Isaan loan shark tries to seize blocks of land from victims

[webfact]

Isaan loan shark tries to seize blocks of land from victims
By TAWEE APISAKULCHART
THE NATION

 

 

NAKHON PHANOM: -- WHEN her husband fell ill, mother-of-two Nuankham Nannuan had no choice but to exhaust her family savings and borrow money from a loan shark.

 

Little did she know that the loan shark, based in Nakhon Phanom province, didn’t expect just huge interest charges but also land plots she had put forward as collateral. 

 

The collateral was in the form of a house and land, which belongs to Nuankham’s elder sister, and more than 30 rai of Nuankham’s paddy fields. Together, the estimated value at the time of seeking the loan was about Bt350,000.

 

Nuankham, 48, said she initially protested as the demanded collateral had a value much higher than the loan amount of Bt150,000. But the loan shark assured her she would never cheat anyone. 

 

“The problem was that when I took out a soft loan to clear my debts with her, she demanded a Bt420,000 payment. This demand was made after I had paid her interest charges of Bt5,100 a month for two consecutive years,” Nuankham said. 

 

She said the loan shark had ignored her pleas. 

 

“My husband has had brain problems. I have had to find money for his medical expenses. I also have two children to support,” she said. 

 

As the loan shark’s demand for the return of her collateral was too high, with the latest demand reaching Bt850,000, Nuankham decided to lodge a complaint with a government centre in her home town. She also petitioned public prosecutors in Nakhon Phanom. 

 

“There were no fruitful results. So, I talked to other victims of the loan shark and we decided to lodge a complaint at Government House together,” Nuankham said. 

 

She said officials assured her that the Office of the Prime Minister would prompt local officials to act. 

 

“Local officials indeed helped arrange a negotiation between us and the loan shark. Even the Nakhon Phanom governor was present,” Nuankham said. 

 

She said that thanks to the negotiations mediated by senior officials, she could get her land plots back with a payment of Bt170,000.

 

“But other loan-shark victims are not as lucky. Many of them are still unable to get their assets back,” she said. 

 

Pad Jantapinij, 79, said he was among the victims and had fought hard for years to win back the land plot he had put forward as collateral. 

 

“I sought out a loan to fulfil my plan to set up a small rice mill. I needed just Bt60,000 more for the implementation. So, I turned to this loan shark. She’s a businesswoman,” he said. 

 

The loan shark, who had also exploited Nuankham, demanded that he used his land plot worth Bt120,000 as collateral. 

 

“After I signed all the papers, including something like a mortgage agreement, she gave me just Bt48,600. She said Bt11,400 was for other fees and interest charges of the first three months,” Pad said.

 

He said that after some time, he had accumulated enough money to repay the debt but she did not allow him to settle the final payment. 

 

“The first time I went to her motorcycle showroom, I was told she was on an overseas trip. The second time, I went there to meet her, I was told she was in other provinces. Such excuses dragged on until one day a court order reached my home. She wanted to take my land plot,” Pad said. 

 

He said her firm went to court accusing him of failing to pay her Bt196,537 in principal and interest. 

 

“I’ve sought help from a volunteer lawyer. Finally, I’ve won the case. The court has ordered me to pay her firm just Bt48,600,” he said.

Pad said the loan shark has victimised many people. 

 

Nakhon Phanom’s police chief Pol Maj-General Wusichan Yankittikul yesterday led a team searching the loan shark’s three motorcycle showrooms in Nakhon Phanom province. 

 

The court has already issued an arrest warrant for her on charges of public fraud, imposing a too high interest rate, and document forgery. 

 

She has denied any wrongdoing, saying that she had never exploited borrowers. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30315426

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-17

[kannot]

If I was lending money here ( which I dont) Id  also want the land plots as collateral in the "land of no responsibility" the people who  borrow money will often  try and default.

No one else will lend  them money as they are an obvious high risk so what do they expect?

I thought all loan sharking was  illegal anyway?

[ukrules]

It is illegal, lock her up for 10 or 20 years and strip her of every Baht held of the criminal proceeds.

 

That should teach her some manners.

 

[dbrenn]

Neither a lender nor a borrower be.

[ezzra]

Many Thais in need of cash do the what Thai people term Khai-Fak process whereby they transfer

the property at the land department to the lender subject to a loan of a

specific time and interest payable at the end of the specified period, should

they fail, the land than will be transferred fully to the lender, and it's 100% legal....

what happened in many cases is when they fail to pay, some cries blue murder

and act as if they didn't know what they got themselves into.....

Edited May 16, 2017 by ezzra

[Thaiwrath]

24 minutes ago, ezzra said:

should

they fail, the land than will be transferred fully to the lender, and it's 100% legal..

It depends on the interest rate charged whether it's legal or not.

[leeneeds]

Always a trap of some form with credit,

 

like the plague avoid 

[darksidedog]

These loan sharks are everywhere, charging exorbitant and illegal levels of interest. The PM promised a much needed scourge of them, but as always he was much talk and no action. I hope they nail this bitch and the publicity encourages others to shop their local shark too. Nasty people, feeding on the vulnerable.

 

[clockman]

And all good Buddhists.!

[Damrongsak]

A sorta sister-in-law sold lottery tickets way back when.  Didn't pay or lay off the bets or whatever.  She had to go underground for years to avoid the winners who wanted her head.  Piece of work she is.

[johna]

It's not as if those borrowing money don't know what they are getting themselves into. Two of my neighbours borrowed money, one received death threats and mortgaged his property to the government BAAC to repay the debt, the other lost everything, pickup truck, farm land, and sold all farm machinery to clear the debt.

