Debt shaming? Online lending firm denies tolerating collection malpractices

MANILA, Philippines — An online lending company on Wednesday said it doesn’t tolerate collection malpractices after being accused of publicly shaming borrowers to force them to settle their debts.

FCash Global Lending Inc., which operates the Fast Cash app, explained that online lenders employ third-party collection agencies to contact clients.

“Collection malpractices would not be tolerated in our company,” Atty. Arnel Mateo, one of the legal representatives of FastCash, said in a statement.

Mateo said that the company is trying its best to move its collection agency to its own FastCash collection team.

“Rest assured that everything would be more proper than it was before. We apologize to those who have been offended by our third-party collection team. Thank you for making us better,” Mateo said.

Mateo added that they are also in the process of training customer care representatives as well as ensuring that third-party collectors comply with the requirements of the Data Privacy Act.

The lending company explained that collection agencies are hired by both banks and online lending companies on a commission basis.

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) earlier filed cases against FCash Global Lending Inc. as well as two other online lending companies.

The NPC said it received more than 560 complaints against the said companies for allegedly using threats and harassment in its collection practices.

GSG