Making a loan at the bank, the borrower agrees to repay it for a certain period. But sometimes circumstances turn against him. To prepare in advance for such troubles, it is worth knowing your rights and obligations in advance. The bank may file a petition against the debtor. But if the statute of limitations for the loan has expired, there can be no talk of any claims.
Definition
The limitation period is the period during which banks may demand repayment of debt from the borrower. A financial institution can independently clarify a relationship with a client or go to court for debt collection. The law sets a limitation period for a loan of 3 years. But this is a conditional figure. There is still a lot of nuances that can increase or decrease it.
Features
- The term is calculated not from the moment of signing the contract, but from the day of the last payment. After 3 months of delay, the bank can arrange a check and write an early collection to the client. Then the reference is carried forward.
- No matter what the collectors say, the statute of limitations on a loan is not calculated for life. Time is clearly limited.
- If during the conflict between the credit institution and the borrower there were discussions about the restructuring of the debt (letters, notifications, personal communication), then you need to start calculating from this moment. Therefore, if the client wants to avoid paying the debt, all negotiations should be minimized.
- The limitation period is not related to the debt repayment schedule. It is calculated by other methods.
What can claim
Even if the statute of limitations for the loan has expired, Privatbank may hire collectors to communicate with the debtor. In this case, you need to know your rights, namely the client can:
- Contact your credit attorney for information that all the deadlines for claiming a refund have expired;
- recognize and pay a debt;
- write a statement to law enforcement agencies about extorting money.
Rights of a financial institution
The bank has the right:
- seize the debtor's property;
- withdraw the pledged assets and sell them;
- in court to recover debts from the client’s income;
- put pressure on guarantors.
So non-payment of debts can lead to serious consequences. For this violation, the client will be blacklisted and will not be able to get a loan from the bank in the future.
Business Practices
The main problem that the client will encounter in case of violation of the refund schedule for the bank is the beginning of calculating the period of time during which it is possible to file an application with the court. By law, this period is three years after the end of the contract. But if the document spells out the bank’s right to demand early repayment of funds, then it’s more correct to start the countdown from the day the creditor presented the claim. If attempts to establish contact with the borrower did not bring the expected results, the bank can go to court or transfer debt to collectors. Then the date of calculation is postponed. This rule applies to all stages of debt collection. If the bank submits a court list to the bailiffs once every 36 months, the term will never end.
Therefore, you can not officially refund if:
- for three years the client did not attempt to restructure the debt;
- the bank itself did not try to recover funds for the loan;
- the credit institution filed a lawsuit, and the client responded with a request that the period during which you can charge money has already been completed.
But such situations are extremely rare.In addition, the court will have to prove that the bank did not take measures to collect debts. It is almost impossible to do this, since:
- in court it is impossible to provide a telephone conversation with a financial institution employee as evidence;
- a bank receipt of late payments is not a recognition of debt.
The same arguments can be provided by a lawyer, protecting his client. It is impossible to prove that it was the debtor who picked up the phone, and not one of his relatives. And the signature on receipt of the letter does not indicate that the client is familiar with the content. Only if the debtor certifies the documents within 36 months, for example, an additional agreement on the restructuring of the debt, then the start of counting will be postponed.
What does the borrower need to know?
The Civil Code of the Russian Federation sets out some restrictions on the time of collection of debt.
Art. 196: The statute of limitations on a loan may be from three to ten years from the date of violation of rights.
Art. 198: The above clauses may not be changed by agreement of the parties. The limitation period for a loan is established by the Code of the Russian Federation or by a court decision.
Art. 199:
1. Applications from the bank to the court are accepted at each filing.
2. Unilateral actions of a financial organization aimed at writing off debts are not allowed.
Art. 200: The limitation period for a loan without a limited validity period is calculated from the date of presentation of claims.
Art. 201. The period allocated for the presentation of obligations shall be extended for an indefinite period of time if:
1) the borrower is faced with extraordinary or insurmountable circumstances;
2) one of the parties is part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;
3) the government established a moratorium on the fulfillment of obligations.
Art. 204:
1. From the date of the application and until the proceedings are ongoing, time is not calculated.
2. If the statute of limitations on the loan after the trial is less than 6 months, then it shall be extended for this period.
Art. 205
In exceptional cases (serious illness, etc.), the court may recognize the borrower's arguments valid. Then the statute of limitations on the loan is restored.
Article 208. All these provisions do not apply to the requirements of:
• on the protection of moral rights;
• claims of depositors regarding the issuance of deposits;
• on compensation for harm that has been caused to life or health.
