A stable, well-functioning financial market for allA stable, well-functioning financial market for allThe market for overdue accounts and debt collection
Finansinspektionen and Datainspektionen (The Swedish Data Inspection Board) have joined forces to examine the market for the sale of overdue accounts.
The industry currently appears to be operating under fair conditions and they see no reason for regulation. This provides the perfect opportunity for the industry to establish via self-regulation the necessary requirements for long-term, controlled trade. Sales of accounts fulfill a fundamental, healthy "cleaning function" in a market economy, but there are also inherent risks for debtors. The buyer may use more forceful methods in its interactions with debtors to increase profitability. This problem may become even more pronounced if debt collection agencies to a greater extent delegate the interaction with debtors to individual warrant servers. Tendencies in this direction may partially explain the recent increase in complaints.
Demand for improved handling of complaints
DI will place explicit demands on companies to have functioning routines for quickly and properly handling dissatisfied customers. Finansinspektionen will on its end raise the level of supervision of debt collection methods carried out by companies monitored by FI. The two organizations will also begin a more long-term cooperation to achieve a more unified approach to the supervision.
Regulation of warrant servers
Finansinspektionen and Datainspektionen believe that warrant servers should be subject to regulation and that individuals in this profession should be expected to fulfill some kind of qualification requirements. These regulations would improve the reputation of the individuals as well as confidence in the debt collection industry in general.
