Article by: The Star
MORE EXPECTED TO BORROW FROM LOAN SHARKS
Showing posts with label LOAN SHARKS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LOAN SHARKS. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
6046) MORE EXPECTED TO BORROW FROM LOAN SHARKS - THE STAR - 23/06/2020
LOAN sharks are going to have a field day having new clients during the recovery movement control order (MCO), says Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) lead activist Datuk Nadzim Johan.
He said these new clients were people who never had to borrow money from loan sharks before.
“Once the MCO is lifted and reality sets in, a lot of people are going to feel the pinch of having lost their jobs from termination, retrenchment and businesses being shut down.
“This time, they will not be making a beeline for pawnshops, but to the nearest ah long or loan shark, ” he said.
“They (loan sharks) are already waiting to strike.
“Their banners and bunting are up, and if you search on the Internet using keywords ‘personal loan’, their phone numbers will pop up.”
Nadzim described the loan sharks as polite and very sympathetic at first, but he warned consumers that once they started missing payments, the loan sharks’ true colours would show.
“Our operation centre is already receiving calls from victims, and we are expecting more to come, ” he said.
“We want people to know that no matter how bad things get, do not succumb to the temptation of easy money. There is always a catch, ” he added.
Nadzim said many borrowers ended up losing much more than they borrowed.
“And these are not people from the B40 or M40 groups, but business owners who borrow up to hundreds of thousands of ringgit and end up paying exorbitant interest rates until they cannot pay anymore and will have to give up their house, car and everything they own, ” he said.
Nadzim said government agencies and banks were too slow to help.
“The amount they are giving under various schemes is too small. “It is tough and all we can do is educate the public.
“We advise people that before they commit to taking up any loans, talk to us first, ” he said when asked what could be done to help victims from falling into the trap. PPIM has established a call centre to educate victims on the dangers of borrowing from loan sharks. It also helps victims settle their debts.
The public can log on to PPIM’s website ahlong.ppim.org.my to report cases or call its hotline at 019-345 8444 or 013-307 1999.
Article by: The Star
MORE EXPECTED TO BORROW FROM LOAN SHARKS
https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2020/06/23/more-expected-to-borrow-from-loan-sharks
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
5139) LOAN SHARKS PUT UP POSTERS OF DEFAULTER IN ENTIRE VILLAGE - THE SUN DAILY - 05/08/2019
KUALA LUMPUR: The actions of loan sharks who displayed posters of a defaulter throughout a village in Chendering, Terengganu, made the 37-year-old victim and his family to seek refuge in Kuala Lumpur a few days ago.
The defaulter, known only as Khairul, told reporters at a press conference organised by the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) here today, that posters bearing his image with the words “Pinjam Wang, Bayar Wang” (Borrow Money, Re-pay Money) had even been put up at a bus station and a mosque, after he failed to settle loan repayments totalling about RM19,000.
The recent situation also made fellow villagers to stop frequenting Khairul’s stall, causing him to suffer a loss of business and they also kept away from Khairul and his family.
Acknowledging that he had made a mistake, the father of two girls said he had borrowed RM1,200 from the loan sharks in May this year to start a food stall business outside his home but after he failed to make the repayment according to the stipulated time period, the outstanding loan amount had continued to increase despite the fact that Khairul had already made payments amounting to about RM7,000.
Khairul added that he had asked his daughters to suspend their university studies as he was worried for their safety, adding that it was also uncertain if his younger daughter would be able to continue her studies in Japan this month as scheduled.
The loan sharks’ tactics of putting up posters of defaulters were cruel and had disturbed their peace of mind, said PPIM president Datuk Nadzim Johan who added that for the moment, Khairul and his family were under the protection of PPIM. — Bernama
Article by: The Sun Daily
LOAN SHARKS PUT UP POSTERS OF DEFAULTER IN ENTIRE VILLAGE - THE SUN DAILY
5138) VICTIM FLEES TO KUALA LUMPUR AFTER LOAN SHARKS PUT UP POSTERS OF HIM IN VILLAGE - THE STAR - 05/08/2019
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The actions of loan sharks who displayed posters of a defaulter throughout a village in Chendering, Terengganu has forced the 37-year-old victim and his family to seek refuge in Kuala Lumpur a few days ago.
