FSPP has significantly increased the number of preventive measures against professional participants in the foreclosure market

This year, the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) has significantly increased the number of preventive measures against professional participants in the foreclosure market. Preventive work is more effective from a regulatory point of view, market participants admit. At the same time, the industry is preparing for an increase in complaints from debtors, since both collectors and citizens need to get used to the updated operating standards.

Over the seven months of 2023, the FSSP carried out 1.37 thousand preventive measures with participants in the professional collection market – twice as many as in the whole of 2022, when 673 events were carried out. Most of them were related to warnings about the inadmissibility of violating mandatory requirements (857 pieces). Deputy Director of the FSSP Igor Savenko stated this on September 21 at the “Leaders of Digital Development” forum.

The number of preventive measures taken by the regulator is growing against the backdrop of an increase in the number of complaints received by it. Thus, at the end of the first half of the year, bailiffs recognized 15% of 31 thousand appeals as justified, and market participants predict a further increase in the indicator (see “Kommersant” dated July 27).

The specialized association NAPKA emphasizes that the vast majority of violations relate to creditors (and persons representing their interests), and not to professional collection agencies.

In particular, according to the SRO, the increase in such violations was twofold. As noted by Alla Khrapunova, an expert of the ONF project “For the Rights of Borrowers,” the majority of violators are microfinance organizations.

However, NAPCA recognizes the need for prevention carried out by the FSSP. The regulator monitors current market practices and explains how they can and cannot act, which helps businesses correct actions in advance, before a violation is committed and fines are imposed.

“If previously there were a huge number of checks that slowed down the company’s work and increased the administrative burden, now the work has begun to be carried out preventively,” notes a Kommersant interlocutor in one of the collection agencies. Moreover, the FSSP is testing the format for carrying out preventive measures in electronic format, through a special system, he says.

Lawyers believe that the number of preventive measures by the FSSP will increase.

This is due to the latest adjustments regarding collection activities. In particular, the concept of “completed direct interaction” was introduced into the legislation. It can take place through meetings, telephone or robot and is considered to have taken place only if it was possible to convey to the debtor all the information specified by law. It is also determined that several interrelated messages received by a debtor are a single message, and the exchange of messages with a debtor during the day is considered one interaction (see “Kommersant” dated July 25).

“Any tightening of the law, rules and permissible framework complicates activities and may lead to more hypothetical violations and, accordingly, complaints about these violations,” explains Pavel Gerasimov, general director of the Padva and Epshtein legal bureau. Therefore, the activity of inspections, both preventive and actual, may increase, he believes.

The activity of debtors filing complaints with the FSSP will also increase, adds Yuri Fedyukin, managing partner of the law firm Enterprise Legal Solutions.

And it cannot be ruled out that on their part there may be abuse of the right or at least a misunderstanding of it – not all appeals are justified, the lawyer notes.

At the same time, experts admit that a large number of checks and preventive measures is not a panacea. As Alla Khrapunova emphasizes, it is necessary to take into account the result in the form of violations identified, measures taken to eliminate them, the repetition of complaints received from people, and the cooperation of supervised subjects.

Polina Trifonova