With the development of lending in our country, many people have appeared who want to take a loan from a bank. Most borrowers pay their debts in good faith and on time, but some, for whatever reason, cannot or do not want to repay their debts.

If they are not affected by phone calls, penalties, or interest rate increases, banks are forced to turn to collection agencies for help. Who are collectors? And what can bank debtors expect from them?

What does the word "collector" mean?

"Collector"- one of the most terrible terms in the vocabulary of unscrupulous borrowers. The concept comes from the Latin word collectio(collection) and means "collector" or "collector" , that is, in relation to debtors, a collector is a debt collector.

In Russian banking practice, collection agencies appeared relatively recently and, like many things in the financial markets, came from Western countries. Initially, they were created as subsidiaries of banks, and since 2004 they began to work independently and provide services to any credit institutions.

Who are collectors?

In fact, the collector is an intermediary between the bank and the borrower. By concluding an agreement with a banking institution, he takes on the responsibility of working with debtors and receives a certain percentage of the total debt for this.


In most countries, the rights of a collector are limited by law. For example, he cannot threaten the borrower or call him at night.

In Russia, there was no special legislation regarding such agencies until 2014. Today, their activities are determined by the Consumer Credit Law, which takes into account the interests of debtors to a greater extent.

What are the powers of collectors?

Collectors have the right to work only if they have banking powers, which are determined in two ways.

The first is an agreement with a credit institution for the provision of collection services. In this case, agency employees try to return the bank debt without litigation and receive a reward of up to 30% of the amount paid by the borrower.


The second way is the redemption of bank debt. In other words, the bank cedes its rights to the collector, as a result of which he himself becomes a full-fledged creditor.

As a rule, the assignment is made for a small amount (on average - for 15% of the total debt), thanks to which the agencies get the opportunity to make good money.

How do collection agencies work?

Lawful methods of work of collectors come down, basically, to psychological pressure on the debtor. First, they communicate with him remotely, that is, they call on the phone and remind him of the need to repay the debt.

According to the law, collectors must be tactful in a conversation and not use deliberately false information. In the future, they find the borrower for a personal conversation, announce to him the amount of the debt, the list of sanctions imposed and the consequences of failure to fulfill his obligations.

In practice, the main goal of the collector is to intimidate the debtor, so sometimes he resorts to night calls or threats with promises to come and confiscate all property. The borrower needs to remember that they can take something from him only by a court decision, and illegal actions on the part of collectors entail their administrative responsibility.

In the process of communicating with agency employees, it is advisable to record conversations on a voice recorder, after specifying the name of the collector, the name of his organization and phone number.

What to expect from collectors?

The minimum that a debtor can expect from communication with a collector is a feeling on himself of all the methods of work of companies of this type. They will annoy with calls, come to work, talk with neighbors, in a word, put all sorts of psychological pressure on the borrower.


If the collection agency has redeemed the bank debt, then in the future the debtor will face litigation with confiscation of property and the need to pay legal costs.