Debtors will be given credit holidays, reduce monthly payments to an acceptable level, and forgive part of the debt. This follows from a letter from the National Association of Professional Collection Agencies (NAPCA) sent to its participants (available to Izvestiya). Experts believe the measures are useful for those whose debts are held by legal companies, but they will not have any impact on the actions of “black debt collectors”.

Extra measures

Debt Collection agencies that purchase debts from banks will have to comply with the principles announced by the President. In the letter from SRO NAPCA they were recommended that when working with debtors, they adhere to an individual approach and use all available methods of supporting the citizen: provide credit vacations, reduce the monthly payment to an acceptable level, and forgive part of the debt.

Reducing the size of the monthly payment to a comfortable level will take place after a discussion with a debtor and analysis of his circumstances, explained Anton Dmitrakov, the General Director of the debt collection agency EOS. The same applies to the forgiveness of part of the debt. According to him, the amount of the exempt debt will be determined after studying the financial condition of the client and his family budget. At the same time, debt recoverers who hold personal meetings with debtors are recommended to switch to contactless interaction with them and minimize the possibility of infection with coronavirus.

Various forms of debt restructuring are the part of the normal business processes of debt collectors, said Elman Mekhtiev, the President of SRO NAPCA. Since there is no need to rebuilt under new circumstances, debt recoverers will be able to quickly provide assistance to those who need it, he added.

— The crisis on the background of the coronavirus is not a reason not to pay your debts, hoping that they will be completely forgiven. The recommendations will be applied to those who really in a difficult situation and need support, – said the head of the SRO.

According to him, it will be easier for debtors who can documentary approve the deterioration of their financial situation to use support. According to the experience of previous crises, the share of such cases among all those who reported problems is 5-10%, he added.

NAPCA includes companies that occupy 90% of the debt collection market. They can’t influence the actions of the other 10%. At the same time, debt collectors must be present in the register of the Federal bailiffs service.

Agents

Working under the agency-based services agreement (when debts remain on the balance of banks, and the recoverers act as representatives-negotiators) with a credit institution, debt collectors can not make a decision to continue or terminate the return of overdue debt, there was said in the letter from SRO NAPCA. Therefore, such debt recoverers are recommended to report to banks information received from a debtor about a decrease in his income due to illness, loss of work or bankruptcy of the employer in connection with the pandemic.

— We work according to the agency-based scheme, so we are completely dependent on the policy of banks. All cases will be considered separately with notification of a lender, – explained Fedor Vachata, the CEO of the debt collection agency M.B.A. Finance.

Izvestia asked major banks how their work with debt collectors will change in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. According to Ekaterina Alieva, the Director of the analytical management and customer relations department of ROSBANK, full-fledged interaction in the remote format continues. Promsvyazbank said that the scheme of work with debt collection agencies will not change. However, banking processes will need to be changed so that contracts with clients who receive credit vacations due to the situation with the coronavirus infection do not automatically go to agents.

Remote debt collection

The FBS did not receive the letter from the SRO NAPCA, said the press service of the Institution in its response. They clarified that on March 19, they sent their notification to the heads of debt collectors included in the state register with a recommendation to reduce personal meetings with debtors as much as possible. Currently, the Federal bailiff service is coordinating measures aimed at protecting the rights of citizens and organizations affected by the pandemic.

First of all, debt collectors take care that debtors continue to pay in the conditions of the measures taken by the authorities against the coronavirus, believes Evgeniy Nadorshin, the chief economist of PF Capital. We are talking about a moratorium on bankruptcy, closing courts for non-urgent cases, and so on. At the same time, no rules apply to “black” creditors and debt collectors working outside the legal field. Earlier, Izvestia reported a record increase in the number of complaints against illegal debt collectors in 2019.

— Our main task in times of crisis is to maintain customer loyalty and trust, — says Anton Dmitrakov from EOS. For this reason, the Agency is ready to meet citizens in difficult circumstances.

The Central Bank reported that in 2019, 1,845 illegal creditors and “black” collectors were identified, but it did not explain whether additional support measures will be taken for debt collectors working with banks under the agency-based scheme.