Should debt collectors be fined for intrusive behavior?
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The Ministry of Justice proposes to introduce fines of up to 2 million rubles. for the intrusive behavior of collectors. The ministry has developed a bill according to which creditors will be held accountable for frequent messages or calls to creditors. The Izvestia newspaper reports this with reference to the document. The new regulation proposes to introduce fines of 50 thousand rubles. up to 500 thousand rubles. for individuals, from 100 thousand rubles. up to 1 million rubles or disqualification for up to one year for officials and up to 2 million rubles. – for legal entities. At the moment, communication between collectors and debtors is regulated without any punishment for violating the rules.
Administrative responsibility will make it possible to combat the intrusiveness of debt collectors, says Lenar Rakhmanov, managing partner of Lenar Wealth Management: “This is a big problem that is growing more and more. I remember high-profile cases in 2020-2021 when debt collectors broke into houses and used physical violence. Considering that this problem will continue to grow, I mean the number of overdue debts, the state introduced regulations last year regulating the work of debt collectors.
One of the important innovations was that they limited physical contact with the debtor. That is, the latter can indicate that he wants to move away from personal communication, and then he can be sent notifications on “State Services” or by mail. However, in 2023, the legislator did not have time to introduce punishment for violations by collectors, and now these gaps are being filled.
I believe that this will be an effective measure, because if there is a norm, but there is no punishment, then there is a high probability that no one will take it into account.
In addition, administrative fines, of course, can then accumulate both for the legal entity and for its general director. If we are talking about individuals, then all this can lead to the blocking of accounts, a ban on traveling abroad, and the bailiffs will start working. So I think this will be a great tool for regulating the market.”
But how can you prove that the collectors’ actions were intrusive? According to Elman Mehdiyev, chairman of the Central Bank’s expert council on protecting the rights of consumers of financial services, it is difficult to confirm this: “For example, I called you and said that since you do not pay, I am filing a lawsuit. Is this obsession? Threat? This is a serious statement, but it is a statement that I will do this because I have the right to do so.
The fact is that whether psychological pressure exists or not can only be determined by an examination.
In addition, it is worth considering the amount of the fine. If it is small or insignificant compared, for example, with the costs of the examination, the debtor will say: “To hell with it, I’ll agree and keep silent.”
Meanwhile, the National Association of Professional Collection Agencies stated that they support the initiative of the Ministry of Justice.
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