Recently, when we in-depth checked the major complaint platforms, we found a shocking phenomenon: on the list of complaints in the financial field, Meituan borrowed money occupied the first place in the weekly complaint list. In just 30 days, the number of complaints about Meituan's borrowing was as high as 8,000, but the resolution rate was only about 1,000.
Judging from the content of the complaint, the reasons for the complaint cover many aspects, and most of them involve serious problems such as illegal collection and infringement of personal privacy. First of all, regarding the violent collection of business loans, many borrowers reported that after the deadline, the collectors of Meituan borrowed money used extremely improper means, including but not limited to malicious harassment and verbal threats, which caused great psychological pressure on the borrowers. What is even more unacceptable is that these collectors even use unidentified means to harass the borrower's address book, and even threaten and intimidate the borrower's relatives and friends, which seriously infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of the borrower.
In addition, Meituan is also suspected of using the 106 SMS operator to send false information. This false information often contains false threats and misleading content, which brings great distress and panic to borrowers. What is even more worrying is that this kind of behavior not only harms the legitimate rights and interests of borrowers, but also may cause a series of social problems.
In the process of complaints, many borrowers reported that Meituan's customer service was indifferent when handling complaints, and even deprived the victimized users of their right to know. When borrowers try to understand the progress of their complaints or seek solutions, they often do not receive clear answers or effective help, which makes the road to defending their rights more difficult.
It is understood that the main economic source of Meituan's loans is Chongqing Meituan Sankuai Microfinance Co., Ltd. and other institutions. This information seems to put a veneer of compliance on Meituan Lending, making it look more like a compliant microfinance platform. However, compliance is compliance, and this does not justify Meituan's lending of money to infringe on the borrower and his relatives and friends after the borrower is overdue.
It is worth mentioning that among the many complaints, borrowers generally reported that Meituan's collection methods were not only rude, but also violated relevant laws and regulations. These improper collection practices seriously infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of borrowers, and bring them huge psychological pressure and economic losses.
In particular, some borrowers said they received 106 text messages from Meituan Lending or related agencies, which contained a large number of false threats and misleading information. These text messages often intimidate borrowers in the name of the law, claiming that they will face serious legal consequences, but in reality the information lacks legal basis and is pure fiction. This practice not only exacerbates the panic and anxiety of borrowers, but also may have a negative impact on social stability.
In the process of handling complaints, Meituan's customer service attitude of borrowing money has also been criticized. Many borrowers report that when they try to understand the progress of a complaint or seek a solution, customer service agents often show apathy and irresponsibility. They often pass the buck, procrastinate for time, or even outright refuse to answer the borrower's questions. This irresponsible attitude left borrowers feeling helpless and disappointed, further exacerbating their dissatisfaction with Meituan's lending service.
More seriously, some borrowers have accused Meituan of illegally obtaining and leaking personal privacy information during the collection process. Their personal information is leaked to third-party agencies or individuals by collectors, resulting in frequent sales calls and scam messages. This is a serious violation of the borrower's privacy and may also lead to more serious security issues.
On May 3, a netizen filed a complaint against Xiaomei, a customer service agent who borrowed money from Meituan, mainly involving violent collection, intimidation, and harassment of family and friends. This complaint not only reveals possible misconduct in financial services, but also raises deep public concerns about the protection of personal privacy.
Of particular concern in this complaint case was the harassment of family and friends. This is not only related to the compliance of collection behavior, but also directly related to the illegal acquisition and abuse of citizens' personal privacy. Netizens questioned how Meituan obtained the contact information of the borrower's relatives and friends during the collection process of borrowing money, and harassed them.
First of all, we must make it clear that the borrower's relationship with his or her family and friends should be strictly protected. In financial services, the borrower's personal information, including the contact details of his relatives and friends, is highly sensitive. Any unauthorized access and use is an invasion of privacy.
And this netizen is mainly concerned about four other issues:
1. Ways to obtain the information of the borrower's relatives and friends
Meituan needs to explain how they obtained information about the borrower's relatives and friends. Whether the information was provided voluntarily by the borrower when applying for a loan, or whether it was collected without knowing it. (It includes the address book of the borrower's mobile phone, call records, communication records within half a year, etc.)
Legal basis: According to the Civil Code, it is the basic law to protect the privacy of individual citizens. Among them, the Personality Rights section clearly stipulates the relevant content of personal information protection, prohibiting any organization or individual from illegally collecting, using, processing, or transmitting the personal information of others, and shall not illegally buy, sell, provide, or disclose the personal information of others.
The Cybersecurity Law is an important law to maintain cyberspace security and protect the privacy of citizens. The Law stipulates that network operators shall follow the principles of legality, legitimacy and necessity in collecting and using personal information, disclose the rules for collection and use, clearly indicate the purpose, method and scope of collection and use of information, and obtain the consent of the person to whom it is collected. Network operators must not collect personal information unrelated to the services they provide, must not collect or use personal information in violation of the provisions of laws, administrative regulations, or agreements between the parties, and shall handle the personal information they store in accordance with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations and agreements with users.
