MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has slapped fines to two lending firms for violations such as unfair debt collection practices and misleading loan deals.
The SEC has ordered Link Credit Lending Investors Inc. to pay a fine of P1 million for engaging in unfair debt collection practices.
SEC’s Financing and Lending Companies Department held Link Credit Lending, doing business under the names and styles of iPeso and Pesoin, administratively liable for four counts of violation of SEC Memorandum Circular (MC) 18, Series of 2019, which provides for the prohibition on unfair debt collection practices.
According to the commission, over 200 complaints were received against Link Credit Lending for its debt collection practices from September 2022 to March 2023, four of which are the subject of its order.
SEC investigation found that Link Credit Lending was sending messages containing insults that tend to abuse borrowers as well as threats that they would call the borrowers’ emergency contact and co-workers for non-payment of their loans.
The SEC said that MC18 allows financing and lending companies and their third-party service providers to pursue all reasonable and legally permissible means to collect amounts under the loan agreements, provided that they must observe good faith and reasonable conduct in exercising their rights and duties as well as refrain from engaging in unscrupulous and untoward acts.
On top of the monetary penalty, the company was likewise given a stern warning by the commission that any subsequent violations of the MC “will be dealt with more severely.”
Meanwhile, the SEC has also fined LHL Online Lending Inc., doing business under the names and styles of Pautang Online and Pautang Peso, for providing misleading information in its loan agreements.
LHL Online Lending was ordered to pay a fine of P129,000 for its violation of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), as implemented by SEC MC 7, Series of 2011.
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