Be Careful of Instant Loan Apps
Multiple online loan applications have mushroomed across the country. These Apps resorted to harassing customers that default on loans. Watch our latest video for all the details.
Reena Agarwal (name changed for privacy reasons) aged 28, is a Human Resource and a resident of Indore She had lost her job in June during the lockdown. She had many loans and couldn’t make ends meet. So she took a loan through an instant Loan App. The loan’s interest rate was very high. When she failed to pay the interest EMI, the App accessed her contacts saved on her phone. The App made more than 200 calls to all her contacts asking for the money. Reena said, “I was so embarrassed. This is why I had to go to another bank to take a loan to pay off the loan to the App.” Abhishek Makwana, one of the writers of the popular serial Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, had taken a loan from an App. He was charged a 30% interest rate for the loan. When he failed to return the call, he began getting threatening calls and emails. Abhishek was found hanging in his Mumbai flat on 27th November. His suicide note mentioned financial troubles. His family claimed that he committed suicide because of the harassment.
Like Reena & Abhishek many others have fallen prey to finance companies that give short-term loans to people and then harass them. Such companies have started across India, But the problem is that there are regulations for these companies. Hence action can not be taken against them. Many such Apps that give loans have not been registered with the RBI. Hence, they are not authorized to give loans. But on the Google Play Store, there are many such finance-related Apps. Some of the Apps have more than 10 lakh downloads within months of their launch. A cyber expert said that “When customers download such Apps, they give the App permission to access their contacts, photos, messages, etc. So when a person fails to pay the loan and the App begins calling their contact, nothing can be done. Because the person had already given permission.”
However, experts say that if a customer or their contacts are threatened, then a case can be filed against the companies.
