Competitions or phone sex were promised: if consumers chose advertised telephone numbers, debt collection demands would instead arrive promptly via SMS. This is how you can defend yourself.
The most important thing in brief:
- The debt collection claims come from, among others, Petersberg, Prague or other places in the Czech Republic.
- Payment requests to private telephone numbers are intended to put massive pressure on those affected.
- However, threatening text messages or threatening letters are illegal. You shouldn't react to it at all.
- Real debt collection companies only come into play when you receive invoices but have taken too long to pay.
Fraudulent debt collection companies use cell phone numbers to make money: Consumers repeatedly complain about being put under pressure via SMS. Accordingly, such messages come from various debt collection agencies, for example in Petersberg or Prague. But how do the actors get their private telephone numbers?
Every day, consumers receive dubious debt collection invoices by email or post. With SMS, fraudsters are now using an additional way to get money from unsuspecting consumers.
Are debt collection demands via SMS legitimate?
Even if debt collection companies normally contact you by post, payment requests via SMS do not have to be dubious per se. There are – albeit few – debt collection companies that respond via SMS and also announce this publicly on their website.
Please note, however, that a debt collection company's information obligations are extensive and can hardly be fulfilled with just an SMS or a threatening letter. Debt collection companies must clearly and understandably communicate, in particular, the name or company of the client as well as the reason for the claim and, in the case of contracts, the subject matter of the contract and the date of conclusion of the contract.
Every debt collection agency operating here must also be registered in accordance with Section 10 of the Legal Services Act (RDG), even if it is based abroad. You can check for free whether a debt collection agency is registered in the legal services register. A reputable debt collection agency will give you a reasonable deadline to settle the debt.
