Using three real-life examples, we tried to understand how people fall into credit slavery, borrowing more than they can give. And experts told how not to fall into a credit trap.
A person who has to spend more than 30% of his income on servicing loans is already considered a loan, says Alexander Akhlomov, product development director of the United Credit Bureau (UCC). The ratio of monthly payments to wages in Russia is now just over 30%, although in some regions, for example Kalmykia, Dagestan and Karachay-Cherkessia, it reaches 70%.
The worst situation is for Russians with low incomes. “They mostly use short, unsecured loans and loans with a high interest rate,” says Alexey Volkov, Marketing Director of the National Bureau of Credit Histories (NBCH). - As a result, this group is most likely to default on loans or default on obligations.
It is this group of the population that most often finds itself in debt to banks for several loans. In theory, they could be helped by the law on bankruptcy of individuals that came into force in October. But in practice, it is suitable only for those debtors who no longer have either money or property, says Alexey Drach, a lawyer at the Finpotrebsoyuz public organization of consumers. And it is not so easy to declare bankruptcy: the procedure seems to be rather complicated and expensive.
RBC has found several heroes who pay on loans the bulk of their income, or even more than they earn. All of them do not have their own housing and must pay rent for the rented apartment or room. Also, part of the costs of our heroes goes to legal advice, without which they now do not make any important decisions. What does a credit trap look like for ordinary Russian citizens?
Victim of cards
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Debt to banks: about 1 million rubles.
Number of credits: more than 4.
A cashier from a small store in St. Petersburg, 58-year-old Svetlana Knyazeva is not exactly sure how many loans she has now. She simply got confused in them. It all started with the fact that about seven years ago she needed to have her teeth cured and she took out a consumer loan for 100 thousand rubles. in Raiffeisenbank at 14% per annum. She successfully repaid that loan, but the confidence that she was able to pay off the debts played a cruel joke with her.
When her salary was cut (today it is about 30 thousand rubles) and there was not enough money, she applied for a credit card at Home Credit Bank, then at Sberbank, and then at Tinkoff Bank and VTB24. There was not enough salary to pay off debts on these cards - she paid off one loan with another, and so on. “Banks preferred to lend with cards, since I did not have my own home,” says Knyazeva, who moved to St. Petersburg from Ukraine about 10 years ago. “And there was no one to tell you that you couldn't get a lot of credit cards.”
Having received a salary, Knyazeva made minimal payments on cards, extinguished part of her own debt. One of the cards from time to time even managed to be paid off completely. However, gradually she went into an ever-greater minus. Soon, lawyers and bankers advised her not to deal with cards, but to issue an ordinary consumer loan in cash and pay off the debt with its help.
Knyazeva went to the Otkritie Bank, issued a consumer loan for 300 thousand rubles. for three years. With the help of this money, she paid off her largest debt on the Home Credit Bank card and partly on the rest. But Knyazeva still did not manage to get rid of her card addiction: the bankers from Otkritie, in addition to the cash loan, gave her two more cards of their bank.
“A year ago, it came to the point that I paid one and a half salaries,” says the cashier. “I had to work extra hours and live in stress - just not to be late.” Realizing that she was not coping, Knyazeva asked the Otkrytie Bank to restructure her debt.
The bank went to meet, stretched the term of loans. Now Knyazeva has to pay 29 thousand rubles to Otkritie Bank for seven years. monthly. But even in this case, she did not manage to get rid of credit cards completely. According to the woman, one card (of the Otkritie Bank) was not included in the restructuring, and it was necessary to pay another 8 thousand rubles on it. per month. In addition, it still owes Tinkoff Bank, Sberbank and VTB24.
The total amount of her debt is about 1 million rubles, the total monthly payments are about 55 thousand rubles. with a salary of 30 thousand rubles. and pensions 10 thousand rubles. Knyazeva actually works for these loans, complains that she practically could not and cannot spend on herself. “For the money that I gave to the banks in the form of interest, I could buy a room that I am currently renting,” she says.
All troubles at once
Debt to banks: about 500 thousand rubles.
Number of credits: 5.
In June 2015, accountant Ulyana Zagumennaya (37 years old) lost her husband - he died of cancer. Two children, 10 and 15 years old, were left without a father. The diagnosis was made in November 2014, after which he immediately lost his job. Small savings of the family went to the treatment of the spouse. Zagumennaya's husband, Russian by nationality, was a citizen of Uzbekistan, most of the free medical procedures were not available to him. Soon Zagumennaya herself was left without work.
