When a person applies for a loan from a bank for the first time, he is usually not familiar with all the pitfalls that await him. The bank employees are polite and kind, with a smile they assure you that the interest on the loan is minimal, there are no hidden fees, but this agreement must be signed for your own good... Is it really so?

You should never take the word of bank employees. Read the contract carefully, check how much you will receive and how much you will have to repay, so that there are no surprises later. In addition, everyone should know that you are not obliged to enter into an insurance contract, so persistently offered by banks. Today's magazine guest Reconomica, Yulia, did not know all this when concluding the loan agreement. Julia spoke about her sad experience in this article.

Hello, my name is Yulia, I am 30 years old and I have my own, somewhat sad, experience of borrowing from a bank. Looking ahead, I want to say that I promised myself to never take out loans again in my life and, if possible, to cope with financial difficulties on my own and without debt. With my story I would like to warn young people who are thinking about purchasing something with the help of bank funds. Before you actually get into debt, you should weigh your options many times, set aside ambitions and be guided by a cool mind. I made several mistakes at once, which cost me a lot, but first things first.

Advertising has done its job

It all started with a loan of 68,000 rubles, which was not very large for me. All my peers took out loans to buy something, and I also decided to apply. Perhaps I would not have come to this myself, but intrusive contextual advertising in in social networks pushed me to take decisive action. Understanding absolutely nothing about this matter, I filled out the application. I received a notification by email that the application will be reviewed and the bank will notify me of the decision. Here I had the first question, which bank exactly.

Literally 15 minutes later calls and messages began pouring in from various financial organizations, including microcredit institutions. Then I started looking at which page I filled out, it turned out that it was an intermediary who sent out my application form to all partner banks. Microfinance organizations first received telephone messages stating that the loan had been pre-approved, after which several operators from each microfinance organization called annoyingly and offered to fill out the form to the end and come for the money. But I had heard a lot about high percentages and had no interest in them.

Selecting a bank and signing an agreement

Several banks responded and offered to fill out an application by phone or by coming to the office. I was interested in filling out the application over the phone from Renaissance Credit. For about 20 minutes, the operator asked me in detail about all the circumstances in my life, asking me to read out all my passport details as they were written there. After that, I was notified that within 15 minutes a message about the bank’s decision would arrive. The girl never told me what amount would be available, citing the fact that everything is individual and will depend on my personal data. As promised, after 15 minutes I received a message that the loan had been approved and that I needed to come to the office to continue filling out the contract.

Conclusion of contracts at Renaissance Credit.

Since I didn’t really need it, I didn’t rush to apply for a loan, but continued to go about my business. A few days later the operator called me again, the girl offered to set a time and come. I was captivated by such a personal attitude and the lack of queues. I came to the bank office with all the documents that they told me, by the way there are not many of them, a passport and a driver’s license, after which we filled out an agreement and they immediately gave me a card, which I had to use to withdraw money myself from an ATM.

Feature “Renaissance Credit” and the first lesson

Renaissance Credit does not have a cash register in most branches, so money is issued through partner ATMs of third-party banks. I was approved for the amount of 76,000 rubles, but it turned out to be 68,000. I called the hotline, where they told me that the money was immediately written off to the insurance account. In response to my objections that I didn’t need it, the bank employee said that these are the rules, and it turns out that I had already signed an additional contract for insurance.

When I got home, I checked and, indeed, I signed it. This was the first lesson, which said that all documents must be carefully read and not to trust friendly bank employees. The consumer loan was designed for a year and a half, with a payment of 6800, I did not keep the documents, and the amount was not critical for me. It was 2013, I had neither a family nor children, I lived with my parents and had enough finances.

Intrusive offers and new credit

I paid regularly, periodically overpaid so that the loan would end faster, and after 6 months of my cooperation with the bank, calls began to arrive every two weeks with an offer to increase the loan amount. I didn’t agree because I didn’t need it. She asked me not to call again with similar offers, but the staff didn’t notice. Each time they promised to put a note in the personal file, but apparently they didn’t do this.

