Good debt collection practices
Good debt collection practice is the public sector's requirement for debt collection companies to behave well in debt collection. Good debt collection practices must be respected by all debt collectors.
What is good debt collection practice?
The purpose of good debt collection practices is to protect the debtor and not to impose undue pressure, damage or inconvenience on the debtor in order to get him to pay his claims.
Good debt collection practice in the Debt Collection Act does not contain a large number of written rules or requirements, but consists of a number of unwritten rules and standards for how a company may and can conduct debt collection business.
In many ways, there is a similarity to the legal profession's code of conduct.
Rules and requirements on good debt collection practices
Good debt collection practice is regulated in section 9 of the Debt Collection Act and is relatively open to interpretation. Therefore, it is particularly important that companies carefully consider which actions fall within the scope of the law.
Section 9 of the Debt Collection Act states that debt collection must be carried out in accordance with good debt collection practice and that no methods are used that "subject anyone to unreasonable pressure, damage or inconvenience". In other words, it is an inexhaustible subject, and it is up to the debt collection company itself to interpret what good behavior is.
We also recommend that you read the Debt Collection Act §10-12, which deals with contacting the debtor.
Examples of bad debt collection practices
Although section 9 of the Debt Collection Act does not specifically name what constitutes good and bad debt collection practices, it is widely agreed that good debt collection practices do not include, for example;
- Threatening behavior towards the debtor
- Threaten legal action if this does not happen or is not planned
- Threatening to report to the police
- Misleading the debtor
- Threaten to involve family and friends in the debtor's debts
- Engaging in harassing behavior towards the debtor
Complaints about lack of good debt collection practices
If you, as a debtor, feel that a debt collection company is not following good debt collection practices and you feel threatened, pressured or otherwise treated unfairly, you should contact the National Police.
The National Police is the authority that authorizes debt collection agencies, so you should also contact them if you have a complaint.