Interpretation of lawyers
In Art. 200 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that the limitation period begins after the completion of the contract. That is, if a loan was taken on January 10, 2009 for 5 years, then the term will be deducted from January 10, 2014, regardless of the date of the last payment. Although practice shows that this position applies only to "ordinary loans." Plastic media with the ability to receive overdraft do not apply to them. But even if the court decides that the statute of limitations for the loan should be calculated, starting from the date the contract expires, the decision can be challenged through an appeal. Although much in this case depends on the judge.
The fact of official negotiations with the debtor is taken into account. If the borrower sent a letter in advance to the bank requesting a loan vacation, this can significantly reduce the time. It is also worth noting that the sale of the contract to collectors can affect the calculations only if the client made at least one payment in payment of the debt to the agency. In any case, you should consult with a lawyer or lawyer.
The term may be calculated from the moment the creditor found out about the debt, but did not have the opportunity to begin collection. This may be a repayment date, after which the client did not deposit funds. In some cases, judges recognize this interpretation as valid.
If the deadline has passed
The law does not prohibit the bank from demanding a refund within 10 years after the termination of the relationship. After this time, you have a strong argument in court. But the bank can still remind you of the non-return of funds in writing, by phone or email notifications.In order to somehow influence the credit organization, you can write an application for the recall of personal data.
Collectors reach
Even if the statute of limitations for the loan has expired, Russian Standard may sell the contract to the debt collection agency. The latter are likely to take frankly tough debt collection measures. The only way to protect yourself is to write a statement to the police or the prosecutor. The main thing is not to panic. All the conversations of the collectors are aimed at intimidating the client and forcing him to return the money. First you need to try to explain to the agency staff that the statute of limitations for the 2015 loan has expired, which means that you do not intend to return the money. If calls, letters, face-to-face meetings continue, it is necessary to record their fact (record on a camera or microphone) and threaten them with a court or police. The main thing is to be sure that you are right, since collectors often act on the verge or even beyond the law.
Statute of limitations on a loan in Ukraine
The Supreme Court ruled that after the deadline, the bank cannot apply to the client with a request to return the debt, even through a court. But such a ban is valid only if the party submitted a petition under Art. 267 GKU. That is, it announced the expiration of the repayment period. But most often, such disputes are regulated by various institutions with extensive experience working with problem loans.
The law provides for a limitation period of three years, unless otherwise specified in the contract. Therefore, some banks, using this condition, indicate in the papers a term of 50 years. In this case, the lender has the right to demand a refund.
In the dry residue:
- By law, banks can go to court to collect debt for three years.
- Separately spelled out the period for the return of penalties, fines and penalties - one year.
- This time can be adjusted upwards by agreement.
- Violation of the terms as an argument in court is accepted only in the form of a corresponding petition.
- Other things being equal, the period is calculated from the moment of the last payment.
- Selling debt to collectors does not affect the settlement algorithm.
- Calculation is carried out for each payment separately.
The main difference between Russian and Ukrainian legislation is that domestic banks cannot independently prescribe other limitation periods. More precisely they can, but these actions will be declared unlawful by the court. But Ukrainian credit institutions are actively using this loophole of legislation and indicate in the contracts other numbers - 5, 10 and 50 years.
Other states
In the CIS countries, a period of 3 years is also set. Moreover, in Ukraine it is valid only if other conditions are not specified in the contract. If the borrower dies, his obligations will be transferred to the heirs. The reference will be the date of the last payment made. The statute of limitations on the loan in the "RK" is generally absent. They explain to potential borrowers that the bank can demand the age of funds in a few decades. Write off debts only from completely hopeless borrowers. In other cases, the client will have to return to the bank not only the principal debt with interest, but also the amount of legal costs, as well as a state duty of 3%.
Rules for calculating the term
Analyzing all the above information, we can conclude that the reading can begin with:
- The moment the bank submits a demand in the form of a registered letter on an early return of funds.
- Any recorded fact is the client’s appeal to the manager of a financial organization.
- Filing a loan restructuring application.
- In case of partial repayment of a debt - from the day of the last payment made. After payment of all fines and commissions, the countdown ends and resumes only in case of repeated violation of the rules.
- Transfer of debt to the collector does not affect the timing.
Conclusion
By signing a loan agreement, the client is confident in his solvency and that he will be able to return the money to the bank on time.But circumstances may be different. If you forget or were unable to make a payment, the bank may try to recover the money on its own or through a court. Claims are appropriate if the statute of limitations for the loan has not expired. What it is? This is the period during which the customer may be required to return a refund. In the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the Civil Code of Ukraine the term is three years. But lawyers have a lot of debate about which day the countdown should start from. Although in such a situation a lot depends on the judge who makes the decision. But in general, for urgent loans, it is calculated from the date of termination of the contract, and for plastic carriers with overdraft - from the moment of the last payment.
