For years in Ecuador, collections operated in a gray area. Everyone set their own rules on what time to call, how many times to follow up and who else to contact to apply pressure.
Since the amendment published in the Official Register (Registro Oficial) on February 11, 2022, the Organic Consumer Protection Law (Ley Orgánica de Defensa del Consumidor) sets clear rules for collection activity. For creditors, that is good news: it sets apart a provider that protects you.
What you can do
You can collect, and quite a lot:
- Contact the debtor every business day, within permitted hours, through each available channel.
- Contact co-debtors and guarantors: the law expressly includes them.
- Clearly state the amount, the origin and the real consequences of non-payment.
- Negotiate agreements, payment terms and interest reductions.
- Report the obligation to credit bureaus, within the legal framework.
- Sue and enforce, through the procedure that matches the instrument.
Lawful collections are not timid collections. They are collections with method instead of indiscriminate pressure.
The debtor's data has an owner
The Organic Personal Data Protection Law (Ley Orgánica de Protección de Datos Personales) adds a layer that many collectors still ignore.
A collection agency that receives a creditor's database is a data processor. Article 34 requires a written contract, processing limited to the controller's instructions, a prohibition on using the data for other purposes or transferring it, and, once the service ends, the data “must be destroyed or returned to the controller”.
On credit data, article 28 is clear: it may be processed to assess creditworthiness, but “shall not be communicated or disclosed, nor may it have any secondary purpose”. And it sets a time limit:
“In no case may credit data relating to economic, financial, banking or commercial obligations be communicated once five years have elapsed since the obligation to which they refer became due.”
Collection fees have rules too
Article 47 of the Organic Consumer Protection Law (Ley Orgánica de Defensa del Consumidor), as amended, provides that the pre-legal collection fee applies only to past-due loans that accrue default interest and are not in court proceedings, must be stated in the contract, and applies “exclusively when collection efforts have been made and duly documented”. For preventive contact before the due date, no fee may be charged.
How we see it at FEXCOB
Our collections training and compliance service exists precisely for this reason: the team speaking with your debtor represents your brand, and knows the legal framework from the very first call.
FEXCOB operates with ISO 37001 anti-bribery certification and traceability of every action, precisely because in this business the collector's conduct is also the creditor's.
You may also be interested in: how a collection agency works · how to put these limits in writing in your policy
Legal sources cited: Organic Consumer Protection Law (Ley Orgánica de Defensa del Consumidor), articles 47, 49 and 70, as amended by the Organic Law to Defend the Rights of National Financial System Customers and Prevent Improper Charges and Unsolicited Services (Ley Orgánica para Defender los Derechos de los Clientes del Sistema Financiero Nacional y Evitar Cobros Indebidos y Servicios No Solicitados) (Official Register Supplement 1, February 11, 2022); Organic Personal Data Protection Law (Ley Orgánica de Protección de Datos Personales), articles 28 and 34; Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (Código Orgánico Integral Penal), articles 154 and 185; control standard for auxiliary service companies of the popular and solidarity financial sector (SEPS); Codified Regulations of the Superintendency of Banks (Superintendencia de Bancos).
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case.