The economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced more people to apply for loans through financiers, even if this means pay double or up to triple interest charged by bank branches.
Gabriel Rivero, a lawyer specialized in commercial matters, stated that:
“Users are turning to financial companies, because they provide an advantage that banks do not: ignore people’s credit history. You can carry several debts, and even so they will approve a loan ”.
He explained that the problem arises when clients realize that they end up paying three or four times the amount borrowed, and if they do not meet this commitment, they are immediately harassed by debt collectors, until they pay off the debt.
Before the pandemic, I handled six or seven cases a month of debtors who faced this situation. Today, monthly defends between 15 to 20 people who are harassed by these financiers.
According to information provided by the delegate in Quintana Roo of the National Commission for the Protection of Users of Financial Services (Condusef), Manuel Castro Morales, currently every day they attend 12 complaints about harassment of collectors: in seven out of 10 cases they are financial involved.
These numbers represent an increase of almost 40% compared to the cases treated in the period before the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of the institutions that generate the most complaints is Compartamos Banco, specifically the group loan scheme. This makes it possible to grant loans to groups of at least three people, mainly women.
The problem is when one of the parties cannot pay their payment, as it is a solidarity loan, they cannot pay the money collected; so those who did pay must put the money of the one who did not pay and complete the deposit, or face the debt collectors of the finance company.
The ease with which the loan is offered, since neither an endorsement nor a good credit history is required; facilitates the entry of defaulters who end up affecting their loan partners.
“Even with these risks, more and more people are turning to this type of institution. They have no other option, because due to the pandemic, many ended up with unpayable debts in the banks, leaving them without the possibility of having a loan with the traditional banks ”.
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