On April 17, the collection giant Hunan Yongxiong Asset Management Group released "An Open Letter to All Sectors of Society" and "Ten Years of Turbulent Dreams - Hunan Yongxiong Asset Management Group's 10th Anniversary Tour" on its official account, claiming that in 2023, Yongxiong Group has encountered the most severe crisis since its establishment. Since April, the police in many places in Anhui have successively intervened in the investigation of the Jishou Branch, Huaihua Branch, Xiangtan Branch and Shaoyang Branch of Yongxiong Group Weicheng Company, forcibly brought nearly 200 employees to Anhui and taken criminal coercive measures, and at the same time froze more than 4,800 yuan of Yongxiong Group's funds regardless of the life and death of the company, and restricted the founder of the group company and some executives from leaving the country, resulting in panic and unsustainable operation of the group. We were forced to issue a "Letter to All Employees" in the early morning of May 25, 2023, and painfully announced the closure of business, which caused a strong earthquake in the collection industry and widespread concern from all walks of life. As of April 3, 2024, the Anhui police have frozen the funds in the account of Yongxiong Group for the third time. Yongxiong Group was forced to dispose of a large number of fixed assets of the company and shareholders for the company's operation and maintenance and employee placement.
In fact, Yongxiong Group's collection business has been suspended for nearly a year. In May 2023, Yongxiong Group issued a "Letter to All Employees" announcing that the company had entered a state of suspension, and also said that its branches in Jishou, Huaihua, Xiangtan, and Shaoyang were investigated by the Anhui police, and 179 employees were forcibly taken to Anhui. As of April 3, 2024, the Anhui police have frozen the funds in the account of Yongxiong Group for the third time, with a total of more than 4,800 yuan frozen and many executives restricted from leaving the country.
According to the relevant person in charge of Yongxiong Group, in the next ten years, it will make every effort to promote the sunny, professional, legalized and intelligent development of the collection industry, and make suggestions for the healthy and sustainable development of the collection industry. After seeing this open letter, some netizens believe that this is their own inability to go public and help other collection companies go public, their own compliant collection behavior, as well as online training for other collection company employees, isn't this "ironic" full?
The open letter responds to the question of "becoming a 'victim' on the road to the construction of the rule of law".
We also saw such a passage in the open letter, "A year has passed, although Yongxiong Group has in fact become a "victim" on the road to the construction of the rule of law, but the "Yongxiong Banner" and "Yongxiong Spirit" are still standing, and the original intention and mission of "promoting the development of the collection industry in a sunny, professional and legal manner, helping dishonest debtors to recover their integrity, and finally realizing the irretrievable integrity of the world" is still hot. Netizens think that what is called a "victim" on the road to the construction of the rule of law? Is it true that Yongxiong Group regards its violent collection behavior and infringement of citizens' personal information in recent years as "legal" behavior?
The most important thing is what is called a "victim" on the road to the construction of the rule of law. In a society governed by the rule of law, all enterprises and individuals must abide by laws and regulations and must not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of others. If a company or individual is sanctioned or punished for violating the law, it is the result of their own misconduct, not the innocent becoming a "victim".
In recent years, Yongxiong Group's violent collection behavior and infringement of citizens' personal information are undoubtedly illegal acts. These acts not only seriously infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of the debtor, but also undermine social harmony and stability. Yongxiong Group's regard for these acts as "legal" is a serious distortion and disregard for the spirit of the rule of law.
Netizens' rebuttal to Yongxiong Group's remarks is reasonable. It is an irrefutable fact that violent collection and infringement of citizens' personal information are illegal. Yongxiong Group cannot try to cover up or glorify these illegal acts because of its former industry status or contributions. Such an attitude is not only a defiance of the law, but also a disrespect to the victim.
The established facts, Yongxiong Group has not admitted its mistakes so far, what kind of contempt for the law is this?
We also saw such a paragraph in the open letter: "A lawfully established collection enterprise accepts entrustment to collect legal debts from overdue debtors through legal channels, which does not constitute the crime of picking quarrels and provoking troubles, let alone being involved in organized crime and evil. Although the basin of "underworld forces" and "picking quarrels and provoking troubles" is still forcibly held on the heads of the heads of the four branches and their employees, the law and history will surely restore our innocence!" , and this passage was regarded as a joke by netizens, because the person who committed the crime will not admit that he has committed a crime, and the thief will not admit that he is a thief if he is caught.
Xu Liang, a media person, recently said that the collection giant Yongxiong Group has been reluctant to admit its illegal acts, and its confidence may come from some "loopholes" in the current legal system. These so-called "loopholes" include the state's oversight of virtual dial-up software, inadequate penalties for infringement of citizens' personal information, and inadequate supervision of SMS operators. However, Xu Liang stressed that none of this can be an excuse for Yongxiong Group to evade legal sanctions.
