(Newswire.net — 21 August, 2013) Sofia Road, Singapore — The blame for victims falling to cash scams is not only on the illegal moneylenders in Singapore. Many have the thought that the cash loan industry comprises of only the unsolicited loan companies and the licensed money lenders in Singapore. However, the money loan industry is much more complex than one thinks. Besides having illegal cash loan providers, there are also the unethical cash loan providers that are involved in the licensed moneylending business of Singapore.
A recent case emerged on 5 August 2013, where a licensed money lending company was convicted and found guilty with a total of 29 different charges. The charges are mainly for granting an unsecured personal loan which exceeds the legal limit of $3,000 to a borrower with an annual income below $20,000, for continuing a moneylending business at a place of business without the approval of the Registrar, for failure to provide statements of accounts to borrowers who have existing loan contracts, for failure to issue receipts for cash payments made by borrowers and for furnishing false information to the Registrar.
Mr Tay, a spokesperson from Max Credit, one of the leading cash providers in Singapore, provided effective advice to prevent oneself from being a prey of unethical money loan company, “There are many different money lenders in Singapore, each offering similar personal loans but with different policies. There are definitely some black sheep that conduct unethical business practices in the cash loan industry. From the recent case, the borrowers should learn to protect themselves by ensuring that they have a copy of a statement of account issued by the cash loan provider and that they are issued receipts when making repayments. Borrowers should always keep the copy of the transaction receipt if payment was made via a bank transfer. The website of Insolvency Public Trustee’s Office is a good site to source for legal information pertaining to the moneylending businesses in Singapore.”
Ms Lim, an employee from Max Credit added, “It is a sad thing that some of the licensed moneylenders in Singapore are taking their license for granted. However, one should not burn the whole forest for one withered tree.”
The IPTO reported that 15 different money loan providers are convicted and found guilty with charges since 2011. These unethical cash loan companies are neither a representative of the whole money loan industry nor the only unethical cash loan companies in Singapore. There may be more of such moneylenders and one has to exercise wisdom and take up safeguarding measures when obtaining a personal loan.