate the amount of debt or disclose other information. Typically, this method of communication is used when collection agencies cannot establish the location of the debtor or contact him in another way.

A call made in compliance with all these conditions is considered completely legal.

Is it possible not to talk to debt collectors?

• If you don’t want to, you don’t have to talk to them at all. Change the SIM card, or do not answer calls from unfamiliar numbers (if possible).
• Submit an application to withdraw personal information. Send it by mail with notification. Usually collectors ignore it, but it will definitely come in handy in court.
• After 120 days have passed, a refusal to communicate must be sent in writing. It can also be in the form of a notification letter.

How to punish debt collectors

Unfortunately, not all collection agencies act legally. It is better to familiarize yourself in advance with what to do if debt collectors have exceeded the permissible number of calls.

• First, you need to take a printout of calls from your telecom operator. Perhaps it will even be a video recording made during the day, or testimony.
• The collected evidence is then provided to law enforcement agencies. To begin with, it is better to outline your situation to the police or prosecutor's office.
• If these authorities have not taken any effective measures, feel free to file a claim in court. You can do this yourself or act with the help of a trusted person who understands all the nuances of the matter.

Conclusion

After the introduction of the law restricting the activities of collection agencies, the number of controversial situations has noticeably decreased. However, there remains an insignificant number of organizations that do not take into account the legislation and act at their own discretion. In the near future they want to pass a law establishing punishment at the state level for this category of companies.

The new law on collectors and collection activities, which has been in force since January 1, 2017, has sharply limited collectors in the methods of their work. After several high-profile cases of outright gangster and criminal actions by debt collectors, the legislator finally decided to restore some order. How many times a day can collectors call by law in 2017, is there a limit on the number of calls during a week or month, how to talk to collectors by phone.

Under the new law, debt collectors can call you by phone no more than twice a week and eight times a month. At the same time, the collector cannot use two authorized calls per week in one day - only one of his telephone calls is allowed during the day, all others will be illegal, and the actions of the collector can be appealed.

In addition to the restriction on how many times a day collectors can call according to the law in 2017, a limit has been imposed on the number of SMS messages to your mobile phone, and this number is twice as large: no more than 16 SMS per month, four SMS per month. within a week and two SMS per day.

Please note that the restriction is not imposed on calls or SMS in relation to a specific debtor, it applies to a specific debt. Therefore, if collectors are working on three of your cases regarding debts on three loans, they have the right to call you three times in a row during the day and ask how you intend to solve each of your problems.

When talking to collectors by phone, remember that under no circumstances should you share any of your personal data and generally should not say too much - the collector can cunningly lure out of you the data he needs, which he does not have, or use your nervous behavior against you. In turn, you have the legal right to inquire about the name of the collection agency and the name of the employee - at a minimum, to verify that you are dealing with a person who generally has the right to engage in such activities. If the collector does not introduce himself, feel free to hang up.

Don't forget one important point. The weak point of debt collectors is suing your debt. It is extremely unprofitable for them, because in addition to the fact that from the moment the claim is filed against you, interest on the debt will no longer accrue, the court may even decide that you should be completely freed from interest and must pay only the principal amount of the loan. In addition, after the trial you will no longer have to communicate with collectors, but with bailiffs, which, of course, is also not the most pleasant thing, but in comparison with collectors, bailiffs are quite civilized people who work only according to the law.

We all face different problems throughout our lives. One of them is the inability for some reason to repay the loan received. Factors contributing to this can be different: dismissal from work, a reduction in salary or its delay, the illness of relatives, which primarily consumes all family funds, and many others.

The banks that issued the loan, at the first delay, begin to worry you, your relatives, and sometimes just people you know. At this moment, you experience all the “delights” of communicating with bank employees, who, of course, are not interested in your problems. Then the collectors get down to business. , who bother you almost hourly with calls or messages.

All this psychologically affects the borrower, and this is their main goal. And this method is very simple and cheap. After several days and nights of such disturbing calls, a natural question arises: are there any restrictions on the activities of collectors, and how often can they make calls?

Work regulations for collectors

Current legislation clearly regulates the work of organizations that have the right to demand debt repayment. It cannot prohibit calls to borrowers, since collection agencies, like banks, are recipients of debt. The rights and obligations of all parties to the loan agreement are clearly stated in the federal law on consumer lending, which clearly states that employees of collection organizations, along with banks, can remind the debtor about the debt through personal negotiations or calls.