This is common knowledge, so the real question is, who are these loan sharks that they can operate with such ease.

[YetAnother]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

saying that she had never exploited borrowers

and i bet she truly believes that

[Fulwell53]

20 minutes ago, clockman said:

And all good Buddhists.!

The crusaders were all god fearing Christians. Stalin was a strong orthodox christian.

Loan sharking is rampant all over the world.

The uk is replete with pay day loan companies ( legitimised loan sharking ) and these companies are universally condemned by all sections of the uk church movement and social justice advocates.

[KhaoNiaw]

I've seen this frequently in the areas of Isaan that I'm familiar with. Often the loan comes from someone locally 'respectable' like a village head, local official or teacher who is just waiting to get their hands on the land. These local elites are as much a bane on the daily lives of local villagers as the demonized hi-so Bangkok elite. 

[starky]

No one asked them to borrow the money, no one forced them to give their property as collateral and no one made them accept any amount way less than the alleged worth of their property. No point in blaming the lender even though their methods are distasteful every person knew what they were getting themselves in for and also certainly knew they couldnt pay it back. How you going to pay off a loan as a peasant farmer from isaan with no income? Seems like just another typical Thai story of the rich screwing over the poor and disadvantaged.

Edited May 17, 2017 by starky

[robblok]

3 hours ago, kannot said:

If I was lending money here ( which I dont) Id  also want the land plots as collateral in the "land of no responsibility" the people who  borrow money will often  try and default.

No one else will lend  them money as they are an obvious high risk so what do they expect?

I thought all loan sharking was  illegal anyway?

Just like the Brit who maxed out his credit card.. got only good replies for not paying the bankers because its hard to touch him here in Thailand.

 

Personally I pay my debts.. because i know how hard it is to get debts (invoices collected) from clients at times. It just sucks when people don't honor business deals.  Though I don't have that much sympathy for loan sharks with huge interest rates.

[clockman]

There are said to about 220,000 loan sharks in Thailand.! One in every village. Also underground lottery. So what has changed? Nothing. T.I.T.

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

Many Thais in need of cash do the what Thai people term Khai-Fak process whereby they transfer

the property at the land department to the lender subject to a loan of a

specific time and interest payable at the end of the specified period, should

they fail, the land than will be transferred fully to the lender, and it's 100% legal....

what happened in many cases is when they fail to pay, some cries blue murder

and act as if they didn't know what they got themselves into.....

 

This process should be made illegal.

[Prbkk]

9 minutes ago, starky said:

No one asked them to borrow the money, no one forced them to give their property as collateral and no one made them accept any amount way less than the alleged worth of their property. No point in blaming the lender even though their methods are distasteful every person knew what they were getting themselves in for and also certainly knew they couldnt pay it back. How you going to pay off a loan as a peasant farmer from isaan with no income? Seems like just another typical Thai story of the rich screwing over the poor and disadvantaged.

It goes way, way beyond "distasteful"....way past unethical and immoral. These people are the scum of the earth....and it is a worldwide problem. 

[djayz]

Children from a very early age should be taught to "save for a rainy day". 

Although I despise these loan sharks preying on those desperate enough to go to them, I simply can't stand the people who go to them.

[starky]

12 minutes ago, Prbkk said:

It goes way, way beyond "distasteful"....way past unethical and immoral. These people are the scum of the earth....and it is a worldwide problem. 

Yes but they wouldnt exist if people werent stupid enough to accept their "services"

[spacebass]

Strictly normal.

[Prbkk]

8 minutes ago, starky said:

Yes but they wouldnt exist if people werent stupid enough to accept their "services"

Sometimes stupid but more commonly desperate with nowhere else to turn.

[oldlakey]

14 minutes ago, Prbkk said:

Sometimes stupid but more commonly desperate with nowhere else to turn.

Certainly desperate, but ALWAYS stupid for not seeing the inevitable end

[AGareth2]

120 years ago they would sell themselves or give their children as collateral

[BEVUP]

1 hour ago, starky said:

No one asked them to borrow the money, no one forced them to give their property as collateral and no one made them accept any amount way less than the alleged worth of their property. No point in blaming the lender even though their methods are distasteful every person knew what they were getting themselves in for and also certainly knew they couldnt pay it back. How you going to pay off a loan as a peasant farmer from isaan with no income? Seems like just another typical Thai story of the rich screwing over the poor and disadvantaged.

& alot of them don't understand the difference between interest & principal 

So when their told to pay back a certain amount per month it,s the interest they are told & when the period is up they get a shock that they still need to pay the principal by the end of the month

[jonclark]

Whilst I completely concur with the sentiments of other posters and the criminality of the loan sharks. This outrage still doesn't tackle the underlying issue that for the poor, access to money in the form of legitimate bank loans etc is actually quite difficult. 

 

Loans require evidence of a job (tax returns, payment slips etc), which for farmers etc may not be possible or even exist. Possible collateral - land deeds etc. and a willing guarantor which can demonstrate either one or both of the previous points. 

 

So whilst it is all well and good saying they shouldn't borrow etc etc. All people need at some point in their life access to a loan of some sort or another. 

 

 

 

 

[hansnl]

3 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

It depends on the interest rate charged whether it's legal or not.

That is why I don't understand the mediation of the governor.

[YetAnother]

publish the loan sharks name and put 'alleged' in front of it

[biggles45]

"Certainly desperate, but ALWAYS stupid for not seeing the inevitable end"

 

Perhaps they don't have any other options to borrow ! Banks are not a possibility, unless of course you have so much already that you don't have a problem getting the loan.