Most likely, you had to use the services of a credit system at least once in your life. But not everyone who took the loan was able to repay it on time. In this case, to get a debt from especially negligent payers, collection companies come into play. Communication with these gentlemen brings a lot of unpleasant minutes. It is especially annoying when collectors are blamed for other people's debts. In fairness, it is worth saying that this happens infrequently, but from this communication does not become more desirable. Why this happens and what to do with it - we will talk below.
Who are the collectors and why are they calling
Such an unusual word for us ācollectorā in direct translation means ācollectorā, however, it should not collect stamps or a collection of butterflies, but money from negligent payers. Collectors can be individuals or entire organizations ā collection companies. Sometimes such āgatherersā are also full-time
bank security officers. Their main duty is to force the debtor to pay off his financial obligations by any means (legal). Sometimes in the worked out scheme failures occur that can turn into unpleasant consequences.
Collectors call for other people's debts for various reasons, but most often this happens by mistake, which can sometimes be very difficult to fix. āGatherersā have long been accustomed to working in non-standard situations and often just donāt respond to your persuasion and explanation, because people who do not want to pay a loan also often say that they have nothing to do with it.
Did you act as a guarantor?
If you are constantly called by collectors for other people's debts, remember whether you are a surety on the loan of your friend, relative or colleague. It was? Then the calls of the āgatherers" to the very address, probably, the person who took the loan formed a substantial debt, and the bank decided to collect money from the guarantor, that is, from you.
The first thing to do is to contact the person who issued the loan and try to find out if the delay in payment has actually formed and how soon he is going to pay it off. Perhaps itās worth looking together for solutions to the problem - to agree with the bank on refinancing the loan or try to refinance at another organization (of course, in this case you should not act as a guarantor for the second time).
If it turns out that the debtor is really not able to pay off its obligations, the debt actually passes to you. And you have to pay it. The best thing you can do is contact the bank to jointly find a solution to the issue. After you settle accounts with a credit institution, you have the right to recover from the relative (acquaintance) whose loan you were the guarantor, the entire amount of the debt in court.
Relatives are to blame
Quite often there is a situation where a loan was taken by one of your relatives, but you did not even know about it. Since it is the collector's responsibility to receive money from the borrower by any legal means, in case of delay, they begin to annoy with calls of all his relatives and friends whose phones they can find.
It is worth knowing that since you were not a guarantor of a loan, you can have a relationship to paying off a debt only in two cases:
- in case of death of the borrower, if you are the heir of the person who took the loan, and have already accepted the inheritance;
- if you are the wife (husband) of the debtor, but in this case, you can be forced to pay the debt only by court order.
Therefore, if collectors call someone else's debt that was formed by your brother / sister, parents, uncle, aunt and any other relatives, feel free to declare that you have nothing to do with the debt and are not obligated to pay it.
Responsible for a neighbor
Quite often, collectors, seeking to achieve the desired result, begin to act in all directions. Many of them, having not achieved anything directly from the debtor or his relatives, begin to name all the neighbors, colleagues and friends of the borrower, hoping that such an āattack on all frontsā will bring an early result. In the event that collectors call you about other people's debts to which you have absolutely nothing to do, politely and firmly explain that you absolutely do not owe anything to the ācollectorsā themselves or their client. And ask not to call again. If this does not help, resolutely contact the law enforcement authorities.
I do not know him
Sometimes, however, it happens that collectors call someone else's debt to a stranger. This happens for various reasons - for example, your phone number previously belonged to the person who actually got the loan, or you moved to an apartment, the former owner of which took a loan, while indicating your old address. Sometimes there are commonplace typos in surnames, phone numbers and other data.
Unfortunately, in this case it is hardly possible to get rid of the collectors with a simple explanation - more efforts will have to be made.
First, find out the data of the person for whom you are taken, then make a request to the bank that the caller represents. In the letter, indicate that your contact details are erroneously assigned to a stranger and ask to make changes to the database. Wait for an answer. It is best to additionally take a certificate from this bank stating that you do not
have loan debt. Make copies of all these documents and send them by
registered mail to the collection company. If after all the above manipulations the persecution does not stop, write a
statement to the prosecutor and the police.