Needed a new car for work

Another six months later, at the time when I had already been paying off the loan for a year and I only had 6 months left, my boyfriend proposed and we decided to get married. Almost immediately we started living together and I needed my own car, since before that I had used my mother’s car.

Has been accumulated small amount, but this was not enough to buy a foreign car. I want to make it clear, I worked as a sales representative, the organization did not provide official transport, and when I was hired prerequisite so that the applicant for the position has a personal car, a foreign car no older than 5 years.

After we selected a democratic option, the question arose of where to get the money. It was decided to take out a loan. I applied to several large banks, such as VTB and Sberbank, but they refused me, citing the lack of available credit history with completed contracts and the presence of an existing loan with Renaissance Credit.

Imposed insurance contract

I remembered that the latter offered me to increase the loan amount, and contacted the branch. It is worth noting that the money was given to me on the same day, without any special delays.

Banks impose insurance contracts to your clients.

The most recent document to be signed was the insurance contract. I told the girl that I didn’t want to apply for it, to which she convinced me that the loan would not be approved without it.

After that, she began to politely babble that the funds for the loan could be returned, don’t worry, this is a mandatory condition, the insurance company belongs to our group of enterprises (it was Renaissance Insurance), that if you don’t take it, you may regret it later, because illness, loss work and everything else, it does not exempt you personally from paying the loan, the insurance company will definitely help you with this and other confusion...

The desire to buy a car as quickly as possible and the fear of losing my job lulled my vigilance and for some reason I agreed.

Loan conditions and repayment problems

Apparently the first situation with insufficient reading of documents seemed to me an unconvincing lesson, and this time I did not thoroughly read anything, I ran to the ATM and withdrew money. I already knew the amount, since I checked it with the specialist drawing up the contract. At that time, I was happy that now I had enough money to make a purchase.

Part of the funds from the new loan was used to pay off the remaining amount on the previous loan, so the bank did the refinancing itself, and I only had to pay one fixed amount. This made me very happy, because before that I thought that I would pay several loans and that the first six months would be very difficult for me, since the amount would be large.

Wedding preparation and pregnancy

Active preparations for the wedding were underway, and every month there was less and less money left. Monthly payment the loan was 12,400 rubles, which is almost a third of my previous salary. Since my husband had to resign from the North (the rotation method did not suit me in the context of a joint family life), he got a job new job and his salary was half mine.

A month before the wedding, I found out that we were going to have a child, and I began to think about whether I would be able to pay this amount on maternity leave. I took out the contract and began to read it carefully, after which I realized what kind of bondage I had gotten into due to my own carelessness and not taking money seriously.

I re-read the loan agreement and was unpleasantly surprised

Having a payment of 12,400, and a loan term of 36 months, I ultimately had to pay the bank 446,000 rubles. When I saw this amount, to put it mildly, I felt uneasy, since it was very different from the one I received in my hands. It turned out that the percentage “from 16” that was announced to me was just words; in fact, I took out a loan at 38%.

So I fell for the second trick, without specifying exactly what percentage was assigned to me, it was the maximum. The amount I received as a loan was 268,000 rubles. From there my previous debt on another loan was deducted, this is 32,000 rubles, and the insurance premium was 76,000. Yes, I received 160,000 in my hands, this was quite enough for me, taking into account the accumulated money and help from my parents, but I could have received more, if not for this insurance. It turned out that I would have to pay interest even for insurance, which the bank did not include in the contract.

With the effect of total disappointment, I continued to pay the monthly and regularly assigned amount until the time for maternity leave came.

Considering that seniority at that time it was small, and according to the current legislation, sick leave payment required only 36,000, this is practically the minimum wage for 2015, I realized that I had nothing more to pay off the loan with. The husband's salary went entirely to social and domestic needs. Having received payment by sick leave I will be left without income for the next 4.5 months. Strong feelings began, toxicosis increased, and panic set in.

