Police launch crackdown on loan sharks in Isaan

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gotlost

Kap Chong R Us Member




SI SA KET, 5th October 2018 (NNT)-Police have launched a crackdown on loan sharks in Si Sa Ket, Surin and Chaiyaphum provinces after reports of unfair treatment.

Acting Immigration Bureau Chief Police Major General Surachet Hakpal, in his capacity as Deputy Director of Thailand’s Action Taskforce for Information Technology Crime Suppression (Tactics), announced today that police raids were carried out in 27 locations in the three provinces where suspected loan sharks were operating.

They apprehended Supol Polsomboon in Si Sa Set on fraud charges and for providing loans with an interest rate higher than the legal limit. All of his assets, worth more than 100 million baht, have been confiscated after the arrest. Police also pressed charges against a female loan shark, Saranrus Suwannapradit, in the same province and for similar offenses.

A total of 1,100 land title deeds and assets worth 117 million baht were seized during the raids in the three provinces. To prevent unfair deals between loan sharks and their borrowers in the future, police Major General Surachet said loan sharks will be urged to participate in a PICO market where the loans they provide can be scrutinized and offered to loan seekers at a reasonable interest rate.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan is set to travel to Si Sa Ket for the third time to return land title deeds to the rightful owners who were forced to give them up to loan sharks after failing to pay their debts on time.

In response to rumors claiming some government officials have been associated with loan sharks, Pol Maj Gen Kritsakorn Plithanyawond, Acting Deputy Immigration Police Bureau, said an investigation would be conducted to find out the truth in the matter, before it could be concluded if the accusation is true.



https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1060430-police-launch-crackdown-on-loan-sharks-in-isaan/
 
Further alarming is the rapid growth of the so called legitimate loan company's popping up every where.
 
Rice said:
Further alarming is the rapid growth of the so called legitimate loan company's popping up every where.
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We have a new one in Prakhonchai. They advertise lans at 2.5%/month, but do not advise about the setting up fees etc. The manager of the local branch actually borrows money from my wife........because there are no extras involved.
 
Prakhonchai Nick said:
We have a new one in Prakhonchai. They advertise lans at 2.5%/month, but do not advise about the setting up fees etc. The manager of the local branch actually borrows money from my wife........because there are no extras involved.
Click to expand...

2.5% per month is 30% annually. The same usary rate as a credit card company.
 
Prakhonchai Nick said:
We have a new one in Prakhonchai. They advertise lans at 2.5%/month, but do not advise about the setting up fees etc. The manager of the local branch actually borrows money from my wife........because there are no extras involved.
Click to expand...
The 2.5% rate is what the "legit" lenders get but the actuality of loans to villagers by the non-legit lenders is from 5%-10%/month. The villagers pay it because they don't have other options other than the local "Rice Bank loans" that must be paid back in full annually. The loan shark loans can go on forever, obviously, due to the interest rate. Sad, but true.
 
mario299 said:
The 2.5% rate is what the "legit" lenders get but the actuality of loans to villagers by the non-legit lenders is from 5%-10%/month. The villagers pay it because they don't have other options other than the local "Rice Bank loans" that must be paid back in full annually. The loan shark loans can go on forever, obviously, due to the interest rate. Sad, but true.
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What is also sad but true is the fact that neither borrower, nor lender, has any idea whether the borrower can afford to repay.
 
mario299 said:
The 2.5% rate is what the "legit" lenders get but the actuality of loans to villagers by the non-legit lenders is from 5%-10%/month. The villagers pay it because they don't have other options other than the local "Rice Bank loans" that must be paid back in full annually. The loan shark loans can go on forever, obviously, due to the interest rate. Sad, but true.
Click to expand...

It is probably fair to say that upwards of 70% of the villagers in my village have loans, and once paid off start over. They cannot./will not put loans behind them.

Many have chanotes, but cannot be bothered with all the officialdom, form filling, home visits etc required to raise a loan when they can get a loan within minutes from the sharks, who as Mario has said charge 5-10%/month.** Others, predominantly the card players, of which there are many (bored and nothing else to do) need funds urgently, as they are surely going to win the next hand. The aggressive loan sharks (mainly Indians ) are on hand to lend, with rates of 10-20% sometines for just the day. And they, when not repaid within a reasonable time, turn nasty. Several villagers from my and neighbouring villages have left their homes and now stay in Bangkok, in fear of their safety

** The sharks maximise their interest by insisting the loan be repaid in full, and will not allow a partial payment each month. 2/3000baht a month repayment is a possibility for most, but having to save up 20,000/30,000baht, without dipping into it seems to be an impossibility for most. They even borrow into the thousands on the 2 lottery days, believing their luck will change. Never does!
 
Coffee said:
2.5% per month is 30% annually. The same usary rate as a credit card company.
Click to expand...


2.5% per month is not usuary in Thailand....

It is illegal, mind you, and therefore unenforceable......... except with the assistance of the standard baseball bat.
 
A "new" version of the UK's payday loan has become available with the same outrageously high rates of interest being charged as before. One of the dangers of such loans is that by taking them out with several different companies, there is little to prevent a borrower from over-committing him/herself and subsequently finding the repayments too much to manage. "Enterprising" lenders come to the rescue, offering extra cash (i.e. extra loans) to ensure that the borrower will always have sufficient money in their bank account to meet the monthly repayment required. How do they do this? Well, the lender receives full details of the borrower's bank account, including all credit and debit cards together with all PIN numbers - for online/telephone banking too.

On the day that a repayment is due, the lender gains access to the borrower's bank balances and either makes a withdrawal if funds are available or tops up the account with additional lending before taking back the required repayment if insufficient funds were available. Of course, interest is added to the extra amount borrowed, and the snowball grows... The oh-so-generous lender ensures that the extra sum borrowed, less the repayment taken, still leaves the borrower with sufficient funds to purchase food and pay other bills until the next repayment is due, whereupon another top-up is paid into the borrower's account. Rinse and repeat...

Where is the Regulator while all this is going on? You might well ask!!!
 
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