If collectors call your relatives
Of course, it is very unpleasant to get into a situation when collectors call on other people's debts. Especially if these debts are indeed yours, and the callers are worried, for example, by parents of advanced age.
First of all, you need to explain to your relatives that you really have a debt that you are going to pay off in the near future and ask them not to be nervous. Next, you need to ask loved ones to remember what can and cannot be said to the collectors and how best to build a conversation. In order to avoid additional problems, in no case should you disclose any personal data about yourself or about a debtor's relative. Your relatives are not obliged to inform the collector of any information at all: a new surname, address, phone number and other data is your personal business. Itās best to patiently repeat that they donāt have any direct contacts with you, do not communicate at all and have absolutely no idea where you can be found. If your family begins to adhere to such tactics, sooner or later the collectors will lag behind.
Letters of Happiness
In addition to collectors calling someone else's debt, sometimes they are also engaged in ātargeted deliveryā. One morning, you may find in your mailbox a letter indicating how much and which bank you owe, as well as a message that the debt has been transferred to a collection company. Over time, letters can appear more often, and the amount in them can constantly increase. Dealing with this type of activity of debt collectors is very simple - do not react to it. Most often, such āmasterpiecesā are simply printed on an office printer and do not imply any seals and signatures, which means that it is just a piece of paper that does not have legal force.
I rang ...
Telephone calls from collectors for someone else's debt can cause incomparably more trouble, because often they are repeated daily and at any time of the day. Even if the call center operator is extremely polite, the fifth call is already annoying, and the fifteenth is infuriating.
Sometimes a telephone conversation comes down not just to communication with an employee of a bank (collection company), but takes on a rather
tough character, using obscene expressions and threats against the debtor and his relatives. Remember: such actions are illegal and entail criminal liability under articles 163 and 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extortion and threat of bodily harm, respectively).
Physical impact
Even less often, collector threats for someone elseās debt pass into the stage of physical contact, for example, they can visit you at home or at work. If the office is still a public place, the most that can threaten you in this case is the disgusting scandal and the slanting glances of colleagues. But at home, you need to be especially careful:
- in no case should you let uninvited visitors into the apartment;
- try to record the conversation on your phone or voice recorder;
- conduct all conversations only in the presence of witnesses, such as neighbors.
Collectors call someone else's debt - what to do and how to be
If you are still unlucky and encounter persistent employees of a bank or collection agency, do not panic first. In order to stop unpleasant communication as soon as possible, you need to develop a clear line of behavior, because it is simply not necessary to hope that you will be left alone.
So, what to do if you call from a bank for another's debt:
- First of all, you need to find out with whom you are communicating, to find out the surname, name and patronymic of the interlocutor, as well as his position;
- further try to find out the full name of the organization, its actual and legal address, as well as contact phone numbers;
- write down the personal data of the debtor who is sought by the collector (bank employee);
- calmly listen to the calls of the caller and ask him to contact you later;
- If the caller refuses to tell you the above data, calmly end the conversation by warning that you intend to contact the law enforcement authorities.
Then you have to act on the circumstances:
- in the case when there is a reason for the call (for example, you act as a guarantor under a friendās loan agreement), it is most reasonable to seek the support of a credit lawyer, and to invite the employees of the collection agency (bank) to go to court;
- if you simply acted as a contact person at the conclusion of the contract, and even more so when you do not have any relation to the borrower, contact the bank to clarify the situation, and collectors, when you call again, tell them about the actions taken and ask them not to bother you anymore;
- in case calls persistently continue - try to record a conversation on the recorder and contact the police with a statement about extortion;
- if this did not bring any result, write a statement to the prosecutorās office complaining about the inaction of law enforcement agencies.
If nothing helps
In the case when all of the above methods do not give the desired result, and the collectors annoy people at night for other people's debts, the only right decision will be to go to court. With the support of a qualified lawyer, you can safely demand from the bank compensation for moral, and in some cases physical harm. For example, if after communicating with collectors you have a sharp increase in blood pressure and the help of a doctor is required, the bank will be obliged to compensate for the costs of treatment. So if communication with debt collectors has brought you to the pen, do not forget to keep all certificates from the clinic and receipts for medicines.