Abstract
The article seeks to establish, in a comprehensive manner, if and how abusive debt collection practices are regulated in the respondent EU Member States. Using empirical data gathered from consumer and supervisory agencies as well as debt collection associations in 26 EU Member States, it provides an insight into (a) the existence of a licencing regime for debt collectors; (b) the potential transboundary dimension of debt collection and its implications for the common market; (c) the types of abusive debt-collection practices encountered in the Member States; (d) the efficacy of self-regulation via Codes of Conduct; and (e) the potential traditional remedies available to consumer-debtors. The article concludes that the existence of different national models creates potential issues and discrepancies in the legal status and defences available to consumer-debtors across the EU, which ultimately affects the proper functioning of the single credit servicing market. The advocated solution is that of a harmonized sector-specific regulation of abusive debt collection practices at EU level.
Highlights
The article seeks to establish, in a comprehensive manner, if and how abusive debt collection practices are regulated in the respondent EU Member States
Using empirical data gathered from consumer and supervisory agencies as well as debt collection associations in 26 EU Member States, it provides an insight into (a) the existence of a licencing regime for debt collectors; (b) the potential transboundary dimension of debt collection and its implications for the common market; (c) the types of abusive debtcollection practices encountered in the Member States; (d) the efficacy of self-regulation via Codes of Conduct; and (e) the potential traditional remedies available to consumerdebtors
This article seeks to establish, in a comprehensive manner, if and how abusive debt collection practices are regulated in the respondent EU Member States (EU MS)
Summary
The article seeks to establish, in a comprehensive manner, if and how abusive debt collection practices are regulated in the respondent EU Member States. The economic recession, the loss or decrease in income, and the reduction of welfare policies generated high levels of consumers’ over-indebtedness and affected their ability to repay their debts (Brown 2019; Deville 2015; Ferretti 2016). This in turn led to a surge in debt-collection cases. Debt collection may be divided into two categories: judicial and non-judicial, depending on whether state agents are involved or not
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