What happens if you had taken a loan from a Greek bank and you can’t pay it back? If you have been awfully free handed with your credit card and now you can’t make the payment? If you have bought a very expensive home video system on leasing and now because of the financial crisis you can’t pay it back? If you have financial problems and you are having hard time paying you water and electricity bills?

Well, then you have come to the hands of the so-called companies-tax-collectors. Officially, in Greece they are 10 and all banks, traders, and companies who have debtors turn to them in order to get their money. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? What distinguishes those companies-tax-collectors from the mug-racketeers is that they are not part of the mafia and that their services are not sought after by criminals. They are part of the legal economic Greek life, even though for their activities there are no laws or rules, all banks, stores, and even the national telephone company OTE turn to them.

For 2007 the Greek tax-collectors have “serviced” loans for over 600 million Euros and their profit reached 51 million Euros. Their “fee” for a “serviced” load is between 0,8% and 12%. When the creditor, who 70% of the time are banks, but also traders or governmental organizations, understand that the client cannot pay off their loan, they give turn to the tax-collector. The tax-collector starts pressing the debtor to pay back their loan. In most cases the pressing ends up with threats, blackmail, and racket. According to the Association of Companies for servicing complaints, which is the official name of the tax-collectors, every day those 10 companies make 150 000 phone calls with Greek debtors.

The interesting thing in the Greek racket is that although everybody closes their eyes regarding its existence, including the government, the tax-collectors asked for their business to be legalized and for a law, which will regulate what they do. According to their forecasts, due to the financial crisis, during 2009 the debtors will increase as a geometrical progression and with this the profits of the tax-collectors. They do not want to give up their work because the economical system needs it and the profits are good.