What to do if you are threatened with death or physical harm

How to act and behave if you or your loved ones are threatened

A threat to life, health, well-being and business reputation is not a pleasant situation.
Unfortunately, threats are now very common, and in reality almost everyone faces them. Where the conflict could have been resolved amicably and an apology made, the matter often ends more seriously. You may not only be threatened with physical violence or disseminate information discrediting your honor, dignity and business reputation, but also be shown dangerous objects or even weapons. At first glance, threats for an unprepared person can be very scary. But it’s worth cooling down a little and thinking about how best to behave in this situation so that you and the people close to you don’t get hurt? In order to figure out how real the threat of violence is from arrogant and unpleasant people who disturb your peace, and also to develop the right line of behavior, you should listen to the advice of lawyers. If you are receiving physical threats, you should not assume that the situation will resolve on its own. Timely protection is necessary to ensure personal safety for yourself and your loved ones. This article will talk about exactly where to look for protection from threats and prevent a negative development of the situation.

Can a bank assign a debt?

Yes, this possibility is established by Art.
382 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 12 of the Federal Law “On Consumer Credit (Loan)”. Since 2014, the debtor is no longer required to consent to such actions. However, the bank must send you a notification within a month about the transfer of your contract to another company. The bank can do without transferring the overdue debt to a third party. And then the role of collectors is performed by his own employees, acting according to internal instructions. As a rule, these are the most loyal debt collectors - you can negotiate with them on debt restructuring.

What is the threat?

When making threats of physical violence, a sober assessment of the nature of the threat, its reality, how the demands are expressed, and motives hidden at first glance will be required. There is no need to think that if you have known a person well for a long time, then he is completely safe. The attacker may well not only intimidate, but also move from verbal threats to real actions.

Terms of liability for threats

You will have to answer for personal or anonymous threats in the following cases. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, a citizen is held accountable if the threat is characterized by the following signs:

you are shown weapons or other equally dangerous objects;
danger to life or health in reality in verbal form or in the form of actions;
real threats to disseminate defamatory information.

If there are threats to your property and material assets in writing, it will not be possible to bring the offender to criminal liability, since he will be held accountable for material damage in fact. In addition to threats, there are often demands to perform certain actions or calls to refrain from them. Let's give an example. For example, this could be coercion to commit robbery if they promise to commit physical violence. Recently, requests via the Internet or telephone calls from collectors have become more frequent because you did not pay off the debt on time. This is not all, and the list goes on.

What you need to pay attention to Even with all the legality of the offender’s demands from you to perform some actions, you cannot threaten to use force, etc. If the fact of the threat is confirmed, then punishment in accordance with the Criminal Code will be required.

Recommendations

Regardless of the type of incoming threats, it is recommended to follow several tips:

Do not panic. A panicking person begins to act rashly, thoughtlessly, which can only lead to a worsening of the situation;
Don't insult. Do not quarrel with the threatening person, do not try to send him counter threats;
Don't break the law. It is prohibited to act illegally, i.e. try to solve the problem by illegal means.

Please note: if the target of threats has the opportunity to satisfy the demands made by the criminal without causing harm to himself, then he should do so. This way you can avoid subsequent irreparable consequences.

How to deal with threats

If you are threatened, you should not take the threats lightly and under no circumstances follow the lead of the offenders. If possible, be sure to retain evidence of the threat. They can take various forms: in writing, in audio or video format, correspondence by e-mail or on social networks. With the help of this evidence, the search for the perpetrators is greatly simplified. In the event of a threat, you should immediately contact law enforcement agencies, since reports of potential crimes are registered and verified by the police service. After the facts are verified by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, an unequivocal answer about the fact of the threat will follow. If these actions are confirmed, the violator will be held accountable. Police officers will help you in this situation and identify the perpetrators.

Threats via mail

A common type of threat is the transmission of letters or notes indicating intentions to the addressee. Such letters can be sent by mail, delivered to a third party, or simply thrown under the door or in a mailbox. A citizen who has received threats in this form must save the message and attach it to the application to the court. Modern investigative technologies will help establish the identity of the threat using handwriting examination, fingerprinting or other biological markers. In addition, the letter is irrefutable evidence of the seriousness of the suspect’s intentions.

Threats are often spread through email, social networks or instant messengers. In order to capture the intent sent over the Internet, you can take a screenshot, which will prevent the author from deleting his message. In addition, you can contact a notary and draw up an “Inspection Report for your personal page.” Despite the fact that in practice this is rarely used, this method will help to record the fact of threats and attach it to the application to the court.

What are the most dangerous threats?

