"Through our campaign, we want to show that contacting a debt management specialist is a natural step that occurs when a debt goes unpaid. We understand that people in debt are often in a difficult situation, but we also want to highlight the perspective of creditors — those who lent their money to others in good faith. Debt collection is a process of recovering outstanding payments that, in practice, consists of three stages. The first is an amicable settlement, where the primary goal is for the debt collection agency to establish contact with the debtor in order to work out a repayment plan that is convenient for both parties. If no agreement is reached, the next stages are court proceedings and enforcement proceedings. It largely depends on the debtor which stage their case will reach. At every stage, it is possible to contact the creditor and negotiate better repayment terms than those ordered by a court ruling, enforced by the creditor through enforcement or bailiff proceedings," says Andrzej Roter, President of the Board of KPF.
The platform also features reports and information on research into the financial ethics of Polish citizens — including how people in debt are perceived — as well as data on the size of the debt market in Poland. According to one of these reports, 95% of Polish citizens believe that debts should be repaid, and nearly 60% of respondents view avoiding debt repayment negatively. According to KPF data, the average debt amount in Poland is approximately 6,000 Polish zloty, with an average of about 1.2 debts per household.
"Most Polish citizens do not have sufficient knowledge about the nature of debt, the stages of debt recovery by creditors, or their own rights and options available to them when it comes to repayment. Often, their first encounter with this topic comes as a surprise — an unexpected phone call or letter demanding repayment of an overdue obligation. Some people become debtors through simple oversight, having forgotten to make a timely payment for goods or services they purchased. By understanding their rights and the basic principles of debt recovery, people in debt will find it significantly easier to take the appropriate and rational steps forward," adds Andrzej Roter, President of the Board of KPF.
As part of the campaign, new content related to debt management and best practices for taking on financial obligations — to prevent excessive indebtedness — will be regularly published on the platform.
The communications efforts for the campaign 'Debt Collection? Plain and Simple!' are being carried out in collaboration with Lighthouse, a strategic communications and PR consulting firm. The project is led by Jan Kołodyński (Senior Project Executive), with support from Izabela Wejcht (Head of Consumer & Health), Marta Górnicka (Project Manager), and Maria Antoszewska (Junior Project Executive).