– Young people make mistakes regardless of their mother’s and father’s finances. It is therefore important to talk more about the economy in general. Linda Tofteng Eliassen thinks so. She is a consumer economist at Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge, and works, among other things, to give lectures on personal finance at upper secondary schools. Eliassen believes young people should learn more about personal finances and debt collection at school. – Most students have heard about debt collection through TV programmes, and know that it is not good. But the statistics for people in their 20s show that they make financial mistakes to a greater extent, so you should clearly learn more at school, says Eliassen. – Life is already difficult enough, and our financial choices don’t need to make it more difficult, she continues. A survey from the payment solution Klarna shows that a third of young Norwegians are not sure what happens if you pay an invoice late. – A burn mark If you don’t pay bills, they will be sold to debt collection companies. This is a company that works to collect money. First, the debt collection company will send a debt collection notice, asking you to pay. If you still don’t settle, it will be a debt collection case. Debt collection A collection of overdue monetary claims, for example unpaid bills. If one does not pay the money claims, they are sold to debt collection companies to collect the money. The debt collection company sends a debt collection notice, with an additional one-off fee. This is called a fee. If you have not paid within 14 days, you will receive a payment notice. This makes it difficult to get loans, mobile subscriptions, and certain jobs, such as the police and defence. The payment notice remains until you make up your mind. If you do not pay, the debt collection company can forward the claim to the Bailiff. They can initiate measures to collect the money, such as wage deductions or liens on assets. If you disagree with the requirement for which you receive a debt collection notice, the Consumer Council’s website has a guide to what you can do. The Debt Victims’ Alliance also has a helpline where you can talk about serious debt problems. Norwegians owe a total of NOK 33.8 billion in consumer debt. Sources: Linda Tofteng Eliassen, Snl, Forbrukerrådet, Finanstilsynet A collection case is often called a payment notice. The notice makes it more difficult to get loans, mobile phone subscriptions and even some jobs, such as police and in the armed forces. – It’s a burn mark. You are labeled as insolvent, but that is deleted when you make up for yourself, Eliassen explains. Eliassen says financial problems often start with small bills that go to debt collection, before you lose control of your finances. Photo: Marit Garfjeld / news A bill of just a few hundred kroner can quickly become much more expensive when it goes to debt collection. – When the bill reaches the debt collection company, they have their own interest, which is rarely below 10 per cent. In addition, they require a one-off fee, which is called a fee. The amount depends somewhat on how much you owe. The usual rate is NOK 700 in fees for bills under NOK 2,500, says the consumer economist. Taking up the fight Earlier in December, news wrote about Thomas Huru, who has taken up the fight with various debt collection companies several times. – I find it inspiring, quite simply. It gives a kind of satisfaction, Huru said of the fight against what he believes is a cynical industry. Huru believed that the claims against him were groundless, and that the debt collection companies run a crude process. – There is never dialogue, there is never understanding. They drive as aggressively and as fast as possible. You will not be allowed to complain, as you are entitled to. Read the whole case about Thomas Huru here: Conciliation Council According to figures from the Norwegian Finanstilsynet, 668,000 debt collection cases related to consumer debt were registered in July. About ten percent of these belong to people under 29 years of age. On average, these people owe NOK 20,000 in original debt. In Thomas Huru’s case, he believed that he was wrongly billed by Talkmore. Huru then took the case against the debt collection company Mohdi Collect to the Conciliation Council. Eliassen states that you can complain if you disagree with the bill for which you receive a debt collection notice. – Then it is important to do it in writing, and you have to take the case to those you originally owe money to. But it is also important to notify the debt collection company, so that they know you are in dialogue, says Eliassen. If the parties still disagree on the matter, it is taken to the Conciliation Council. – They look at agreements and signatures, and handle the disputes, explains the economist. Consumer economist Linda’s advice if you receive a debt collection notice Pay! – Pay as soon as possible, before there are bigger consequences. Get in touch: – If you are unable to pay, contact the debt collection company and make an agreement – it can be unpleasant, but remember that there are people on the other end. Loans from friends and family: – Possibly borrow money privately to clean things up. It can be unpleasant, but you have to deal with it if you owe money. Clean up your own finances: – Through all my years in the bank, I have met people who have run up huge debts. Most often it starts small. – Embarrassed Through many years of working in banks, Eliassen has spoken to many people who have run into financial problems. – People find it stigmatizing and embarrassing when you receive a debt collection notice. Several times I have experienced that we get one out of two in a relationship, who has not told the other party about the problems. The threshold for talking about it is high, and will probably get bigger the longer time goes by. Like many experts, she warns of a tighter financial everyday life for most people in the future. No growth Nevertheless, the debt collection company Intrum has not experienced growth in the number of debt collection cases yet. – The price increase over the past year has still not led to any significant increase in debt collection cases, says chief analyst Morten Trasti. Chief analyst at Intrum, Morten Trasti. Photo: Creative commons / Trivilino Chiara Myhr Intrum points to low unemployment as a possible reason for this. Trasti says the company has fewer debt collection cases with young people than before. In 2010, approximately one third of the company’s debt collection cases involved people under 30. The company states that the figure is approximately 1 in 5 today. – Longer study time and later establishment of a family means that the need for credit is moved to later in life. And without a permanent job, there is very limited access to credit, Trasti states as a possible explanation.
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Consumer economist Linda Tofteng Eliassen wants debt collection into the school – news Troms and Finnmark
