Kiri

Dear Madam/Sir, This questionnaire is part of a research project funded by the European Union - Horizon 2020 concerning Regulation of Abusive Non-Judicial Debt Collection in the European Union (ECHO - Grant number 798912). By non-judicial debt collection we refer here to all debt collection practices that do not involve any state judicial bodies (courts, bailiffs / executors, the police, etc ), a phenomenon also known as ' inkasso '. In this regard, we are contacting all consumer agencies and supervisory bodies of all the Member States in order to gather the information needed for the purpose of our research. We seek your support in this endeavor, by kindly asking you to fill in the attached Questionnaire until the 1st of August 2020 . The information sought is not sensitive , as we are interested in patterns and typologies (statistical quantitative data), not in individual cases, which may give rise to privacy concerns. We ascertain that t he solicited information is public information , which can and must be disclosed under the relevant public data access legislation in your country, in a correct and timely fashion. Please note that you will be able to complete the questionnaire in multiple sessions , but the sequence of questions cannot be changed. Once the questionnaire is completed, you cannot change your answers. We look forward to your reply and we thank you in advance for your time and help! Does your country have a sector specific legislation concerning the regulation of fair debt collection practices? (1) Yes (2) No This question seeks to establish whether your country has adopted any sector specific legislation / regulation dedicate or in connection to fair debt collection ( inkasso ) practices. Please indicate the number, year, name of the law/regulation? ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ This question requires specific details regarding your positive answer to the previous question and it is meant to help us identify the normative act you have referred to. Please upload the text of the law or regulation by using the link below: https://www.dropbox.com/request/xaVYlYIGkIHkSB85OlS1 If you do not wish or cannot upload it, please go to the next question. We assume that your organization has access to a legislative database, thus, we would appreciate if you could provide us with the text of the legislation you have mentioned in your previous answers, even if it is available solely in your national language. Does your country resort to EU law - such as the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive - in regulating fair debt collection practices? (1) Yes (2) No (3) I don't know The 2016 Guidelines to the application of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) states that the directive also covers after-sale services, such as debt collection ( inkasso ). We are seeking to establish whether in your country the UCPD (through its national transposition) has been used to address the issue of unfair debt collection ( inkasso ) practices. Does your national law concerning fair debt collection practices include a definition of the debt collector? (1) Yes (2) No The question seeks to assess who is subjected to your national legislation/regulation of fair debt collection ( inkasso ) practices. What categories of debt collectors are covered by the definition? (multiple choice possible) (1) The original creditor (3) The employees of the original creditor ( ie : those working in an internal collection office) (2) The agents of the original creditor ( ie : factors, debt collection agencies) (4) The employees of the creditor's agents (5) Debt buyers, debt assignees ( ie natural or legal persons that have acquired the debt from the original creditor (6) Lawyers engaged in debt collection The question develops on your previous answer and seeks to establish all subjects covered by the definition of "debt collector" under your national legislation/regulation of fair debt collection ( inkasso ) practices. Do debt collection undertakings require a license to operate in your country? (1) Yes (2) No The question seeks to establish whether the national legislation establishes any administrative criteria for the functioning of debt collection ( inkasso ) undertakings or not. The question excludes original creditors, who should be able to pursue the recovery of their own debts. Please indicate which national authority( ies ) issues the license and supervises th activity of licensed debt collection undertakings: _____ Are debt collection undertakings in your country required to abide to a Code of Conduct in order to receive a license to operate? (1) Yes, they need to observe a Code of Conduct at company level (2) Yes, they need to observe a Code of Conduct at industry level (3) Yes, they need to observe a Code of Conduct established by the regulatory agency (4) No (5) I don't know The question seeks to establish whether the acquiring of the license to operate is conditioned on the acquiescence to standards of good practices and whether good practices do actually exist within the industry at national or European level Did your institution receive any complaints regarding abusive debt collection practices in the past 5 years? (1) Yes (2) No Did any of the complaints concern foreign debt collection undertakings? (1) Yes, a small part of them (2) Yes, a large part of them (3) No (4) I don't know The question seeks to establish the existence of cross-border non-judicial debt collection ( inkasso ) and the size of the phenomenon. Please indicate the types of complaints received by your institution in connection to abusive debt collection practices in the past 5 years: (1) Related to communication with consumer-debtors and debtor-related third parties ( ie spouses, partners, parents or children) (2) Related to harassment of consumer-debtors and debtor-related third parties (3) Related to violent or aggressive behavior against consumer-debtors or debtor-related parties (4) Related to false, deceptive, or misleading forms or representations provided to consumer-debtors (5) Related to infringement of privacy of consumer debtors (6) Related to mistakes in connection with the debt (wrong person, wrong amount, etc ) (7) Other (please mention) _____ You can select multiple answers. How many complaints has your institution received in connection to abusive debt collection practices in the past 5 years? (8) None (7) Less than a 100 (6) Less than 500 (1) Less than 1000 (2) Between 1001 and 10000 (3) Between 10001 and 15000 (4) Between 15001 and 25000 (5) More than 25000 (9) More than 100000 (10) More than 1000000 (11) Please indicated the number of complaints received _____ The question seeks to assess the size of the alleged of abusive debt collection ( inkasso ) practices claim brought in each Member State. Please answer by both ticking the adequate box and by typing the exact number of received complaints. How many of the received complaints regarding alleged abusive debt collection practices have been found justified? (1) Please indicate the number of claims that were decided in favor of the consumer-debtor: _____ The question seeks to assess the percentage of claims that were found justified. The number should be established by subtracting from the total number of complaints indicated in the previous question the number of claims that were dismissed for lack of merit. Does your national law concerning fair debt collection practices require debt collection undertakings to validate the debt ( ie to allow the consumer debtor to challenge the existence or the amount of the debt)? (1) Yes (2) No Does your national law concerning fair debt collection practices require debt collection undertakings to suspend procedures during the validation of the debt? (1) Yes (2) No Does your national law concerning fair debt collection practices allow the debt collection undertakings in your country to add charges or other collection related fees to the debt? (1) Yes (2) No The question excludes interest and other fees established by the law or the original contract. Which are the competent supervisory bodies to handle consumer-debtor complaints against abusive debt collection practices in your country? ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ What types of remedies are available for consumers against abusive debt collection practices in your country? (1) Administrative remedies (2) Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (ADR) (3) Judicial remedies (under civil law) (4) Judicial remedies (under criminal law) (5) None (6) Other _____ You can select multiple answers. Which types of administrative remedies are available in your country? (multiple choice possible) (1) Suspension or withdrawal of license to operate (2) Administrative fines (3) Injunctions or orders to stop/ dessist (4) Other _____ You can select multiple answers. Please indicate the level of fines that a debt-collection undertaking may incur for engaging in abusive debt collection practices in your country (1) Below 100 euro (2) Between 101 and 1000 euro (3) Between 1001 and 5000 euro (4) Between 5001 and 10000 euro (5) Over 10000 euro Please indicate the duration of an administrative investigation that concluded with a sanction regarding abusive debt collection practices in your country: (1) Less than a week (2) Between 1 week and 3 months (3) Between 3 and 6 months (4) Between 6 months and 1 year (5) Between 1 year and 3 years (6) More than 3 years What types of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms addressing the issue of abusive debt collection practices are available in your country? (1) Consumer Ombudsman (2) Financial Ombudsman (4) Consumer Arbitration (3) Other _____ You can select multiple answers. Please indicate the duration of an ADR procedure concluded with a decision in your country: (1) Less than a week (2) Between 1 week and 3 months (3) Between 3 and 6 months (4) Between 6 months and 1 year (5) Between 1 and 3 years (6) More than 3 years If an ADR board renders a decision in regard to abusive debt collection practices, is the decision binding and enforceable against a debt collection undertaking? (1) Yes (2) No The question seeks to establish whether the consumer-debtor can enforce the decision of the ADR body or he/she still needs to address the court in that regard. Are ADR boards' decisions in regard to abusive debt collection practices being made public? (1) Yes (online) (4) Yes (in print) (2) No (3) I don't know This question seeks to ascertain whether the ADR decisions can be accessed and read by the public. Can you indicate the internet address where the ADR decisions in regard to abusive debt collection practices are published? ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ We assume that your organization has knowledge of the internet platform where these decisions are published, thus, we would appreciate if you could provide us with the name of the website or the link to it, even if the documents are available only in your national language. What kind of judicial remedies (based on civil law) are available in your country? (multiple choice possible) (1) Statutory fines payable to consumer-debtors (2) Restitution of losses suffered by consumer-debtors (3) Other tortious liability (4) Moral damages in favor of consumer-debtors (5) Incentives for private action ( ie reversed burden of proof, exemption or reduced judicial fees) (6) Judicial injunctions, orders to stop or dessist against abusive debt-collection undertakings (7) Class actions (8) Other _____ You can select multiple answers. Please indicate the duration of civil action concluded with a final and enforceable decision in your country: (1) Less than a week (2) Between 1 week and 3 months (3) Between 3 and 6 months (4) Between 6 months and 1 year (5) Between 1 and 3 years (6) More than 3 years What types of abusive behavior against consumer-debtors is criminalized in your country? (multiple choice possible) (1) Violent or aggressive actions (2) Verbal abuse (3) Harassment or threats (4) The use of fraudulent or misleading forms or representations (5) Other _____ You can select multiple answers. Please indicate the duration of criminal action concluded with a final and enforceable decision in your country: (1) Less than a week (2) Between 1 week and 3 months (3) Between 3 and 6 months (4) Between 6 months and 1 year (5) Between 1 year and 3 years (6) More than 3 years If you indicated other types of remedies available to consumer-debtors against abusive debt-collection practices, can you briefly describe how these remedies work? ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ Please indicate any areas or suggestions you may have to improve the regulation of abusive debt collection practices in your country. ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ The answer to this question is not mandatory. However, we would appreciate any thoughts or recommendations you may have. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE SURVEY! Jaana Tael Saatja: TTJA Saatmisaeg: neljapäev, 9. juuli 2020 11:38 Adressaat: Jaana Tael Teema: FW: Kind Request for Information - Research Project Funded by the European Commission Manused: ECHO_Survey_I_en_20200610.doc Tähtsus: Kõrge From: Catalin-Gabriel Stanescu [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 4:07 PM To: Catalin-Gabriel Stanescu <[email protected]> Subject: Kind Request for Information - Research Project Funded by the European Commission Importance: High Dear Madam/Sir, My name is Catalin Gabriel Stanescu, I am an Assistant Professor and Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Copenhagen, currently managing a research project funded by the European Union - Horizon 2020 concerning Regulation of Abusive Non-Judicial Debt Collection in the European Union (ECHO - Grant number 798912). By non-judicial debt collection we refer here to all debt collection practices that do not involve any state judicial bodies (courts, bailiffs / executors, the police, etc), a phenomenon also known as 'inkasso'. In this regard, we contacted all consumer agencies and supervisory bodies of all the Member States in order to gather the information needed for the purpose of our research. Unfortunately, we received no answer from your Member State and in order to have a clear and representative image of regulation of abusive debt collection practices in the EU we need to obtain answers from all Member States. Thus, we seek your support in this endeavor, by kindly asking you to either fill and return the attached Questionnaire or to answer the questions below until 1st of August 2020. Answers can be inserted directly in the email. The information we seek is not sensitive, as we are interested in patterns and typologies (statistical quantitative data), not in individual cases, which may give rise to privacy concerns. We ascertain that the solicited information is public information, which can be disclosed under the relevant public data access legislation in your country, in a correct and timely fashion, without ethical or GDPR implications. The questions we seek answer to are: 1. Does your country have a sector specific legislation concerning the regulation of fair debt collection practices? If yes, please indicate the number, year, name of the law/regulation. This question seeks to establish whether your country has adopted any sector specific legislation / regulation dedicate or in connection to fair debt collection (inkasso) practices. 2. Does your country resort to EU law - such as the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive - in regulating fair debt collection practices? 1 The 2016 Guidelines to the application of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) states that the directive also covers after-sale services, such as debt collection (inkasso). We are seeking to establish whether in your country the UCPD (through its national transposition) has been used to address the issue of unfair debt collection (inkasso) practices. 