If you are interested in this topic, then most likely you have overdue your loan, and the same thing happened to you as with most debtors - the sale of debt. First of all, this means that when applying for a loan, trying to pick up the money as soon as possible, you did not consider it necessary to carefully study the contract.
If all of the above does not apply to you, then finding out who the collectors are and how the sale of debts by banks is going on will still be worthwhile. After all, if these gentlemen came to you or your acquaintances in the house, it will not be possible to return everything back. Therefore, to know how to act in such a situation will be very good.
Who are the collectors?
Many people, having heard this word, immediately imagine a kind of pumped up "brother", a hefty peasant with a baton, who extorted a debt from you. In fact, everything is far from so tragic. A similar way of knocking out money is a criminal offense. Very few people have been using it for a long time.
In fact, the employees of the collection company are people with an economic / legal education or have a psychology degree. Former security guards in such structures are quite rare.
The task of the collection agency staff is to repay the debt. They can call you, write letters, visit in person at home and at work and apply other legal methods. Selling debt to collectors does not give them the right to intimidate you and your relatives, damage to property, threats and other similar methods. All this serves as an occasion for your appeal to the police.
Why is the bank selling your debt?
This is a rather important point, which also cannot be ignored. Any loan agreement must specify the conditions under which the bank has the right to transfer debt to third parties. This is the notorious sale of debt. That is, the bank, giving you money, gets the right to demand it back. Such a right, by law, can be transferred to anyone, either on a paid basis or for free. But in reality, nobody but collectors needs such “happiness”. Note that no one asks for your consent to transfer the debt, but you are obliged to notify about this fact.
Most often, collectors sell such loans:
- not secured by a pledge or guarantor;
- consumer;
- with overdraft;
- debt on which is less than 300 thousand rubles.
Most often, it is not profitable for banks to work with such clients on their own; they are best sold. After all, legal costs may be greater than the loan itself.
What can a bank do?
Sale of debts of individuals in this case can be carried out in two ways:
- provision of debt collection services;
- final transfer of creditor rights to another person.
The first way is to conclude an agreement on the provision of collection services. In this case, the ownership right remains with the bank, and the collector receives a commission for the service provided. This way is most beneficial for the client. Taking care of its reputation, the bank will very carefully approach the choice of the collector, as well as the methods of its work. This means that the debtor, of course, will get bored with calls, letters and visits, but measures on the verge of what is permitted will most likely not be applied.
The second option is a full sale of debt or an agreement on the assignment of creditor rights. Such a path may end sadly for the debtor. The fact is that after a deal with collectors is concluded, the bank is satisfied with the amount received, and the former debtor is no longer interested in it. So, they do not care about the measures used to return the funds. Therefore, collectors, especially unscrupulous ones, are also not shy. All permitted and sometimes illegal methods are used.
How to draw up an assignment agreement
Such a document is called an assignment agreement or an assignment agreement . This is the most common option in such a situation as the sale of debts of legal entities (and individuals, too). The consent of the debtor for the conclusion of such an agreement is not required.
Cession is used in many areas of activity, and not just in lending. But, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, such an agreement cannot be concluded with regard to personal obligations. For example, compensation for material and moral harm, alimony is not subject to assignment.
Such an agreement is most often concluded in cases where the creditor cannot recover the debt on his own. Sometimes legal and natural persons by mutual consent divide in this way the obligations that have arisen. A similar contract can be concluded both on a paid and on a free basis.
Parties to the contract
If a sale of debt is carried out, the parties to the transaction are:
- assignee - the one who buys, the new owner of the right of claim;
- assignor - the one who sells, the original creditor.
The entity obliged to pay the debt, although it is a party to such an agreement, is not considered a third party, since its consent is not required to complete the transaction.
Depending on the number and characteristics of the parties to the transaction, the assignment agreement can be divided as follows:
- Selling debts of legal entities to a legal entity - this is how the usual reorganization of an enterprise most often looks . In fact, only the name of the debtor changes, and the legal entity itself remains the same.
- Transfer of debt of a legal entity to an individual - most often during the liquidation of an enterprise, a former director assumes debt obligations. The debt passes to the new payer on the same conditions and in the same amount.
- An agreement between individuals - assistance in obtaining a loan, the division of property in a divorce, the payment of children's debts by parents, and so on.
- A tripartite assignment agreement - when the debtor is informed that his debt has been sold, and this is evidenced by his signature.
In any type of assignment agreement, one of the parties may be a collection agency.
Features of the contract and its content
The debt sale agreement (sample is presented below) must contain the following items:
- amount of debt;
- the presence and amount of the penalty;
- reference to the original contract, the conclusion of which led to the emergence of debt;
- terms in which it was necessary to repay the loan;
- contact information and bank details of the parties;
- obligations assigned to the debtor.
Depending on the field of activity, the assignment agreement can be applied in such areas of economic activity:
- assignment of the right of claim in the field of real estate - in this way you can sell an apartment purchased in a mortgage if the loan has not yet been repaid;
- assignment in insurance - transfer of probable risks to another insurance company;
- assignment of claims under supply contracts - the use of factoring, that is, an invitation to an intermediary bank that has the right to demand the payment of receivables;
- sale of debt under a contract ;
- cession in credit operations of banking institutions - sale of debt to a collection agency;
- bankruptcy cession is one way to reduce accounts receivable.
Signs that your debt is sold
As you already understood, for legal entities the sale of debt often does not come as a surprise, and sometimes it is voluntary and desirable. What can not be said about loans issued by individuals. Here, the purchase of debt by collectors often comes as a surprise.
How to understand that your loan is sold? You need to start worrying if:
- You receive calls from unknown persons demanding to pay a debt. Specify by what right they do this, and offer to send the contract of assignment by registered letter.
- You cannot pay a monthly fee and you get the answer that "the account is closed." Contact your bank for clarification. This situation may be a sign that court proceedings are open for you.
- A notification came from the collection company demanding to pay the debt. Most likely, it has already been sold. Additional information can be found in the bank or by phone indicated in the letter.
- You have received a notification from the bank that your debt has been sold to a third party. This can be a letter, SMS, phone call or another way. If you still have questions, you can also contact the financial institution for clarification.
What should the debtor do?
The main thing is not to panic. You must understand that the situation has not changed as much as collectors can imagine. Your obligations remain the same, only the creditor has changed, and not the terms of the contract. This means that, no matter what measures are applied to you, you are not obliged to pay anything in excess of what is provided for in the original contract.
- Get your hands on a copy of the assignment agreement. This can be done both at the bank and at the collectors. If there is no such agreement, you can pay nothing at all, at least until the relevant court decision is made.
- Find out the exact amount of debt, taking into account detailed explanations: loan body, interest, interest, penalty, penalty and so on. To do this, order a special certificate from the bank.
- Collect all possible loan documentation: contract, pledge agreement, certificates of guarantors, repayment schedule, receipts of payment. Order a statement of the loan account, it clearly indicates what and when you paid.
All these documents will help in communicating with a collection agency or come in handy in court. And remember: if collectors do not have an agreement on the sale of your debt to them, they are not entitled to demand money from you.