ACM issues warning against debt collection agency Pay Care

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has issued a warning against the practices of debt collection agency Pay Care B.V. Pay Care uses aggressive debt-collection practices. Moreover, the claims in question are presumably unjust. ACM has received hundreds of complaints about these practices over the past few weeks through its consumer information portal ConsuWijzer. Pay Care collects payments mainly for special offers and holiday products that were presented to consumers over the phone. ACM strongly suspects that these agreements are not legally valid. That would, in turn, render said debt collections invalid as well. Pay Care was not able to disprove ACM's suspicions. That is why ACM advises consumers against paying Pay Care’s claims just like that. ACM investigates companies that mislead consumers and subsequently demand payment. Pending the investigation at hand into Pay Care, ACM has decided to issue a warning against Pay Care, considering the number of complaints.

Unjust claims and aggressive practices

Consumers are approached by Pay Care by phone and/or email. The company then requests to collect payment for holiday deals, cashback services or other discount services, and promotional competitions. These claims vary between EUR 100 and EUR 500. In many cases, consumers do not know that they had entered into an agreement with the provider, or they did not accept the offer in question. Consumers report that Pay Care keeps on urging them to pay, without responding to questions or objections. Moreover, the company threatens taking measures that, legally speaking, it cannot take, such as wage or property garnishment (or attachment of earnings/property),  or increasing the claimed amount substantially if the consumer does not pay immediately. Evert Jan Hummelen, acting Director of ACM's Consumer Department, explains: "Debt collection agencies must follow certain rules. If a debt collection agency is unable to prove that a claim is just, then consumers do not need to pay."

Previously, the Dutch Consumers' Association (Consumentenbond) and the Belgian regulator already issued warnings about Pay Care's practices.

What can consumers do?

Consumers faced with unjust claims can visit ConsuWijzer.nl (in Dutch), and find out what they are able to do:

• Do not pay the bill, even if the debt collection agency is threatening with higher fees, sending a bailiff, or taking other measures.
• Compare documents or recordings with the information on Consuwijzer.nl to make sure they are legally valid. An agreement is only legally valid if you have agreed to the offer. Find out whether an agreement is considered valid on ConsuWijzer.nl
• Hang up the Phone if the debt collection agency continues to call. Ignore letters or emails. These will often stop coming eventually;
• Report unjust claims to ConsuWijzer.
• File a police report if the debt collection agency is threatening you.