3. Do debt collection undertakings require a license to operate in your country? The question seeks to establish whether the national legislation establishes any administrative criteria for the functioning of debt collection (inkasso) undertakings or not. The question excludes original creditors, who should be able to pursue the recovery of their own debts. 4. Are debt collection undertakings in your country required to abide to a Code of Conduct in order to receive a license to operate? The question seeks to establish whether the acquiring of the license to operate is conditioned on the acquiescence to standards of good practices and whether good practices do actually exist within the industry at national or European level 5. Did your institution receive any complaints regarding abusive debt collection practices in the past 5 years? If yes, how many and how many have been found justified? 6. Did any of the complaints concern foreign debt collection undertakings? The question seeks to establish the existence of cross-border non-judicial debt collection (yes/know) and the size of the phenomenon (large, small). 7. Please indicate the types of complaints received by your institution in connection to abusive debt collection practices in the past 5 years: Examples can be complaints related to a) communication with consumer-debtors and debtor-related third parties (ie spouses, partners, parents or children), b) harassment of consumer-debtors and debtor-related third parties, c) violent or aggressive behavior against consumer-debtors or debtor- related parties, d) false, deceptive, or misleading forms or representations provided to consumer- debtors, e) to infringement of privacy of consumer debtors f) mistakes in connection with the debt (wrong person, wrong amount, etc) or other. 8. If you answered positively at Question 1, does your national law concerning fair debt collection practices require debt collection undertakings to validate the debt (ie to allow the consumer debtor to challenge the existence or the amount of the debt)? Are debt collection procedures suspended during the validation of the debt? 9. Are debt collection undertakings in your country allowed to add charges or other collection related fees to the debt? The question excludes interest and other fees established by the law or the original contract. 10.What types of remedies and dispute resolution mechanisms are available for consumers against abusive debt collection practices in your country (i.e.: ADR, administrative, civil, criminal)? 11.Please indicate any areas or suggestions you may have to improve the regulation of abusive debt collection practices in your country. The answer to this question is not mandatory. However, we would appreciate any thoughts or recommendations you may have. We look forward to your reply and we thank you in advance for your time and help! 2 With Kind Regards, Catalin Stanescu Catalin-Gabriel Stanescu Assistant Professor / Marie Curie Fellow University of Copenhagen Faculty of Law Centre for Market and Economic Law Karen Blixens Plads 16 2300 København S DIR +45 35 33 43 65 [email protected] How we protect personal data 3 Jaana Tael Saatja: TTJA Saatmisaeg: neljapäev, 9. juuli 2020 11:49 Adressaat: Jaana Tael Teema: FW: Abusive Debt Collection Practices Survey From: Dr Catalin Stanescu [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 3:12 PM To: TTJA <[email protected]> Subject: Abusive Debt Collection Practices Survey Dear Sir/Madam, My name is Catalin Gabriel Stanescu, I am an Assistant Professor and Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Copenhagen, currently coordinating a research project funded by the European Union concerning the Harmonization of Regulation of Abusive Non-Judicial Debt Collection in the European Union. By "non-judicial debt collection" we refer here to all debt collection practices targeting consumer debts that do not involve any state judicial bodies (courts, bailiffs / executors, the police, etc), a phenomenon also known as 'inkasso'. In this regard, we are contacting relevant state agencies in all the Member States in order to gather the information needed for the purpose of our research. Although we contacted you before, no reply has been received from your institution. It is very important that we obtain information from all Member States. Thus, we seek your support in this endeavor, by kindly asking you to fill in the attached Questionnaire until the 1st of August 2020. You can enter all your responses by clicking on the following link: https://www.survey- xact.dk/answer?key=4RFMS1TJLYW3 Please note that it is possible to fill in the questionnaire in multiple sessions, but once the questionnaire is complete you will not be able to change your answers. The questionnaire can be filled in only once. The information sought is not sensitive, as we are interested in patterns and typologies (statistical quantitative data), not in individual cases, which may give rise to privacy concerns. We ascertain that the solicited information is public information, which can and must be disclosed under the relevant public data access legislation in your country, in a correct and timely fashion. We look forward to your reply and we thank you in advance for your participation! Kind Regards, Catalin 1 email: [email protected] address: Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Centre for Market and Economic Law This research is funded by the European Union 2