ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | August 1, 2023
Dear Chief Acosta, Ako ay nangutang sa isang online lending company. Nawalan ako ng trabaho at hindi nakapagbayad sa buwanang hulog. Ngayon, laging may tumatawag sa akin mula sa lending company kahit anong oras at pinagbabantaan pa ako na ipapupulis o aarestuhin kapag hindi ako makapagbayad. Ganoon din na tinatawagan lahat ng may numero sa phonebook ko at sinasabihan sila na kumbinsihin ako na magbayad.
Mayroon bang nilalabag na batas ang lending company at ano pa ba ang mga hindi nila dapat gawin? -- Jessa Dear Jessa, Ang nasabing lending company ay mayroon nang nilalabag dahil sa pamamaraan nito sa pangongolekta ng iyong pagkakautang. Ang mga ipinagbabawal na gawain ng nagpautang ay nakapaloob sa Section 1 ng SEC Memorandum Circular No. 18 Series of 2019: “FCs, LCs, and TPSPs hired by them may resort to all reasonable and legally permissible means to collect amounts due them under the loan agreement, provided that, in the exercise of their rights and performance of their duties, they must observe good faith and reasonable conduct and refrain from engaging in unscrupulous and untoward acts. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing conduct and shall constitute unfair collection practices, which shall be subject to the penalties provided herein:
a. The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person;
b. The use of threats to take any action that cannot be legally be taken;
c. The use of obscenities, insults, or profane language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the borrower and/or which amount to a criminal act or offense under applicable laws; d. Disclosure or publication of the names and other personal information of borrowers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except as may be allowed under Section 2 hereof;
e. Communicating or threatening to communicate to any person loan information, which is known, or which should be known, to be false, including the failure to communicate that the debt is being disputed, except as may be allowed under Section 2 hereof;
f. The use of any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a borrower;
g. Making contact at unreasonable/inconvenient times or hours, which shall be defined as contact before 6:A. M., or after 10 P.M., unless the account is past due for more than fifteen (15) days, or the borrower has given express consent that the said times are the only reasonable or convenient opportunities for contact.
Such consent which shall be evidenced by written, electronic or recorded means, may be given prior to, during, or after the execution of the loan agreement; h. Notwithstanding the borrower’s consent, contacting the persons in the borrower’s contact list other than those who were named as guarantors or co-makers shall also constitute unfair debt collection practices.” Ang pagtawag sa iyo anumang oras na gusto nila, pagbabanta na ikaw ay aarestuhin o ipapupulis kung hindi ka makapagbayad at pagtawag nila sa mga numerong nasa iyong phone book na wala kang pahintulot ay maituturing na mga unfair collection practices. Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang iyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na iyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng iyong salaysay. Maraming salamat sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.
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