The victim, known only as Khairul, told reporters here that posters bearing his image with the words "Pinjam Wang,Bayar Wang" (Borrow Money, Repay Money) had even been put up at a bus station and a mosque after he failed to settle loan repayments totalling about RM19,000.
The recent situation also made fellow villagers stop frequenting Khairul's stall,causing him to suffer a loss of business.
In a press conference organised by the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) on Monday (Aug 5), Khairul said they had also avoided him and his family.
Acknowledging that he had made a mistake, the father of two girls said he had borrowed RM1,200 from the loan sharks in May this year to start a food stall business.
However, after he failed to make the repayment according to the stipulated time period, the outstanding loan amount had continued to increase despite the fact that Khairul had already made payments amounting to about RM7,000.
He also said that he had asked his daughters to suspend their university studies as he was worried for their safety.
Khairul added that it was also uncertain if his younger daughter would be able to continue her studies in Japan this month as scheduled.
Meanwhile, PPIM president Datuk Nadzim Johan said that the loan sharks' tactics of putting up posters of defaulters were cruel and had disturbed their peace of mind.
He added that at the moment, Khairul and his family were under the protection of PPIM. - Bernama
Article by: The Star
VICTIM FLEES TO KUALA LUMPUR AFTER LOAN SHARKS PUT UP POSTERS OF HIM IN VILLAGE
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/08/05/victim-flees-to-kuala-lumpur-after-loan-sharks-put-up-posters-of-victim-in-village
Monday, January 22, 2018
4319) LOAN SHARKS SHARPEN THEIR BITE – THE STAR ONLINE – 20/1/18
PETALING JAYA: Loan sharks are getting more aggressive, coming up with tantalising packages tailored for major events such as the FIFA World Cup and Chinese New Year.
Known also as ah long, these illegal moneylenders lure victims by offering them different packages for different seasons. Some offer discounts for early payback or easy repayment schemes.
Sources close to the “industry” said they had to come up with these tactics because their business was now affected due to low borrowing.
“Business dropped by 45% last year and is getting worse due to the difficulty in recovering loans.
“If the borrower pays within three months, the interest is only 6%,” he said, adding that of 10 borrowers, seven would lodge police reports or seek assistance from NGOs when the ah long attempted to collect payments.
Another source said many borrowers fled without paying anything last year, so the ah long had to come up with strategies such as easy repayment plans.
“Most borrowers are handphone dealers. Chinese New Year loans may not be popular, but the World Cup bets in June are expected to boost the ah long’s revenue.
“There is already a package drawn up to be offered to punters. They can borrow their bet amount now and only pay an interest of 10% if the team of their choice wins in the World Cup.
“If the team loses, they only need to pay the principal amount with the processing fee of RM10 for every RM1,000,” the source said.
A check by The Star found that the ah long were not only turning bold, they were even blatantly challenging the authorities.
Even though the local councils and police hold regular joint operations to take down the illegal banners, new ones go back up soon enough.
Hopping on the social media bandwagon, the ah long are also promoting their services on Facebook and WeChat, with some even labelling themselves as “licensed moneylenders”.
The Malaysian Muslim Consumers’ Association (PPIM) advised the public not to resort to borrowing from loan sharks no matter what problems they faced.
Its lead activist Datuk Nadzim Johan said there were many cases where borrowers were cheated and had to pay more than expected.
“I had a victim who borrowed RM5,000 and her interest shot up to around RM1mil because the ah long charged her interest by the hour.
“The victim was afraid and kept paying after being threatened. She ended up paying over RM60,000.
“PPIM confronted the ah long to negotiate and he returned around RM30,000 to the victim.
“Borrowing from ah long seems easy. Give them a call and you get the money.
“But nothing is that easy without a catch. It all goes back to financial awareness,” Nadzim said.
PPIM has been going all out to eradicate ah long activities and educate the public on the dangers of borrowing from loan sharks.
People can log on to PPIM’s website ahlong.ppim.org.my to report their cases and view examples of victims of previous cases.
Artikel Oleh : The Star
LOAN SHARKS SHARPEN THEIR BITE
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