Debt encroachment: lenders have become more likely to sell delinquent loans
Theresale of debts on specialized online platforms has grown 1.5 times over the past six months, market participants told Izvestia. According to the law, any person or organization can transfer the right to claim a debt - it is enough to conclude a corresponding contract. And it can be purchased by both professional collectors and individuals. Moreover, the law does not regulate the actions of the latter, unlike collectors, and they can demand the debt much more harshly. Debtors who have fallen to new creditors, tell about pressure and threats, as well as inflated interest for late payments. How the business of buying and selling debts works and why the interest in such a service jumped - in the material "Izvestia".
Why sell debts
In Russia is gaining momentum trend on the sale of debts - when the creditor, tired of waiting for the return of money, sells documented obligations to a private person or collection agency. And then the employees of such firms or private collectors go to the courts, insisting on receiving the debt in full and with interest.
Over the past six months, the flow of customers who want to sell money debt has increased by one and a half times, Ivan Rykov, founder of the marketplace "Debt.RF" told "Izvestia".
-The 50% increase came after the cost of court fees went up, " he explained. - The split between individuals and legal entities that sell debts is 50/50.
In September 2024, the cost of the minimum court fee increased by 10 times (up to Br4 thousand), while the maximum - by 15 times (up to Br900 thousand). Going to court to sue for a debt has become expensive for many people. Hence the interest in the service of selling obligations.
The surge of such interest is confirmed by the data of the system "Yandex Wordstat", which analyzes search queries on the Internet. From March to September 2024, the average query for the phrase "sell debt" amounted to 29-30 thousand. In October and November, it increased to 35.3 thousand, in December it reached almost 38 thousand, and in January 2025, although it decreased, but insignificantly - to 36.5 thousand.
-In the III and IV quarters of 2024, the number of sellers more than doubled, - said the press secretary of the electronic trading platform "Debt Market" Oksana Zakharikova.
Aggregators charge different percentages for legal support of such a purchase. As a rule, it is 5-10% of the debt sale price.
Valeria Gerasimenko, chairman of the board of the Union of Arbitration Managers "National Center for Restructuring and Bankruptcy", explained to "Izvestia". Assignment of the right of claim for a fee is a perfectly legal action if the conditions stipulated by the Civil Code are met.
-Both individuals and legal entities can acquire a debt as an assignee, " said the expert. - The categories of debtors are not limited - the seller can offer the debt of both a citizen and an organization. Investors are interested in purchasing receivables, acquiring debt at a low price for subsequent collection and profit, banks and leasing companies to optimize their own financial performance, specialized companies and collection agencies.
The terms of debt acquisition depend on a number of factors: the amount of debt, repayment period, availability of collateral, type of obligation, presence of risks. The larger the amount of debt, the higher the realization price may be.
- At the same time, a significant amount of debt increases the risks of its non-repayment, which also affects the determination of value, - said Valeria Gerasimenko. - Debt with a short repayment period can be sold at a lower price, with a long - at a higher price. If the debt is secured by guarantees, pledges - it increases the chance of its return, so such debt may cost more. Unsecured debt, accordingly, is cheaper.
Themarket of such specialized marketplaces is growing dynamically today, there are more and more resources that gather their audience, emphasized Igor Gusenkov, head of the public relations department of the electronic trading platform "TEK-Torg".
How private creditors collect debts
Private individuals can also be debt buyers, explained Valeria Gerasimenko. For example, it is quite common when a citizen-debtor acquires the right to claim his own debt from the creditor to a third party in order to avoid further debt collection.
Muscovite Andrei (name changed) also used this method. He told Izvestia that he borrowed 1 million rubles from his friend in 2020, but he could not repay the debt in full.
- The acquaintance had already started to actively put pressure on me and demanded that I pay back the entire amount at once, with interest," he explained. - I had only half of the amount, so I asked another acquaintance to buy my debt for half the price. The creditor refused at first, but realizing that he was unlikely to get the money and had nothing to take from me, he agreed.
After that, the creditor and the debt buyer concluded an assignment agreement, and Andrei, having paid half of the debt, closed his obligations with the help of a third party.