The time for these actions is clearly regulated: from 06:00 morning until 22:00 pm. After this time, meetings and calls are strictly prohibited. There are no other restrictions. But very soon a bill will be introduced and considered that would significantly limit the number of disturbing calls, as well as prohibit putting any pressure on debtors and their close people.

There are plans to draw up a clear algorithm of actions, which will even include the intonation of voice when communicating with the borrower. The debtor must thoroughly know your rights. It is worth knowing that the collector only has the right to remind you about the delay and debt, but nothing more. There is no specific number of calls. If during communication with you there were insults or threats, or the calls become more intrusive and at prohibited times, then you have the following rights:

• Submit an application to the prosecutor's office demanding to find out whether calls before eight in the morning are legal;
• You have the right to demand from the management of the borrowing bank that your family stop being disturbed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.;
• Write a statement with information that unknown persons are threatening you and extorting money;
• After warning the bank about such calls, you have the right not to answer subsequent calls;
• If the bank allows itself to make calls at night, then the client can request written confirmation from the bank about this fact. This document can turn possible lawsuits in your favor.

We save ourselves from calls from collectors

Many people are worried about the question: could there be any consequences if you don’t answer calls? You can calm down, this fact does not threaten you in any way. You can secure yourself by writing a letter to the bank, indicating that your phone is temporarily out of service and you can only communicate via email. It is important to indicate that you do not refuse to pay the debt and will begin to pay it off when the first opportunity arises.

“Credit extortionists” are prohibited from calling:

• pregnant women, as well as mothers with children under 1.5 years old;
• relatives of the debtor who are over 70 years old;
• persons treated in medical institutions;
• disabled people of group I.

Remember that the law has always been and will always be on the side of consumers. All that remains is to clearly use your rights and try not to get into unpleasant situations.

If the loan is overdue and when this delay is for a long period, the bank sells the debt to a collection agency.

The very work of such agencies is usually aimed at putting psychological pressure on the consciousness and convincing the debtor of serious consequences for not repaying. One of these methods is undoubtedly a direct call to the debtor; this method is the simplest and most effective, as it does not require any special costs.

The method includes calls to both home and mobile phone numbers; there are known cases of calls to the employer. According to the laws of the Russian Federation, it is impossible to prohibit calls, since, like a bank, a collection agency is the owner of the debt and reminds us of this. But here another question arises: how often and how many times a day can collectors call? It is worth noting that the laws of the Russian Federation, both the civil and criminal codes, do not provide for a single measure for this! This is what collectors use. Although it is worth noting that after the laws of the Russian Federation on collection activities were tightened, banks began to choose agencies more carefully. After all, it is worth noting that a bank, especially a large one, does not want to lose its reputation when faced with agencies that simply bombard the debtor with calls and other unpleasant little things. Because of this, in our time the number of calls has also decreased. Let us point out once again that you cannot ban calls - you are a debtor and the owner of the debt wants to get it back. But there are times when calls threaten you or your loved ones, in such cases you need to have a voice recorder with you and record these threats for transmission to law enforcement agencies. But as a rule, from practice this is a thing of the past. Collectors cannot call at night from 22.00-06.00. If you receive calls at night, record and file a complaint. But what if they call not only you but your family and friends?

Here, unfortunately, everything is similar, the same night intervals from 22.00-06.00. The laws of the Russian Federation do not stipulate that you cannot call relatives. The only thing you can do here is when the number of calls exceeds 20 per day, go to court, this is a civil suit. It is motivated by the invasion of privacy and violation of its peace in the form of constant calls for the benefit of third parties.

Try to provide as little unnecessary information to collectors as possible. Demand that the case be sent to court.

How to get rid of calls from collectors using your own methods?

Option 1 is to set up a blacklist on your mobile phone; when collectors call you, you simply add this number to the blacklist. The service is paid and costs around 50 rubles per month + 3-5 rubles per room. Not significant.

Option 2 is to change the number, but the number must be registered not to you but to an unauthorized person. In view of the new law on the sale of SIM cards by hand, this has significantly complicated the purchase of a number without a passport, but there are mobile companies that work on corporate numbers, you will only have a contract and the SIM card itself will belong to the cellular company. Let’s make a reservation right away that all collection agencies have access (illegal) to the databases of cellular operators. Registering a new SIM card for your passport means receiving calls again.

Option 3 is to install a special caller ID on your home phone, it will also block numbers at your request, but such a thing will cost much more, about 10,000 rubles.