Virtual dialing software has been widely used in the collection industry in recent years, but its regulation has been blank for a long time. These software can generate fake phone numbers, allowing collectors to hide their real identities and harass and threaten people who are past due. Yongxiong Group may have taken advantage of this to circumvent regulatory requirements such as the real-name telephone system through virtual dialing software, thus achieving the purpose of illegal collection.
In addition, the penalties in the current legal system are clearly insufficient for infringement of citizens' personal information. Although infringing on citizens' personal information is a criminal offense, in practice, it is often only a fine, but fails to form an effective deterrent to the enterprises and individuals involved. This kind of punishment has undoubtedly given Yongxiong Group and other collection companies an opportunity to dare to take risks and continue to engage in illegal acts.
The lack of regulation of SMS operators is also one of the reasons why Yongxiong Group has been able to get away with it. Some SMS operators have failed to fulfill their regulatory responsibilities when disseminating false or fraudulent information, resulting in a flood of spam messages and scam messages. These text messages often contain false collection information, intimidating and deceiving overdue debtors, and seriously disrupting market order and social stability.
However, Xu Liang pointed out that no matter how many "loopholes" exist in the legal system, collection companies such as Yongxiong Group cannot use them as a shield for illegal acts. The law is fair and serious. Any attempt to take advantage of the loopholes of the law will eventually be punished by law.
Xu Liang further pointed out that since it is a legitimate collection company, why do the collectors of Yongxiong Group dare not disclose their identity information to carry out normal collection work? Instead, they use a series of illegal means to force the debtor to repay the loan. This kind of behavior not only infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of the debtor, but also seriously disrupts social order.
In addition, Xu Liang also questioned how Yongxiong Group obtained the personal privacy information of people who had nothing to do with the debt. He said that the source and method of obtaining this personal privacy information are worthy of in-depth investigation. If Yongxiong Group obtained this information through illegal means, then the nature of its behavior is even worse and should be severely punished by law.
Xu Liang stressed that no enterprise should pursue its own interests at the expense of infringing on the rights and interests of others. As a service industry, the collection industry should comply with laws, regulations and ethics, and carry out collection work in a legal and compliant manner. As a leader in the collection industry, Yongxiong Group should set an example and set an industry benchmark, rather than taking advantage of loopholes in the legal system to engage in illegal activities.
The problem of Yongxiong Group's debt collection has aroused the attention of netizens: can invalid debts be recovered?
First of all, we need to be clear about what an invalid debt is. In law, invalid debts usually refer to debts that are not protected by law due to violations of laws and regulations or public order and good customs. For such debts, even if the creditor obtains repayment through collection, the repayment may be considered invalid.
In the case of Yongxiong Group, the illegal methods of the collectors became the focus of public opinion. They use coercion, threats and other means to force debtors to repay loans, and even harass people who have nothing to do with the debt, so as to achieve the purpose of collection. These behaviors not only violate laws and regulations, but also violate social morality and moral bottom line, and bring great mental pressure and distress to the debtor.
Due to the illegal actions of Yongxiong Group's collectors, some of the debts may be found to be invalid. In law, invalid debts refer to debts that are not protected by law due to violations of laws and regulations or public order and good customs. For this part of the invalid debt, the debtor has the right to demand the recovery of the money already paid. This is because the debtor may have been forced to pay amounts that should not have been paid, under the threat and intimidation of illegal collection methods, which should be recovered.
However, recovering invalid debts is not an easy task. The debtor needs to collect sufficient evidence to prove that Yongxiong Group's collection is illegal and that the debt is invalid. This may require litigation or arbitration through legal channels, which is often time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the outcome is not always as expected. In addition, the debtor may also face counterclaims or recoveries from Yongxiong Group, making the process of recovering the money more complicated and difficult.
Therefore, for the invalid debts collected by Yongxiong Group, the debtor needs to remain calm and rational in the process of seeking to recover the money, and fully understand its rights and legal responsibilities. They can seek legal advice and support from a lawyer or relevant organisation to better protect their rights.
At the same time, we should also see that the case of Yongxiong Group has also exposed some problems and chaos in the collection industry. Relevant departments should strengthen the supervision and regulation of the collection industry, formulate stricter laws and regulations to restrain collection behavior, and ensure the legality and compliance of collection activities. In addition, the relevant departments should also intensify the crackdown on illegal collection behaviors that have occurred, and investigate the legal responsibility of relevant personnel in accordance with the law, so as to maintain the fairness and order of the market.