A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO EXTRA-JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT AND PRIVATE DEBT COLLECTION - A Comparative Account of Trends, Empirical Evidences, and the Connected Regulatory Challenges: PART ONE
Sažetak
The article is a comparative account of empirical evidences and regulatory responses on the practices and corollary problems of private debt collectors as compared to private bailiffs and repossession agents. Part One of the article reflects on the importance of extra-judicial enforcement, clarifies the terminology, and illustrates the corollary problems through two brief case studies from Hungary: one on the activities of private car-repossession companies and the other on the aggressive collection practices of private debt collectors. These are then assessed under sector-specific laws of Australia and the United States as developed regulatory systems. Part Two is an overview of related contemporary laws. Anglo-Saxon systems (United Kingdom and the United States), as possessing the most developed regulatory systems. European civil law jurisdictions, where besides a brief account of Danish, French and Italian laws, the focus is on Germany in which its 2008 Act on Provision of Out-of-Court Legal Services is ongoing. Central and Eastern European (post-socialist) systems, all having reformed their bailiff systems, but having failed to face the challenged the appearance of private debt collectors on their markets, will be covered, from Lithuania and Poland, to Croatia and Serbia.
Keywords: extra-judicial (out-of-court) enforcement, self-help repossession, private debt collection, factoring (sale of receivables), hard and soft regulation, self-regulation, secured transactions, leasing, law reforms, comparative law.
Reference
Black’s Law Dictionary, Garner, B. A. (ed.), 1999, 7th ed., DeLuxe.
Bodiroga, N., 2015, Sudska kontrola rada izvršitelja [Judicial Control of the Work of Bailiffs], in: Anali Pravnog fakulteta u Beogradu, Vol. LXIII, No. 2.
Coleman, M. A., 2004, Collection Management Handbook – the Art of Getting Paid, John Wiley & Sons.
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Fabián, K., Horváthová, A., Stănescu, G. C., 2011, Is Self-Help Repossession Possible In Central Europe?, Journal of Eurasian Law,Vol. 4, No. 1.
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Legislation/regulation
Australia:
The National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) (NCCP) which includes the National Credit Code (NCC) as Schedule 1 to the Act.
The Debt Collectors Licensing Act 1964 (WA).
The Property and Motor Dealers (Commercial Agency Practice Code of Conduct) Regulation 2001 (Qld).
The Trade Practices Act 1974 (renamed to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 on 1 January 2011).
European Union:
Directive No 2000/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 June 2000 on combating late payment in commercial transactions.
Directive No. 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions.
European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Creating a European Account Preservation Order to Facilitate Cross-Border Debt Recovery in Civil and Commercial Matters (Brussels, 25.7.2011 – COM[2011] 445 final – 2011/0204 [COD]).
Regulation (EC) No. 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment procedure.
Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure.
Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims.
Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of the Council of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I).
Hungary:
Act No. 53 of year 1994 on Court Enforcement (“1994. évi LIII. törvény a bírósági végrehajtásról”).
Act No. XLVII of year 2008 on the Prohibition of Unfair Trading Practices Committed against Consumers, (2008. évi XLVII. törvény a fogyasztókkal szembeni tisztességtelen kereskedelmi gyakorlat tilalmáról).
Act No. 50 of year 2009 on Pay-Orders (2009. évi L. törvény a fizetési meghagyásos eljárásról).
Civil Code of Hungary (2013) – Act No. V of year 2013 on the Civil Code (A Polgári Törvénykönyvről szóló 2013. évi V. törvény)
Law No. CXXXIX of year 2013 on the Hungarian National Bank (“2013. évi CXXXIX. Törvény a Magyar Nemzeti Bankról”),
Serbia:
Act on Enforcement and on Preliminary Measures (“Zakon o izvršenju i obezbeđenju”), Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia (Sl. glasnik RS), Nos. 31/11, 99/11, 109/2013, 55/2014 and 139/2014.)
Act on Enforcement and on Preliminary Measures (“Zakon o izvršenju i obezbeđenju”), Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia (Sl. glasnik RS), Nos. 106/15, 106/16 and 113/17.
United States:
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Pub. L. 111–203).
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA, 1977, last amended in 2010).