Another common situation is when creditors resell debts through specialized sites without warning debtors about this fact. Thus, Izvestia found an announcement on the Debt.RF website about the sale of a debt of 1.5 million rubles (150 thousand - the principal debt, the rest - penalties and interest). The purchase price of the lot was 500 thousand rubles. It also stated that there was a court judgment on the debtor.
According to information from the website of the Shchelkovsky City Court, on May 10, 2023, between the plaintiff and the defendant was concluded a loan agreement for 450 thousand rubles. The repayment term was set for August 5 of the same year. However, the money was never returned, and the decision on compulsory collection was made in absentia. But it was not possible to find the debtor to serve the court documents.
Private debt collectors can collect money in an aggressive form: they threaten bankruptcy and courts, persistently call and set inflated interest rates. Debtor Vitaly (name changed) told Izvestia that his debt of 5 million rubles was resold in June 2024.
- After that, the new creditor started calling and writing to me every day from different numbers, demanding that I return the money. At first I even paid something, but after some time I realized that the amount was not really decreasing ," the man explained. - It turned out that he was charging me brutal penalties. After that I stopped paying for some time, and then the creditor started calling not only me, but also my whole family, threatening me with bankruptcy and its consequences, as well as court proceedings.
Such behavior of the "collector" lasted for several months, after which only with the help of a lawyer Vitaly managed to reduce the amount of the fine and agree on a payment schedule.
What threatens debt collectors
After the increase in the amount of state fees for judicial recovery has grown and the portfolio of debts sold by creditors, told "Izvestia" head of the project of the People's Front "For the rights of borrowers" Evgenia Lazareva. Thus, banks and microfinance organizations remove loan losses from the balance sheet, reduce the amount of accrual of reserves and costs for pre-trial collection, lawyers' fees.
- At the same time, the value of such debt portfolios in the cession market has decreased significantly. And if earlier a creditor could get on average 4-7% of the portfolio value, now, even though collectors are dumping, they manage to sell overdue debts for no more than3-5%, and sometimes even much lower.
Daria Kuklina, lawyer of commercial practice of law firm "Kosenkov & Suvorov" reminded that the general provisions of the Civil Code, as well as the law on collectors, apply to the work of companies that are engaged in the purchase of debts.
Only legal entities that are included in a special register have the right to engage in collection activities, emphasized Svetlana Derevenko, managing partner of "Popravko, Derevenko and Partners", financier. The list is maintained by the bailiff service.
The collector has no right to carry out direct interaction on working days from 22:00 to 08:00 and on weekends and public holidays from 20:00 to 09:00, she reminded. They may visit a debtor in person no more than once a week. A collector has the right to send through the "Gosusgoservices" portal no more than two informational messages on one obligation within a calendar month.
- Here, to a greater extent, we are talking about working with the accounts receivable of counterparties of legal entities," she noted. - At the same time there are no guarantees that the debt will be collected in full. If at the stage of pre-trial claim it is not possible to come to an agreement, collection of funds through the submission of writs of execution is not always successful and at the same time it is very long, which negatively affects the liquidity.
Debt collection can be a lengthy and costly process, emphasized Daniil Naimushin, managing partner of One to One law firm.
-Since 2024, state duties have increased significantly, so, for example, in case of a claim for Br10 million the duty for companies has increased from Br73 thousand to Br325thousand, and in case of a claim for Br50 million - from Br200 thousand to Br725 thousand," he said. - In addition, there are expenses for lawyers, case support and possible court costs. That is why companies often prefer to sell the debt at a significant discount rather than spend years on litigation.
Recovery has always been a conflict area, said Evgenia Lazareva. A debtor is always under stress and reacts acutely to this procedure, regardless of who demands debt repayment - creditor, collector or bailiff. Moreover, the debtor often does not see the difference between, for example, the internal collection service of a bank or MFO and a collection agency.
- But one way or another, whoever applies for collection, the debtor is obliged not only to repay the debt, but also to pay the state duty," the expert explained. - And to avoid this, it is enough just to be in touch with your creditor or collector. The law fully protects debtors if the debtors themselves behave in good faith.
If any situation arises in a constructive dialog, it is possible to find a compromise solution, to achieve a revision of the payment schedule or a delay, she added.
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