Kruk S.A.

Kruk SA, Poland's largest debt collection company promotes Internet tools supporting debt management. The e-Kruk.pl and infoKonsument.pl web sites were officially presented during a press conference held on 18 March 2010.

The sites launched recently by the KRUK Group are innovative tools offering a new quality in receivables management. Via e-Kruk.pl, consumers may conclude on-line an agreement to repay the debt in instalments. All the above can be performed discreetly, without the need of personal or event telephone contact with KRUK debt collectors.infoKonsument.pl offers individuals the possibility to check on-line the financial credibility of companies they wish to start business with. The site serves as an Internet door to the database of the ERIF Register of Debtors.

In accordance with the report prepared by the Economic Behaviour Research Centre, more than a half of Poles treat non-payment of debts as something embarrassing.  One third of the respondents feel fear at the thought of possible excessive debt. KRUK SA wants to respond to the above fears and negative feelings which are also a problem of people with debts.
e-KRUK.pl is the only web service offering the possibility of Internet access to one's debt details. Its users may take steps on their own aimed at resolving their debt problem and the facility is available 24/7. Via e-Kruk.pl consumers may also contact the company and submit their promises to pay or even conclude settlements on mutually agreed terms. All this can be done discreetly and from the comfort of one's own home. The IT solutions used in the service ensure total security for its users. The security features implemented are similar to those used by banks.

InfoKonsument.pl is the second improvement introduced with consumers in mind. The service offers on-line access to the ERIF Register of Debtors (credit information bureau) which gathers credit information on individuals and businesses. Using of the service is very easy and does not require a personal, correspondence or even telephone contact with ERIF employees. All that is required is to go to www.infoKonsument.pl and open an account. To activate the account one will need a scan of a valid identity document (e.g. personal ID card). After the account has been activated, its owner will be able to check for example whether his/her details have been reported to the register and whether they have been viewed by another party (e.g. bank in which such user applied for a loan). The information obtained from infoKonusment.pl will also tell the consumer whether somebody has used a stolen or forged document in such user's name.

Counterparty monitoring is another service offered by infoKonsument.pl. It may be especially useful for consumers who are in long-term business relationships with companies. It enables ongoing monitoring of changes in business information about a company having a specified NIP number. The system will notify the user via an e-mail address provided during registration about each change in business information about the monitored company, such as e.g. about adding, updating or deleting of information on such entity.
The need to offer facilities to support dealing with the problem of excessive debt has been noticed by the Association of Polish Consumers. „It’s no wonder that we are afraid of contacts with debt collection companies if in the opinion of our respondents a person in debt is either a con man or fraudster (19% of responses) or a poor consumer, a loser (51% of responses),” said Grażyna Rokicka, President of the Association. Obviously fraudsters avoid debt collection companies for other reasons than people faced with life problems. For the second group, all initiatives facilitating going out of the debt trap and also making it possible to avoid embarrassment connected with being in debt, have a great value, both in the economic and social sense.

View a film including instructions showing how to use e-KRUK.pl (available in Polish only).