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01. Are you a legitimate company and how can I be sure that my debt has been transferred to you for servicing?
We are a commercial company registered in the business register of the Republic of Bulgaria. As a personal data controller, the company follows the regulations of
The General Regulation on the protection of personal data 679/2016 ("GDPR") and
the Personal data protection Act and is subject to regulation by the Commission for personal data protection, which guarantees the comfort and security of our partners and clients when they entrust us the processing of personal data. You can verify the legitimacy of the company by contacting your creditor, who will certify that they have signed a contract with us.
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02. Why did Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts contact me?
There may be several cases in which we contact you: - A contract between us and your creditor for the servicing of arrears; - A contract between us and a company that has acquired your receivables from your creditor; - We have acquired your receivables on the basis of a contract with your creditor.
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03. I have received an invitation for voluntary repayment of a financial obligation from Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts – is this legal?
Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts is authorized to send you an invitation, which contains information about your obligation on the basis of a contract signed by you and your creditor. In the event of a misunderstanding, if your debt has already been paid, or the person no longer lives at the address specified in the invitation, please contact us at +359 2 444 10 10 and tell us about the case, so we can avoid future misunderstandings.
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04. I have received a phone call from Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts – is this legal?
When you sign a contract with a company, you agree that you can be contacted by the company or its representative in case of late payment. On the basis of a contract between us and the company, we act as its representative. Conversations conducted by our collectors are always in the spirit of good manners and their sole purpose is to understand the reason for nonpayment of obligations and help you stabilize your finances.
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05. What should I do when I receive an invitation for voluntary repayment of an obligation sent by Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts?
Your best response would be to contact us at +359 2 444 10 10, or email us at
[email protected]. We will then inform you about your obligation and give you options for its repayment. Creditors often provide opportunities for deferred payment or temporary reduction of your installments on a debt. If you do not contact us, you will not be able to make use of these opportunities and your obligation will be moved on to the judicial phase where costs increase exponentially.
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06. How can I be sure that if I contact you, you will not start harassing me every day?
Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts implements the best practices for debt recovery and strives to maintain its good image in society. Our practice does not entail constant messages and reminders. Once we have contacted you, or you have called us or written us an email, and we have informed you about your debt, we have taken the first step towards settling your relationship with the creditor. If you stop honoring the agreement reached previously, or do not make the promised payments, Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts will notify you of the initiation of legal action against you and this will be our last contact with you.
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07. What happens if legal action is taken against me?
Before any legal action is taken against you, you will already have been registered in the Central Credit Register at the Bulgarian National Bank. This means that you will not be able to use any credit in the future, or purchase goods with deferred payment, etc. until you pay back your obligations. When your creditor initiates legal action, it means that they have compelling evidence of their claim and in most cases they will win the case. This will result in an exponential increase in your debt. Once the case has been concluded, it will be submitted to a bailiff who can seize your wage, bank accounts, property, as well as, in extreme cases, resort to their sale at a public auction. Our goal is that you should avoid these legal consequences and settle your obligations voluntarily.
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08. Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts AD has got in touch with me. What shall I do? Shall I just ignore the letter / call and wait?
Failure to act is the worst way to react in such situation; this is not a solution to the issue but might only aggravate it. If you are convinced that the claim is unfounded, please, notify us and we will investigate the matter. If you are aware that this is a legitimate claim, but are not presently able to pay for it, we recommend that you contact us in order to conclude a debt rescheduling agreement. If you are attempting to hide, this can only result in accumulation of additional cost on your debt.
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09. What shall I do if I receive a phone call and/or a letter addressed to a debtor whom I do not know or who no longer lives at the given address?
In this case the best thing to do is call us at 0700 200 27 (no additional charges, according to you price plan) to inform us about the change and tell us if you know what the new phone number and/or address of the debtor is, so that we can contact them and disturb you no longer.
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10. Is my personal data held by the Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts AD protected?
Companies operating in the field of arrears collection are Personal Data Administrators and they are responsible for their proper and legal storage. This means that all procedures regarding processing and retention of debtors’ personal data are observed. The data is protected in the organization itself (only authorized people have access to it) as well as from illegal external interference.
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11. How shall I know if Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts AD is a legitimate company?
Consider researching the company online and calling the phone number shown on the website to check if this was the company that actually contacted you and if you are listed in their record of receivables to be collected. Large established companies are members of associations and participate in sectoral activities, so you could check if the agency that got in touch with you is a member of any local sectoral organizations (such as Association of the Collection Agencies in Bulgaria and ACA International – The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals). If you are still in doubt, you could contact your creditor and verify if your debt has been sold to the collection company which reached you. In addition, companies collecting debts following their purchase via conclusion of an assignment agreement should be entered into the Register of Financial Institutions kept by the Bulgarian National Bank. You can check on the
website of BNB if the company is listed in the Register.
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12. Why was the loan granted by one company and now I have to repay it to another company? Is that legal?
A creditor may decide to sell any of its receivables. This sale is called an assignment. The transferred receivable is assigned to the new creditor with all benefits and collaterals. The act of assignment does not require the debtor’s consent or signature. Where the new creditor is authorized to do so, it notifies the debtor of the assignment. Once the receivable has been transferred, the debtor may and must only make payments to the new creditor.
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13. I am not able to make a lump-sum payment of the amount due. Can anything be done about this?
If the amount due is large and the debtor is not able to pay it as a lump sum, the best option is for the debtor to contact the creditor to discuss the situation and the options for rescheduling of the debt. Typically, the debtor is offered an instalment scheme, which has been drawn up with consideration of their income. Yet, it is important to keep in mind that the fast repayment of the debt in full will save the debtor both the application of default interest and of additional costs relating to the debt collection. Otherwise, the debt might be increased considerably.
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14. What actions for arrears collection does Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts AD employ?
The actions for arrears collection which Agency for Control of Outstanding Debts AD employs are as follows: sending letters of formal notice and short text messages, emails, phone calls, sending written communications, holding meetings, conclusion of agreements. The main goal of the actions listed is to arrive at an agreement with the debtor as to the repayment of their debt. To that end, we analyse all opportunities for repayment of the debt and offer customised repayment solutions. Of course, during this process we keep confidential your personal data and the whole information you present to us. Once we have signed an agreement, it is of utmost importance to strictly follow it. This ensures that the debtor will pay less additional expenses and that no enforcement actions will be taken against their property.
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15. What happens if the debtor does not repay their debt and no agreement is reached?
Where out-of-court collection methods fail to produce any result, proceedings against the debtor shall be brought before the court, which includes initiation of a private civil action; and, once a writ of execution has been granted - an enforcement trial is brought before a competent enforcement agent. Legal costs associated with the initiation of the trial will be paid in compliance with the law, which will increase the debt significantly and will subsequently be paid by the debtor themselves. In view of the above, it is a much more favourable option for the debtor to try and contact their creditor and reach an agreement with them for out-of-court repayment of the amount due.