“Borrowers fly out of a brick window with the inscription”
In 2012, when there was no official regulator of collection activity in Russia, and collectors did not limit themselves in the methods of collecting debts from citizens, Elena and her husband, residing in Novosibirsk, faced threats, damage to property and fear for their daily life. .
“We took loans from several banks to open our own store with the clothes we brought from abroad. The business did not go, and 1.5 million rubles is a huge debt. left. “There was nothing to pay, we tried to postpone it, but our debt was sold to a collection agency,” he said.
At first, threatening and insulting SMS came from collectors, then calls began – Elena’s family had to change numbers, but collectors managed to get new ones. Also, Elena’s relatives came under pressure after the numbers changed.
“They wrote that they were going to burn, kill children, and stuff like that.
We lived in constant fear. They called us at night, threatened, and then, apparently, set the call to automatic redial – the phone was disconnected from the calls. Then they began to call relatives – everyone found out that we owe it, ”says the woman
A few months later, according to him, collectors moved from threats to actions. They wrote at the entrances, hung leaflets with information about the debt on the walls, then locked the door to the apartment and smashed the windows.
“They were mostly active at night. We lived on the first floor – we sleep, and suddenly a brick with the inscription “borrowers” flies out the window. Then we were going somewhere and we couldn’t open the door, we had to call our friends to see what happened. It turned out that the lock was filled with glue, and the door was welded so that it could not be opened, ”said the artist.
The family, fed up with the antics of the collectors, appealed to the police. They accepted a statement, but according to the woman, law enforcement did not show much willingness to understand the situation and help. They simply advised to pay off the debt, “then everything will stop.”
“In the end, the lawsuit was denied because it was not possible to determine who did it. And the calls and threats via SMS continued. Later, they started posting my photo on social networks with articles stating that I was ready for sex to pay off a debt. And again an explanation, but no results, ”he complained.
The last straw was the beating of his wife on the street – the man was returning home, and three unknown people ran to him from behind, knocking him to the ground and beating him violently. But after that, law enforcement launched an investigation – they helped to catch the incident on camera.
“When the lawsuit was filed for beating, the collectors calmed down a bit, they called constantly and demanded the return of the debt. By then we were very tired and decided to sell the flat and move in with my mother as life became unbearable. We paid, went to another city and never took out a loan again,” he summarized.
“I got a loan for a rich life”
Moscow resident Anna also faced illegal collector’s methods. In 2015, the girl, who moved from her poorly living parents in a small town, lost her head from life in the capital, as she now remembers, and got into all serious trouble – she dropped out of the university and took a loan.
“I was born into a small-town family of a housewife and a locksmith. There was little work besides money, so they survived as best they could. Then the younger brother was born, the father drank, and the money became even less. After graduating from school, I moved, but like every girl I wanted to have fun, so I secretly left the university and spent the money given to me on education, ”she admitted.
During this time, Anna lived either with friends or acquaintances, or with friends in a hostel. There was still not enough money, and then he decided to buy his first credit card with a limit of 35 thousand rubles.
“A lot of money for me. Unfortunately, it ended in two days, because the girl Anya, feeling the taste of a rich life, decided that she could do anything. After this card came the next. That’s how it all started,” she continued.
Then he started taking loans. When there was not enough money left for payments, it was time to turn to microfinance institutions. Anna went wherever her application was approved – only about 12 companies.
After some time, Anna was fired from her job, because the collectors called her employer – the same calls were received by parents and neighbors. She borrowed 300 thousand rubles from underground creditors to at least temporarily stop the repression.
“Then the threats started. They set the door on fire for me, they stood guard at the entrance, I began to hide and lie shamelessly. The threats from my personality turned into threats to my family, acquaintances and friends, I was repeatedly watched and even beaten. Collectors are not the same creditors. Collectors are psychologically pressured. did,” he complained.
Due to debts, her mother stopped communicating with her, and her friends gave the girl about 500 thousand rubles – she is again in debt. Unable to stand the pressure, the debtor decided to move to another city with his aunt to somehow rest.
“I will always remember the date of October 27. That day I came, went to the bathroom and got a razor. It was terrible: for my life, for my family’s life. I realized that with my separation, I would not decide anything, everything would fall on my family. The total debt on my shoulders was about 2.7 million rubles. My aunt ran into the bathroom, grabbed my arms naked and dragged me into the room. She said a phrase I remember: “You’ve caused so much pain to everyone around, you don’t have to cause trouble for me,” said the girl.
After that, Anna’s thinking changed dramatically, she found several jobs, decided to postpone and managed to pay off all her debts on her own.
End of intimidation
In the summer of 2016, Federal Law No. 230 “On the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of individuals during activities related to the return of overdue debts” came into force. By law, employees of banks and other organizations do not have the right to use not only physical methods of pressure, but also moral ones. You can only call a few times a week and speak politely and calmly.
Collectors were not able to adapt to the new rules right away.
“Probably another six months after the law went into effect, the collection agency was a nightmare for me and my wife. There were messages and calls, but only from numbers unrelated to the organization or the bank. They acted like a private person, ”said St. Rodion from St. Petersburg.
However, since such employees were carefully watched, several statements to the police helped resolve the issue with collectors almost instantly. The man noted that they began to actively participate in such cases and good companies for the moral torment of debtors.
“The first time they called you with death threats and the stories of how worthless you were and not even getting the money back were hilarious. “Hello, we would like to offer you a deferral or debt restructuring,” he then said.
Source: Gazeta
