Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 13) — The government should look into unregistered online lending platforms victimizing people through abusive collection practices, Senator Joel Villanueva said on Tuesday.
“Our people should be protected against deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable acts and practices, including abusive collection and debt recovery practices,” Villanueva said in a statement, adding that debtors should be treated with dignity.
In May, Villanueva filed Senate Resolution 641 citing provisions of the law protecting consumers of financial products and services, which state that financial service providers are prohibited from employing abusive collection practices against the public.
The statement said the Securities and Exchange Commission has revoked the license of 2,084 lending and financing companies that failed to secure their Certificates of Authority (CA). It added that the CA of 39 other was also canceled for various violations.
There have been reports of collectors of online lending platforms harassing clients who were unable to pay on time. Threats sometimes accompany these calls or text messages.
READ: The crippling lure of online lending apps
“Our office has been receiving hundreds of complaints from people who were harassed, intimidated, and shamed by the collecting agents of these online lending platforms for being unable to pay their loans on time,” Villanueva said in the statement.
In an interview with CNN Philippines on Tuesday, the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) advised the public to carefully read the terms and conditions of online lending apps.
“Hindi ka dapat nagha-harass ng mga umuutang sa iyo, just for you to collect,” said PNP-ACG spokesperson PCpt Michelle Sabino.
[Translation: You should not be harassed by lenders just so they can collect.]
Sabino said harassment by lenders should be reported to authorities, adding that screenshots of conversations and transaction receipts should accompany the complaints.
