When a villager told me this bizarre story, my curiosity was piqued. The story involves a young college student, a quagmire of loan sharks, and a frenzy of online lending in a mountain village. I couldn't help but dive in.
Lending traps
Huang, an ordinary college student, has a poor life, but he has many dreams. So he embarked on the point of no return for online lending, believing it to be a way out of his financial woes. Who knows, the trap of usury waits for the opportunity.
He borrowed more than 50 platforms for a total of $187,000. Every month's repayment becomes a bottomless pit, bigger and bigger, making it impossible to pay it off. Burnt out, he had to borrow money again and fell into a vicious circle. The threat of despair kept looming at him, fearing that creditors would come to his door to intimidate.
Escapism
Huang, deeply mired in a quagmire, made an unexpected decision - to return to his hometown mountain village. His purpose? Escape debt and seek help and comfort from parents.
However, he never expected that this act would arouse the enthusiasm and curiosity of the entire village. Villagers came to his door, concerned about his condition. Huang helplessly confessed that he obtained the money through online loans. He warned the villagers about the risks and consequences of online lending, but it piqued their curiosity.
Online lending frenzy
At the instigation of the young people in the village, Huang led more than 500 people in the village and decided not to repay the online loan. They saw this as a shortcut to riches, a means of countering usury. Not only did they not intend to repay, but they also deliberately chose some high-interest and illegal online loan platforms. They argue that this would make it impossible for these platforms to take legal action or even cause them to go out of business.
As a result, the entire mountain village began to desperately borrow online, for fear of missing the opportunity to borrow money. Some borrowed hundreds of thousands, others borrowed millions. They use that money to buy cars, houses, investments and spending. They feel extremely smart and seem to have found an inexhaustible gold mine.
This behavior has not escaped the surveillance of online lending platforms. They found that the village borrowed money so frequently that the villagers had no intention of paying it back. So, a collection team was sent to try to recover his money.
Collection fiasco
The collection team breaks into the mountain village, only to find themselves caught in a fight. Because the whole village was united, they resolutely resisted and fought back against the collectors. Not only do they refuse to admit their debts, but they claim to be victims, victims of loan sharking, subjected to extortion and deception.
They claimed that there was evidence that the online lending platform violated national laws and regulations by charging more than reasonable interest. Collectors can't negotiate with them and have to take tough measures. This infuriated the entire village, who teamed up to beat and drive away the collectors.
The collection team had blue noses and swollen faces, and some people were even seriously injured. They had to call the police for help, but when the police arrived at the scene, the villagers did not cooperate with the investigation, leaving the police helpless.
They knew that the villagers had borrowed money illegally, but were unable to take coercive measures due to a lack of effective evidence and procedures. And these online loan platforms themselves operate in violation of regulations, there are no formal contracts and agreements, and they cannot collect debts through legal channels.
In the end, the collection team reluctantly left the village with no return. These online loan platforms have also fallen into the crisis of broken capital chains because they cannot recover huge loans, and some have even declared bankruptcy.
The consequences are serious
The actions of this mountain village seem to discourage usury, but bring more trouble and risk to themselves. Although these villagers temporarily escaped their debts, they damaged their credit history and social image. They have left a lot of bad information and blacklist records online, which will affect future opportunities for loans, insurance, renting, employment, etc.
Although these villagers used the borrowed money to buy property, invest and consume, they did not improve their production and living conditions, nor did they increase their sources of income. They are still trapped in poverty and hardship, unable to truly escape poverty and become rich.
Finally, although these villagers seem to have defeated some illegal online lending platforms, they have hurt the development and regulation of the entire online lending industry. Their behavior has brought huge losses and risks to online lending platforms, and also brought inconvenience and trouble to other users who borrow in good faith.
epilogue
This story shows us the risks of online lending and the incredible choices people can make when faced with financial hardship. Although lively and vivid, the story also exudes a cautionary atmosphere, reminding us to be cautious in our financial activities and abide by laws and regulations so as not to get bogged down and damage our own credibility and future. For this mountain village, this online lending frenzy is undoubtedly a lesson, and I hope they can learn from it and get on the right track.