All of us are very well aware of the pesky calls that one receives from banks and telecom services, providing us with information about products which we never want to buy. If that is irritating, then how irritating would a call from a recovery agent be? Gone is the “Yes, sir” or “Sorry, Madam” to be replaced by threats and in extreme cases, even abuses. Those who have been on the receiving end of such calls, say that it definitely is the most harrowing experience of their lives.

These recovery agents have neither a fixed time to call, nor any training in decency. Their only motive is to get the unpaid amount out of people. For that, they can give you a call at even 2 in the morning, or even turn up at your house. Says BPO employee Sinith Mechery, 25, "It was the worst experience of my life.”

Mechery adds that, “Due to some unavoidable circumstances I defaulted on a few loan repayments." What followed was that a recovery agent began calling him and rudely demanded that he make an immediate payment. Mechery just hung up on him. "But he called at least 35-40 times that day and his language was abusive. I'd never had an issue with my banks prior to this, but this incident has definitely left a bad taste in my mouth," he says.

Mechery was lucky in a way. Prakash Sarvankar is a name, many people might forget. However, what he did will not be forgotten soon. In a case that had shocked the nation, Sarvankar, 38, who was an ICICI Bank customer and had taken a Rs 50,000 personal loan, committed suicide last year, holding a recovery agent responsible for his death in his suicide note. This case sent shock waves in the banks and the nation, prompting courts and police to stand up and take serious notice of the problems being caused by recovery agents.