In Moscow, the couple rented an apartment, and began taking loans from banks back in 2012. The money was needed to obtain Russian citizenship for her husband (they did not manage to do this in the end), rent housing and other current needs. Loans were issued to the spouse, since only she has Russian citizenship. The last loans were taken already in order to cover the debts of the previous ones.
“Gradually, the credit load forced us to find cheaper housing in the Moscow region, as well as to ask banks for restructuring,” says Zagumennaya. "But not a single bank went for it." A month before her husband's death, the woman turned to a lawyer with a request to help deal with debts. In May 2015, the spouses owed Sberbank (100 thousand rubles), Bank of Moscow, Raiffeisenbank, Tinkoff Bank and Renaissance Credit Bank (50 thousand rubles each). In addition, it remained to repay the loan in the amount of 25 thousand rubles. in MFO "MigCredit", which the woman took for the treatment of her husband. At the moment, taking into account fines and penalties, the total debt of Zagumennaya is about 500 thousand rubles.
After the death of her husband, she was looking for a job, but in times of crisis she was able to get a job only at a private factory near Moscow, where she was engaged in processing heating radiators before painting. Her salary was 20 thousand rubles. per month. But she also lost her - because of her daughter's illness, she had to take sick leave, she did not pass the probationary period.
In the summer, lawyer Svetlana Shumova, who undertook to represent Ulyana's interests for free, managed to agree on a restructuring with Sberbank. However, it was never signed - given the fact that Zagumenna lost her job and had nothing to pay her, there was no point in concluding an agreement with the bank.
Big city problems
Number of credits: 2.
Three years ago Tatyana (asked not to mention her last name in the article) with her husband and two teenage children moved to St. Petersburg from a small town. The family rented an apartment. The wife soon got a job at a real estate agency, her husband went to a driving school as an instructor, and the children began to prepare for admission to St. Petersburg universities. However, in order to get a job in a new place, they needed additional funds.
In 2012, the family issued the first consumer loan for 350 thousand rubles. in the bank "Renaissance Credit". The loan was calculated for 4 years. A year later, the spouses needed money again - to buy a new car, in which my husband continued to work as a driving instructor. The second loan in the amount of 300 thousand rubles. managed to get a Home Credit Bank for 3 years.
“We have already paid most of the debt,” says Tatiana. - In October 2015, payments on one of the loans should have already ended. But a crisis began in the country, and our incomes fell sharply - about three times”. The number of people wishing to learn to drive has become much smaller, and the real estate market is not the best time either. The woman had to leave the agency, now she works as a manicure master in a small salon. And her 49-year-old husband still teaches a few students to drive.
For about a year now, Tatiana and her husband have been paying two loans less than they owe, the delay is growing. “The whole family is more than 50 thousand rubles. we do not earn a month now, - says Tatiana. - Of these, 30 thousand rubles. goes only to pay for the apartment. On loans you have to pay 36 thousand rubles."
Tatiana finds it difficult to say the exact amount of the debt, taking into account the fines that have come up. The woman has repeatedly written applications to banks asking for restructuring. “The applications were accepted, but I received an answer to them in the form of SMS messages: the bank cannot make concessions,” she says.
What not to do to avoid falling into a credit trap
1. Get more than one credit card per working family member
“Transferring money from card to card and paying off one debt at the expense of another is a road to nowhere,” explains Saida Suleimanova, an independent financial adviser, Ph. D., expert at the Institute of Financial Planning.
2. Take a credit card with a limit above three salaries
“Banks often set a much higher limit, thereby encouraging unreasonable spending. The three-wage limit will not allow you to fall into bondage,”advises Suleimanova.
3. Do not create reserves
“Relying on borrowed funds without having a solid income or savings is a very big mistake. The safety cushion - savings in case of job loss - should be 3-6 monthly incomes,”Suleimanova warns.
4. Refuse life insurance
“According to statistics, half of loan delinquencies arise from serious health problems. Life insurance is a must,”says Natalya Smirnova, CEO of Personal Adviser.
5. Forget about the opportunity to lower the rate
“If your credit history is not damaged, you can try to refinance at a lower rate in another bank, thus reducing the cost of the loan and improve your financial position,” suggests Smirnova.
6. Give up financial planning
“Perhaps, there are large expenses ahead that you did not take into account and which may interfere with payments on the loan,” Smirnova warns.
Author: Ekaterina Alikina