Recently, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill designed to protect debtors from the actions of unscrupulous collectors. On April 12, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed this law and it entered into force.
Igor Shavrov, a well-known lawyer who manages the Shavrov and Partners law firm, tells about what Ukrainians can expect now.
As noted by the lawyer, changes regarding the collection activity were introduced by the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding Consumer Protection in Settlement of Overdue Debt".
"Collector's activity often borders on criminal offenses - be it threats, night calls, etc. This is quite a dirty and difficult business. "Collectors do everything to scare the debtor, psychologically put pressure on him and his relatives, and encourage them to return the borrowed money by any means," noted Igor Shavrov.
So, what changes have come into force?
In particular, from now on it is forbidden to call debtors from 20:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. and more than once a day, hide the number and demand that relatives pay off debts.
At the same time, collectors are allowed to call the debtor, conduct personal negotiations, write messages and letters both at the address of residence and at the place of work.
During the first meeting with the debtor, the collector must state the name of his company and the name of the representative on whose behalf he is authorized to collect the debt.
In turn, the debtor has the right to request documents that will confirm the fact of debt recovery. Documents must be submitted within seven working days.
Banks are also obliged to inform debtors about the involvement of a collection company. Moreover, only companies registered in the Register of Collection Companies of the National Bank can engage in collection activities.
If the collector violates the established requirements, he will pay a fine of 50-100 thousand. hryvnias up to exclusion from the Register of collection companies.
"By the way, all violations can be reported to the National Bank. Two violations - and the contract with the collection company must be terminated," said Igor Shavrov.
