NATION | Poe bats for clearer guidelines to prevent 'abuse' in debt collection

Poe said some of the methods used by debt collectors border on being criminal acts. Senate PRIB/Romy Bugante via Philstar

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Grace Poe on Sunday said she wants to end the abusive and unfair practices of collecting agencies.

Last February 22, Poe filed Senate Resolution No. 655 asking the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies to look into the implementation of Republic Act 10870 or the Philippine Credit Card Industry Regulation Act.

Sen. Francis Escudero is chairman of the committee on banks.

Poe said the lack of clear guidelines and dedicated implementation of existing laws and regulations that would punish debt collectors pave way for harassment on borrowers. She said they bombard clients with calls and text messages bordering on criminal acts and other unfair collection practices.

The senator said she was prompted to file the resolution after her office received complaints that debt collectors "continue to harass borrowers in a threatening and offensive move to collect money."

"For many years, credit card debt collectors put pressure and use crooked ploys on the defaulter to collect money," Poe said in a release.

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Among the "most notorious" and "crooked" ways of collecting money enumerated by Poe are the following: 

threatening the debtor that a case has already been filed in court and that the same is being handled by a supposed law firm,

using barangay (village) tanod and men in uniform to force the debtor to pay

and entering a debtor's house in the guise of delivering a package only to threaten to take the property as payment for the debt

Poe said collecting agencies also call debtors' employers to smear the reputations of the defaulter, which she said in some cases leads to removal from office.