PHONE HARASSMENT FROM COLLECTION COMPANIES
PHONE HARASSMENT FROM COLLECTION COMPANIES
WHAT ARE OUR RIGHTS?
Due to systematic harassment over the phone by an employee of a collection company for an obligation under a consumer credit contract concluded with a bank and sold to a collector, the company - P. K. T. initiated a civil case against the collector. She claims compensation in the amount of BGN 10,000 for the non-property damages caused to her as a direct and immediate consequence of the behavior of the company's employees. P. K. T. claims that the collection company intentionally caused her moral damages, expressed in worries and fear. Although the dispute between the parties could have been resolved on her first visit to the collection firm's office, their employee began harassing her over the phone.
WHAT IS A COLLECTION COMPANY?
"Collection companies" is the colloquial name for debt collection agencies. Most often, they buy so-called bad debts from mobile operators, credit institutions, utility providers, etc. This is done through a contract for the transfer of the claim (assignment) between the original creditor and the collection company. In this case, the agency buys the claim at a lower price than its real value and tries to collect it.
HOW TO PROTECT OURSELVES?
The liability for damages / according to Art. 49 cf. Art. 45 PPE/ by its nature is a guarantee-security. In order to realize the same, it is not necessary to show guilt. It is a mandatory requirement to establish that it was precisely as a result of the assignment of the work that the claimed damages were caused, namely that another person who directly performed the work caused a tort - an illegal act, as a result of which compensatory damages occurred. That is, for there to be liability in the actions of the collection company, it is necessary to prove that the people who called the plaintiff and behaved rudely and threateningly were employed by it. If there is liability for damage / under Art. 45 PPE for a specific person, respectively such under Art. 49 PPE/, it should be sought from the company that was directly engaged in the activity of collecting the receivables and hired, respectively assigned the collection of these amounts to specific persons.
NEW LAW ENDS HARASSMENT
For more than 30 years, the activity of persons collecting consumer debts under concluded contracts with traders has been without legal regulation, and therefore without the possibility of control by the institutions. From practice, it is established that these debt collection companies bother relatives, relatives of the citizens they consider debtors, discredit them at their workplaces and in their homes, in front of their colleagues and in front of their neighbors, including by spreading different types of information in the public space.
At the present moment, in view of the lack of legal regulation, any company or individual, even convicted of a serious crime, can collect receivables from Bulgarian citizens. In some cases, these claims are time-barred, already paid, or stem from void, inequitable clauses, but citizens cannot timely refer to these circumstances, due to lack of information provided by the creditor or the debt collection company.
These outstanding issues are yet to be legislated with the Consumer Contracts Debt Collection Act.
In the reasons presented by the Prime Minister, the proposed draft law has as its main objective the termination of the bad practices of the collection companies, by introducing strict and clear rules prohibiting the pressure on citizens, clarifying the work of the collection companies and achieving a real balance between the demand for obligations and preserving the human rights and dignity of consumers.
The law only provides for the companies entered in a special unified register with the Minister of Economy and Industry, and the companies entered in the register under Art. 3a of the Law on Credit Institutions, to be able to collect receivables from consumers. The control over them will be carried out by the Consumer Protection Commission of the Minister of Economy and Industry.
Attorney at law Iuila Danova
#3, Dobrotica Str., Varna, Bulgaria
Mob: +359 895 64 59 40
WWW: advokatvarna.com
Email: iulia.danova@abv.bg