2024-09-29 12:39:25
- Fees have not budged since 2006, and costs have multiplied
- However, the PSI do not want to increase the fees, but only to update them in view of inflation
- Their colleagues from Greece were even tasked with establishing facts, for example how a parent fulfills the regime of seeing his child, or whether a prisoner goes to work regularly
It sharply reduces the amount that private bailiffs collect. In 2018, it was BGN 1 billion, and in 2023 it will be around BGN 800 million. This was announced by the head of the Chamber of Private Bailiffs (PSI), Georgi Dichev, at a working meeting with their colleagues from the Greek Chamber.
BGN 161 million was collected for the benefit of the citizens, which showed that their trust in the PSI was increasing. BGN 7 million of this money was alimony, and unpaid salaries – BGN 4 million.
BGN 295 million was the amount in favor of the banks, but in reality it was much smaller, because the banks transferred their receivables to collection companies.
According to Dichev, bank receivables were about 10%, in contrast to years ago, when their share was 50%. The receivables in favor of merchants were BGN 217 million, and those of state authorities – BGN 27 million.
Collections in favor of the courts are extremely small – BGN 3 million.
According to Dichev, the number of new cases remained illusory – about 200,000 per year. This was due to the old cases being converted.
“We mainly have small receivables,” admitted the head of the Chamber. Fast loan companies, like banks, transferred their receivables to collection companies.
There were also collection companies in Greece, which were, however, under very serious state control. In the past, there were problems such as calling the debtors constantly, there were also serious problems with the personal data used by these companies.
According to Dichev, the tendencies to avoid the PSI were extremely unpleasant. Their colleagues from Western Europe warned them some time ago that this could happen.
“In Bulgaria things have stagnated since 20 years ago. For five years we have been warning about the dire state of the profession,” said the head of the Chamber of Public Safety and Security. Unfortunately, nothing happened during this period.
At the same time, fees have not changed since 2006.
Foreclosure is BGN 15. With VAT it is BGN 18, Dichev gave an example. And at the same time, the state fee for registration at the Registration Agency was BGN 40.
Analyzes have shown that the increase in fees, however, will not return to the level of years ago. The PSI did not talk about raising them, but about updating them in view of inflation.
We do not want lobbying, nothing hidden, but for 6 months we have not received an answer from the Minister of Justice, announced the head of the Chamber.
The other worrying trend was the outflow from the profession. The small and part of the medium-sized offices were in critical danger of termination.
The cantors decreased to 180, and some time ago there were two hundred and several. Staffing was down 30% on average, with assistant PSEs down 13% for the period 2018-2023. The total number of employees was down 15% from 2018 to 2023.
“We are not competitive from the point of view of the labor market, our most qualified employees are constantly leaving us”, explained Dichev.
At the expense of the Bulgarian private bailiffs, their Greek colleagues were charged with many activities.
Nikolaos Yannis, who is the chairman of the Greek Chamber of Private Bailiffs, explained about the electronic platform introduced in Greece. Through it, debtors’ cars could be searched.
The Greek bailiff was fully connected with the cadastre and thus the debtor’s immovable properties were inspected. In addition, the Greek PSI could now fully confiscate electronically. He could serve all papers electronically. The Greek PSI were much smaller in number, there were about 2000 bailiffs, but they were equal in the legal family.
Yannis explained that in Greece every individual had to indicate an email address. This was a new practice for 2 years. As the registration could be done on any domain.
From the European community, there was an order from May next year on the electronic service outside the country, according to which every person – natural or legal, is obliged to have an electronic address.
This is not a law in Greece, but a European directive from 2020. Because of it, the platform was made in Greece, which was at the expense of the chamber.
For example, a Bulgarian who buys a property in Greece must have an email. This is true even for the elderly. One of the participants in the forum explained that even his father, who was 88 years old, was made to have an email. Janis explained that if the electronic service is not accepted within 24 hours, it is done in the traditional way. This platform was made by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Janis also explained that the bailiffs in our southern neighbor are charged with establishing facts in certain cases. The assignment is made by the court to speed up the administration of justice – for example, whether a tenant has left the house in good condition, how the court decision on parental rights is enforced, whether the child is returned on time, for example, and also whether a prisoner goes to work regularly .
Fact-finding was a very small part of the bailiff’s work in Greece. In Europe, this was 80% of their work.
At the moment, the bailiffs in Greece did not have so much work on claims, because after the two crises – the economic crisis and the coronavirus, the banks did not give loans so much.
Fact-finding fees were negotiable, Janis said. For example, when establishing facts about the father’s communication with the child, the fee was 300 euros, if it was Saturday and Sunday – it jumped by 70%. In the case of companies, the fact-finding fee was higher.
Ilias Tsipos, who is also the deputy head of the European Union of Bailiffs, reported that this summer they received an email from a tourist from France who had booked a hotel in Santorini, which had nothing to do with reality. She asked the PSI to establish the facts regarding the hotel so that she could claim her rights through the courts.