She worked until she gave birth to pay off the loan.

I talked to the director. He understood my situation and allowed me to work unofficially until the birth, but if I felt bad, he asked me to tell me in advance. I worked until the 39th week, I was given light work, but I fully performed my duties.

Having completed the work week, I approached the director and said that that’s probably it, I feel like one of these days I’ll go to give birth. And so it happened, I started having training contractions, they were so frequent that it was decided to hospitalize me. I spent a week in the maternity hospital, the due date approached, but labor never began.

The doctor explained to me that due to the fact that until recently I was in active movements, my muscles did not have time to prepare, so there is no point in hoping for a natural birth. The decision was made to perform a caesarean section. Even while on the operating table, I was thinking about where next month I would get the money to repay the loan.

I went back to work when my daughter was one month old.

For some reason, I was brought up in such a way that I was used to doing everything myself. I was sure that I took out the loan myself, and before marriage, so I had to solve the problems myself, without involving my husband. Of course, he helped me pay off the loan, but my natural stubbornness and harmfulness finally drove me into depression, and I began to engage in self-flagellation.

I spent a month at home with the child, and due to nervousness, my milk disappeared. I realized that it was not possible for me to be on maternity leave for 1.5 years, since I had to pay off the loan for another two years, and I could no longer worry about where to get money every month. As a result, a month later I went back to work. Life has partially recovered, but monthly payments haunted me as before.

New job

Soon our director changed, and management from above appointed a new executive. I did not have an adequate working relationship with him. He was sure that a woman should stay at home and raise children. Considering that my baby was only 7 months old, he did everything he could to get me to quit.

Having a specialized education, I quickly went to work as a school teacher; the compensation for vacation at my previous place of work was enough for me to make a month’s payment in advance. The salary was significantly lower, but it was enough for me to pay the loan on time.

Farewell to the bank

After life had stabilized, my thoughts were in order and there were only a few months left to pay off the loan, I remembered the words of the girl who convinced me that the insurance money could be returned and everything like that. I called the hotline and said that I wanted to return the money for the insurance, since it was not useful to me. The specialist told me that it is necessary to submit a valid contract to the insurance company.

The loan insurance could not be returned

Having taken the contract, I went there, since their branch was in our city. The insurers said that the absence of a reason to use insurance funds does not exempt me from the contract; in fact, I used the product and can refuse insurance only if I close the loan in advance. For the remaining months, the funds will be recalculated and paid in cash.

As in most banks, you pay interest at first, and the principal amount remains at the end. It turns out that three payments of 12400 is 37200, if I want to repay the loan ahead of schedule, then interest is 1600, and the rest of the amount is credit money. I didn’t have that amount, so I accepted the situation.

Last payment

I'll never forget mine last payment. A vacation was planned. The salary and vacation pay were supposed to be put together on the card, I was really waiting for the transfer to pay the last 12,400, but for some reason the organization delayed payment for a week.

Throughout the entire period of the loan, I was already 1-2 days late with the payment, since the salary arrived on the card closer to the night on the day the loan was paid, and then I rushed headlong to deposit the money. Renaissance Credit employees start calling in the morning with approximately the following words: “Your payment has not been received. When do you plan to pay and in what way? We will blacklist you."

Here is the last payment that I have been waiting for so long, and my salary is delayed for a week, every morning begins with a conversation with a bank specialist. They threaten to ruin my credit history and urge me to re-borrow funds from a microcredit organization... At that time I was already on vacation. My daughter and I spent every minute together.

At night the receipt on the card arrived and I went to bed with a calm heart. The morning began with a call from a bank specialist, I promised him that I was already leaving to pay. It was a very hot August. After breakfast we packed up and left. On the bus, the baby (she was 2 years old at the time) became tired, seasick and vomited. We got off before reaching two stops, went into a store, bought water... It was heatstroke.

