Borrowers can be put in 'a living hell'
She has paid about $8,500 to repay a $1,500 loan from a licensed moneylender, and there is still no end in sight.
But debt collectors hired by the moneylenders still turned up at her home, leaving threatening messages and phoning members of her family.
Yet it later became apparent that that the moneylender had forgot to key in the repayment into the database, and so the debt collectors went ahead with their business.
Desperate for a solution, the 24-year-old went to Mr Billy Lee Han Tiong of Blessed Grace Social Services (BGSS) for help with a repayment plan.
Recalls Mr Lee, the BGSS' founder and executive director: "She was hoping that her family members or employers would not know about her debt problems, which she had been settling at the time with our help."
Her sister, who picked up a call from the debt collector, went into a fit of rage when she found out about it.
"The moneylender apologised for the mistake, but the damage had been done."
Without naming her, Mr Lee tells TNPS that she took the loan to help with an "overspending issue".
She could not provide the cash to pay it off as there were other loans from other moneylenders.
But only this one moneylender was problematic, he says.
The $8,500 repayment took place over a year and paid only for the interest accrued during this time period, but Mr Lee says the moneylender should be more forgiving and flexible as it has already earned so much.
"When we first called the company, they were already unwilling to help her," says Mr Lee.
"We tried to work out a repayment plan with them to pay $300 a month for the remaining $1,500 principal, but they refused. They didn't want instalments."
When moneylenders refuse to budge even after they make a profit, it puts the borrower in a living hell, says Mr Lee.
He adds: "It is simply greed at work."
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