TECHDIGEST – The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), this week in Abuja, said it will begin criminal prosecution of unregistered loan apps and loan companies in breach of data privacy laws or apps operators harassing defaulting customers in violation of their legal rights.

The FCCPC warned that employees, collaborators or agents of money lenders are accountable for breach of existing laws that include harassments of defaulting customers. in line with extant laws in the event of any conduct violation.

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“They are also required to discontinue further abusive, coercive and inappropriate language in communication with loan defaulters or borrowers,” said the FCCPC in a statement.

The commission added: “To also provide a mechanism for transparency regarding loan repayment fees, default or late payment charges as well as interest calculation to the Commission. The mechanism must include an open, accessible and responsive feedback and dispute resolution framework that complies with fair lending and loan recovery principles.

“The Commission reserves the prerogative to proceed in any manner consistent with prevailing law including but not limited to criminal prosecution of any digital money lender, its employees, collaborators or agents, whose conduct is in violation of extant law.”

According to Executive Vice Chairman FCCPC, Mr. Babatunde Irukera, in statement to address the menace of loan sharks under investigation and whose accounts have been frozen accounts, operators have been told they are under obligation to comply with the country’s laws.

No operator has the right to contact third parties of borrowers or defaulters including people on their contact lists without their expressed permission whether through SMS or phone calls.

The FCCPC is part of a joint task force that include the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) tasked with checkmating illegal and unfair practices in the money lending industry.

The taskforce had received over 5000 complaints regarding dubious conducts of some app-based money lenders.

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