The most dangerous among all other threats are those associated with the use of physical force, demonstration of weapons, damage to property, etc. The most unpleasant thing is that you can encounter this phenomenon in unexpected places: on the street, on a bus or in the subway, or one-on-one. Threats that are made not only towards you, but also your family, friends, colleagues, etc. are punishable. You should not take violent action in response. Otherwise, you will receive liability for causing bodily harm in a mild form; from the category of victims, you will automatically become offenders. How and where to apply. How to compose it correctly If you are being persecuted and threatened with murder and real danger. You should not delay the matter until unpleasant events develop. You need to immediately write a statement to the police or report the crime verbally. If you apply orally, then it is necessary to record a protocol form, which is personally checked and signed by you. The written statement must contain items such as:

place, time and methods of incoming threats through personal contact using mail, phone calls, the Internet, etc.;
the nature of the threat in the form of murder, infliction of bodily harm directly to you or your loved ones, dissemination of information discrediting your dignity and business reputation, etc.;
contact information from persons who are witnesses and capable of confirming that you have received a verbal threat;
links to written evidence, recording audio and video in the format of screenshots of pages on Internet resources;
information about offenders, if you know the person’s identity or information about his location;
the motives for the threat can be expressed in racial and religious hostility, political beliefs, etc.;
other information to identify the person who is threatening you.

If the threat does not involve danger to life or serious harm to health, the person will not be punished. If you contact law enforcement agencies, this will happen only if the offender clearly indicates criminal intentions to cause grievous bodily harm or murder. In this case, a criminal case will be initiated and punishment will follow for threats to kill or serious harm to health, which under this article amounts to up to 5 years. If you contact the police, you will need to justify the reasons and conduct an investigation. If the threat is confirmed during the pre-investigation period, the responsibility for proving guilt will be assigned to the prosecution and the police. Submitting a report of a crime orally or in writing can occur to the territorial department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is possible even when you are away from home, on vacation, on a business trip, etc. If you are threatened, you can contact the nearby police station. If you find yourself in danger on the streets or in other public places, simply call a police officer for help.

Continued torture

In Russia, there are virtually no legal measures that allow you to protect yourself from the person who is stalking you. The phrase “When they kill you, then come” perfectly reflects the system of law enforcement response to reports of threats and violence. Because of this, people are often forced to take care of their own safety: to hide and even change their place of residence.

“I don’t want to place the responsibility on victims to somehow change their lives,” emphasizes lawyer Mari Davtyan. — It turns out that a person should run for the rest of his life, or what? Change your last name, move, change your job, change your social circle - that is, stop living a normal life. But it shouldn’t be this way - this is not an effective measure of protection, but a continuation of torture.”

Where to contact

Which authority to write a complaint to depends on the violations committed by the collectors when interacting with the client:

disclosure of information about a loan or borrower to third parties - Roskomnadzor ;
threats, insults, intimidation - police, prosecutor's office ;
violations in the procedure for transferring a loan to a debt collection company - the Central Bank of the Russian Federation; in this case, measures will be taken not against the agency, but against the financial institution that transferred the data to third parties.

For any statements, additionally duplicate the complaint to NAPCA and the FSSP. These organizations monitor the activities of collection companies and can take their own actions, including depriving the agency of its license.

Prosecution

To correctly draw up an application to regulatory and law enforcement agencies, read the main articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, under which debt collection specialists can be held accountable:

119 – threats;
111, 112, 115, 116 – harm to health, beatings;
167 – damage to property.

In addition to criminal liability, debt collectors can be held administratively liable under the Code of Administrative Offenses. For example, for obscene language addressed to a citizen, the claimant can be punished in accordance with Art. 20.1 “Petty hooliganism.” For such an act he faces a fine of up to 1,000 rubles.

Summary

If a collection service representative threatens a defaulter or relatives, remember:

the main task of agency employees is to inform about the debt;
intimidation, insults, physical violence - illegal methods of influence;
Debt collectors can go to court to force collection of a loan, but they do this extremely rarely;
specialists do not have the right to damage the client’s property;
If collectors exceed their authority, contact NAPCA, the prosecutor's office or the police.

More…

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Working with bona fide agencies

EOS recommends that people who find themselves in difficult life situations not be afraid of circumstances. Contacting a responsible, adequate collection organization will not worsen your conditions, but, on the contrary, can improve them by writing off part of the debt, fines and sanctions. If collectors act within the law, meet them halfway. Polite, constructive communication and a willingness to cooperate are the way to get rid of loan obligations forever, and this rule applies not only to agents.

Practice in resolving such issues

Judicial practice on issues of excess of their powers by collectors has developed ambiguous. When receiving threats, it is difficult for victims to prove that they were in danger at that moment.

If a vague phrase is uttered: “I cannot guarantee your health” or “I do not guarantee that your life will be safe if you default on the loan,” this is not a direct threat, and it will be difficult to hold the debt collector accountable. But the phrase: “I will kill you” is a clear threat, for which a real prison sentence can be awarded .

To achieve justice, record all conversations, save SMS messages and letters on social networks. Even if the intimidation was indirect, contact the police and NAPCA. Creditors are afraid of determined clients who can fight back and defend their rights.

If the collector came in person

Because personal communication is provided by law as one of the methods of interaction; debt collectors can come to the defaulter’s home. The client has the right not to open the door and not allow “guests” into the apartment .

Go out to talk in the stairwell or in the yard. If possible, ask a relative or neighbor to be present during the conversation.

If there is no one nearby, tell them that you will be recording the conversation, then turn on the camera or voice recorder. These simple measures will protect the debtor from attacks in personal communication.