Self-Help, Private Debt Collection and the Concomitant Risks

Regulation of Abusive Debt Collection Practices in the EU Member States: An Empirical Account

“…Academic works have covered extensively concepts such as money (Gleeson 2018), consumer credit (Brown 2019;Goode and McKendrick 2016;Goode 1989;Guest et al 2009;Rosenthal and Haxton-Bernard 2018), security interests (Beale et al 2012;Dahan and Simpson 2008;de Lacy 2010;Drobnig 2007;Rizoiu 2011;Tajti 2002Tajti , 2013Tajti , 2014, and the strong ties between them. However, debt collection has received very little attention (Deville 2015;Jérusalmy et al 2020;Reifner et al 2010;Tajti 2019;Stănescu 2015;Stănescu and Bogdan 2020).…”

“…The UCPD 2005 was not purposefully intended to cover abusive debt collection practices in a comprehensive manner. Its effects in this area are mostly tangential and coincidental: It contains no rules concerning the authorization of debt collectors, no rules concerning the validation of the debt or the issue of added charges to the original debt (which are present in most sector-specific debt collection laws and were also referred to in the proposed amendments to NPLD Proposal), and, until the adoption of the Enforcement Directive 2019, 7 it provided no individual remedy or private right to action to aggrieved consumer-debtors (Stănescu 2015(Stănescu , 2020. Moreover, its application to debt collection is impaired by a number of issues such as the conditions regarding the consequences of the unfair practices and the compliance with the average consumer standard (Stănescu 2020).…”

A holistic approach to extra-judicial enforcement and private debt collection: A comparative account of trends, empirical evidences, and the connected regulatory challenges

“…The United Kingdom, similarly to the United States, have already in the 1970s stepped on the path of addressing these problems by sector-specific consumer protection laws; though constant updating to match the innovations of the industry always outpacing lawmakers remains an issue. 10 The Scandinavian response ensued with more than a decade delay and unfortunately very little is known about the experiences of these systems. Today in Europe, thus, in a great number of countries there is no sector-specific regulation on private debt collectors.…”

“…Today in Europe, thus, in a great number of countries there is no sector-specific regulation on private debt collectors. Especially vulnerable are countries with fledgling regulatory systems in which consumer protection law, just as banking and financial services regulations 10 are of very recent vintage and where therefore the regulatory agencies, the judges and public prosecutors are inexperienced in these matters.…”

Leasing in the Western Balkans and the fall of the Austrian Hypo-Alpe-Adria Bank

“…The country, earlier in constant economic crisis, burdened by budgetary deficits, shortage of foreign currency and fast-changing regulatory environment suddenly felt an unexpected dose of stability especially due to the short-lasting reforms 30 of prime minister Marković roughly between 1989 and 1990, when inflation was sharply decreased through pegging the national currency (Dinar) to the German Mark at the 1:7 level. 31 Permission was also given to citizens to buy foreign currency in banks.…”