AIS Customers Warned To Ignore False Threat From Credit Bureau

[webfact]

AIS Customers Warned to Ignore False Threat from Credit Bureau

The National Credit Bureau confirms that it did not record the names of those who failed to pay mobile phone or utility bills on their blacklist of delinquent customers.

Customers of the Advanced Info Service or AIS have complained that they've received debt-notification letters, claimed to be from a Credit Bureau, threatening to list their names in the Credit Bureau's online database records if they do not pay their mobile phone, electricity, or water bills.

However, Credit Bureau Chief Executive Officer Surapol Opasatien said the Credit Bureau has no such plans, and that an investigation found that the threats were sent from the debt collector firm that the Credit Bureau had hired to collect overdue bill payments.

Surapol said studies of the World Bank record found that 51 out of 187 countries include utility bills in their Credit Bureau bills; however, Thailand does not.

He said if Thailand were to make mobile phone and utility bills a priority of the Credit Bureau, further studies would need to be conducted to make sure the action is beneficial for the country.

Surapol added that the process would require at least two years to give customers a heads up before the change.

He advised all AIS customers to ignore the threat and warned against transferring money to any organisation claiming the Credit Bureau's authorisation.

Surapol said the Credit Bureau currently has 75 financial institutions as its members, and each is responsible for recording debt histories of their customers to prevent bad debt.

He believes the new government's policies, such as the zero-percent interest loan for first-home buyers and the first-car tax reduction, will have any significant effect on national debt as Thailand currently has a strong financial institution compared to 1997.

-- Tan Network 2011-08-02