How to verify who is contacting you about a debt: a five-step guide
Recently, the media have been writing a lot about debtors' rights and about what is and is not allowed when collecting debts. This is an important topic. You may be contacted about a debt by a creditor, by a new company to which your debt has been assigned, by a collection company acting on the creditor's behalf, or by a fraudster merely posing as one of them. Telling them apart takes just a few minutes. Here are five steps. Anyone can be verified. Including us.
Step 1. Establish who you are talking to and in what role
A legitimate caller always volunteers the company name, its EDRPOU code, and their role: the original creditor, a new creditor (if the debt has been assigned under an assignment agreement), or a collection company acting in the creditor's interest. If they refuse to name the company, the code, or the basis for contacting you, you can end the conversation: there is no one left to verify.
Step 2. Check the company in the National Bank's registers
Creditors and new creditors are financial institutions: look them up in the registers of financial service providers at bank.gov.ua. Collection companies have their own NBU Register of Collection Companies, which is also public. A company that does not appear in the relevant register has no right to carry out such activities.
Step 3. Verify the EDRPOU code in open sources
Enter the EDRPOU code in Opendatabot or YouControl: you will see the company's state registration, its director, current status, and history. It takes a minute and immediately filters out invented “representatives”.
Step 4. Pay only to official account details
A legitimate company accepts payments exclusively to the official account of the legal entity or through the client portal. A request to transfer money to a private individual's card is a sign of fraud, regardless of who the caller claims to be.
Step 5. Know what is prohibited and where to turn
Law No. 1349-IX sets out ethical conduct requirements that apply to creditors, new creditors, and collection companies alike. Prohibited actions include, among others: making threats, exerting psychological pressure, misleading you about court proceedings or asset seizure, disclosing the debt to third parties who are not guarantors, and violating the statutory limits on the time and frequency of contact. If these rules are violated, you can file a complaint with the National Bank of Ukraine via its official website or contact centre at 0 800 505 240. You can also turn to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights or to the courts.
Verify us
LLC "FC "Kredyt-kapital" is a financial company: a creditor and a new creditor that acquires claims under assignment agreements. We operate under an open name and with official registration details: EDRPOU code 35234236; our status as a financial institution can be verified in the registers of the National Bank of Ukraine, and the company's history in the open sources Opendatabot and YouControl.
We welcome verification: a company with nothing to hide does not hide. And once you have checked us out, let's talk about how to close your matter calmly and for good: in your client portal or with a single message.