Florida statutes Title XXXIII, Chapter 559, ss. 559.541 – 559.548 on Commercial Collection Practices.
Soft law
Australia:
Debt Collection Guideline, compiled by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (July 2017).
European Union:
Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices (Commission Staff Working Document, SWD [2016] 163 final as of 25 May 2016).
Hungary:
Ombudsman’s Report in the case OBH 5140/2008 (“Az állampolgári jogok országgyűlési biztosának jelentése az OBH 140/2008. számú ügyben”),, (http://www.ajbh.hu/).
Recommendation of the FSA’s President No. 14/2012 (of 13th of Dec) for Debt Collectors on the Consumer Protection Principles they are Expected to Apply when Engaging in Debt Collection [“A Pénzügyi Szervezetek Állami Felügyelete elnökének 14/2012. (XII.13.) számú ajánlása a követeléskezelők számára a követeléskezelési gyakorlatuk során elvárt fogyasztóvédelmi elvekről”].
United Kingdom:
Law Commission (UK), Report entitled Consumer Redress for Misappropriations and Aggressive Practices (2012).
Cases
Australia:
ACCC v Esanda Finance Corporation Ltd [2003] PCA 1225.
ACCC v The Maritime Union of Australia [2001] FCA 1549.
European Union:
Commission v. Italy, the Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 18 July 2007 in case C-134/05.
Germany:
OLG Koblenz, 8 July 1977, MDR 1978, 141.
Hungary:
Curia (Hungarian Supreme Court) decision No. Kfv.37370/2017/7 (available in Hungarian language).
EBH 2006.1477
Pszaf KMF-06274-2/2010 of 25 May 2010.
Pszaf (Hungarian Supervisory Authority) document No. 158118-2/2010 of 16 Dec. 2010.
Pszaf decision FK–I/B–8243/2011 of 12 Aug. 2011.
Pszaf Decision H-FH-I-B-1049/2012.
High Court of Budapest (“Fővárosi Törvényszék”) decision No. 4.Kpk.34.703/2011/9 of 21 March 2012 on file with the author.
Italy:
PS9042-Esattoria-Agenzia Riscossioni. Provvedimento n. 24763, 22 January 2014.
Slovakia:
Krajsky sud v. Presove, 27 October 2011, 2Co/116/2011.
United States:
Brooks v. Leon’s Quality Adjusters, Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116803 (E.D. Cal. August 30, 2016).
Lee v. Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120102 (N.D. Cal. September 6, 2016).
Internet
Industry publications and industry-related data, materials
Cash Management Group [CMG] and its subsidiary France Contentieux (http://en.france-contentieux.com/france-contentieux-international.html).
Credit Services Association [CSA , est. 1902] (http://www.csa-uk.com/welcome).
De Incassokamer BV at (www.incassokamer.com).
EOS company profile (https://www.eos-solutions.com/).
Euler Hermes Collections GmbH (Potsdam), (http://www.eulerhermes-collections.de).
European Collectors Association [ECA] (http://www.europeancollectors.org/).
Federal Management (UK) – (http://www.federalmanagement.co.uk).
Hungarian Chamber of Private Bailiffs (page with definitions named as: “Jogi kisokos”), (http://www.mbvk.hu/jogi_kisokos_zold.html).
Hungarian Central (National) Bank (http://mnb.hu/en).
INTRUM company profile (https://www.intrum.com/about-us/company-info/).
Kruk S.A. (https://en.kruk.eu/investor-relations/kruk-group).
Moore & Blatch (http://mooreblatch.com/business/debt-asset-recovery/).
NederlandseInkassodienst (http://www.dutch-incasso.com/).
‘Reticulum’ (www.reticulum.cz).
Blogs, media
See Caton, A.V., When is a Repossession Company a “Debt Collector” under the FDCPA? (28 Oct. 2016), at <https://www.hudsoncook.com/article/when-is-a-repossession-company-a-debt-collector-under-the-fdcpa/index.cfm?print=yes>.
Gyenis, Á., 2011,Vajon hová fut a kocsi?- Törvénytelen autófoglalások (Where is the Car being Taken? – Illegal Car Repossessions), Hungarian language weekly ‘HVG,’ 26 March issue.
Theater plays
Barna, B., Folyóügy (https://braunbarna.hu/folyougy/).