At that time, I didn’t even understand what to do first, call an ambulance or bring this money. Having called a taxi, explained the situation in line and already deposited the money, I could barely restrain myself from tears... Straight from there we went to the hospital, they reassured me, they said it was nothing to worry about, you just need to stay cool, drink plenty, etc. At that moment I hated both the bank itself and its employees.

Last payment.

Moral of this story...

Having gotten rid of the loan, or rather, having completely repaid it, taking into account all the overpayments, I made a final promise to myself never to contact any financial organizations again in my life. I would like to wish all young people who are just planning to take out a loan:

1. Think about whether it is really needed, maybe there is an option to do it yourself?!
2. Read all documents carefully!
3. Don't just ask for conditions, but read about them in the contract before signing.
4. Ask about interest rates, availability of insurance and other hidden fees.
5. If controversial situations arise, do not let go of the situation, go to the end, right up to the Central Bank.
6. Know that they are not our saviors, as they try to convince us, but we are their clients, without whom they have no point in existing.

After some time, I started studying the issue and learned that it turns out that the bank does not have the right to impose insurance, and at my first request it is obliged to provide the opportunity to refuse it completely. It turns out that I had the opportunity to apply for a reduction in interest on the loan, which I could use after 3-4 months of using the agreement.

Bank employees do not say this; they probably receive their percentage from the services imposed. In general, the situation is not pleasant for me, I don’t want to remember or even think about what I experienced. I know that there are many young people who foolishly get into bank debts, so I urge you to think about the consequences of those who have not yet had time!

Hello. You can contact the bank with a request for debt restructuring, although this is not the bank’s responsibility. But it’s really strange for a bank to turn to debt collectors. Therefore, so that the collectors do not pester you too much, you can apply to the Prosecutor's Office. There is, of course, another option: do not pay and wait until the bank goes to court and in court you can achieve a reduction in interest on the loan due to a change in your financial situation, well, let's say due to the loss of a job

Article 333 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Reduction of penalties
Article textclick to collapse contents

(as amended by Federal Law dated March 8, 2015 N 42-FZ)

1. If the penalty payable is clearly disproportionate to the consequences of the violation of the obligation, the court has the right to reduce the penalty. If the obligation is violated by a person carrying out entrepreneurial activities, the court has the right to reduce the penalty, subject to the debtor's application for such a reduction.
2. A reduction of the penalty determined by the contract and payable by the person carrying out entrepreneurial activities is allowed in exceptional cases if it is proven that the collection of the penalty in the amount stipulated by the contract may lead to the creditor receiving an unjustified benefit.
3. The rules of this article do not affect the debtor’s right to reduce the amount of his liability on the basis of Article 404 of this Code and the creditor’s right to compensation for losses in cases provided for in Article 394 of this Code.

Or Art. 450 GKO grounds for amendment and termination of the contract

1. Changes and termination of the contract are possible by agreement of the parties, unless otherwise provided by this Code, other laws or the contract.
A multilateral agreement, the execution of which is related to the implementation of business activities by all its parties, may provide for the possibility of amending or terminating such an agreement by agreement of both all and the majority of persons participating in the agreement. the said agreement, unless otherwise provided by law. The agreement specified in this paragraph may provide for the procedure for determining such a majority.
(paragraph entered Federal law dated 03/08/2015 N 42-FZ)
2. At the request of one of the parties, the contract can be changed or terminated by a court decision only:
1) in case of a significant violation of the contract by the other party;
2) in other cases provided for by this Code, other laws or agreement.
A violation of the contract by one of the parties is considered significant, which entails such damage for the other party that it is significantly deprived of what it had the right to count on when concluding the contract.
3. Invalid as of June 1, 2015. - Federal Law of 03/08/2015 N 42-FZ.
(see text in the previous edition)
4. A party that is granted the right to unilaterally amend the agreement by this Code, other laws or an agreement must, when exercising this right, act in good faith and reasonably within the limits provided for by this Code, other laws or an agreement.
(Clause 4 introduced by Federal Law dated 03/08/2015 N 42-FZ)