The Personal Information Protection Act is a law specifically enacted for the protection of personal information. The law clearly stipulates the principles of personal information processing, the obligations of personal information processors, the rights of individuals in personal information processing activities, the supervision and management of personal information protection, and legal liability. Among them, the law stipulates strict legal liability and punishment measures for illegal access to citizens' personal privacy information.
2. Establishment of emergency contacts and the right to know
If the borrower's relatives and friends are set up as emergency contacts, do these relatives and friends know and agree to this?
Right to know: A person who has been inadvertently set up as an emergency contact for a loan has the right to know that he or she has been designated as an emergency contact for someone and the possible consequences of that status. The lending institution shall verify the information as soon as possible and inform the established person of the existence of this identity.
Privacy: Personal information that is inadvertently set up as an emergency contact should be strictly protected and must not be illegally obtained, used, or disclosed. Lenders should take appropriate security measures to protect this information and ensure that it is not used for other purposes unrelated to loan management.
Right to refuse: A person who has been inadvertently set up as an emergency contact has the right to refuse to continue in this role and request that the lender remove their information from the record. The lending institution shall respect the wishes of the established person and process his request within a reasonable time.
Note: Borrowers sometimes set up someone's information as an emergency contact without the consent of others, which may cause unnecessary distress and legal risks to the person being established. And what are the responsibilities of the lender when the borrower applies for a loan?
Obligation to verify: Lending institutions have the obligation to verify the authenticity and legitimacy of the information when receiving the emergency contact information provided by the borrower. This includes confirming that the emergency contact is aware of and agrees to be set up as an emergency contact. If the lending institution fails to fulfill its verification obligations and causes others to be wrongly set up as emergency contacts, it shall bear the corresponding legal responsibility.
Privacy Obligations: Lending institutions shall strictly protect the personal information of emergency contacts and shall not illegally obtain, use or disclose them. Even if the emergency contact information is provided by the borrower, the lender is responsible for ensuring the security of this information. If the lender fails to properly protect the information of the emergency contact, resulting in the disclosure or misuse of the information, the lender will bear the corresponding legal responsibility. (Up to now, when the lending institution is unable to prove the legal identity of the outsourced third-party collection agency, we default to the fact that the lending institution provides the personal information of the emergency contact person to the unidentified collector as illegally providing citizens' personal privacy information to others.)
Obligation to correct in a timely manner: If it is found that the emergency contact information is incorrect or has been established without consent, the lending institution shall immediately correct the relevant information and stop using the information of the established person as the emergency contact information. If the lending institution fails to correct the information in a timely manner and continues to use the wrong or unconsented information for loan management, it will bear the corresponding legal responsibility.
Liability: If the lending institution fails to perform the above obligations, the legitimate rights and interests of the person who was set up as an emergency contact person are infringed, such as harassment and reputational damage, the lending institution shall bear the corresponding liability for compensation. This includes compensation for the direct loss and moral damage incurred by the foundee.
Legal basis: Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests: This law stipulates that when collecting and using consumers' personal information, business operators shall follow the principles of legality, legitimacy and necessity, clearly indicate the purpose, method and scope of collection and use of information, and obtain the consent of consumers. Lending institutions should also comply with the provisions of the law when collecting and using emergency contact information to ensure that the legitimate rights and interests of consumers are not infringed. (For other legal provisions, please refer to the information of the borrower's relatives and friends)
3. The standardization of collection behavior
Meituan needs to provide evidence to prove the legal identity of the third-party collection agency it outsourced, and it needs to prove that the borrower's debt information provided by Meituan Loan to the third-party collection agency does not contain the personal privacy information of other citizens unrelated to the debt, and even needs to bear relevant responsibilities for the violations and violations of the laws and regulations of the third-party collection agency in the collection process.
Legal basis: According to the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, consumers have the right not to be harmed in their personal and property safety when purchasing and using goods and receiving services. If the lending institution or its entrusted collection agency infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of the borrower or his/her relatives and friends in the process of collection, such as causing personal injury, property damage or mental damage, the lending institution may be liable for civil compensation.
The Civil Code stipulates the personality rights enjoyed by natural persons, including the rights to life, body, health, name, portrait, reputation, honor, privacy, etc. If the behavior of the collector violates the personality rights of the borrower or his relatives and friends, such as malicious harassment, threats and intimidation, the borrower or his relatives and friends have the right to demand that the lending institution bear the corresponding civil liability.
According to the Criminal Law, if the behavior of the collector constitutes a crime, such as intentional injury, illegal detention, extortion, etc., the lending institution may be required to bear the corresponding criminal liability. In addition, if the lending institution is aware of the illegal acts of the collector and still entrusts the collector to carry out the collection, the lending institution may also be regarded as a joint offender and bear the corresponding criminal liability.
In addition to the above-mentioned laws and regulations, other relevant laws and regulations may also be involved, such as the Public Security Administration Punishment Law, the Cybersecurity Law, etc. These laws and regulations may also impose requirements or restrictions on the conduct of lending institutions in the collection process.
Note: The purpose of this article is to supervise the compliance operation of financial institutions, and the content in the article is legally operated under the "rule of law society", and there is no malicious behavior