In today's society, with the prosperity of the financial market and the rapid growth of credit business, it is not uncommon for debtors to receive strange debt collection calls. However, these calls often bring confusion and anxiety to debtors, especially when they check with financial institutions after receiving these strange debt collection calls, the answers they get are often vague, and they cannot even explain why these strange debt collectors can obtain their debt information and help them collect debts. This phenomenon has aroused widespread social concern and in-depth thinking.
Objectively speaking, in our daily lives, we often receive calls from strangers, including calls related to debt collection. When such a call rings, our first reaction is often to verify the identity of the other party to confirm its authenticity and legitimacy. This act is not only our own protection, but also our responsibility and obligation as the person who answers the phone.
First of all, verifying identity information is a protection of one's own rights and interests. When we receive a cold call, we can't be sure of the person's true intentions and identity. If the other party is a scammer pretending to be a collector of a bank or online lending platform, they may use false information to deceive us into trusting, and then induce us to divulge personal information or make transfers, etc. Therefore, verifying your identity is a crucial step in keeping yourself safe.
Second, verifying identity information is a legal requirement. In accordance with relevant laws and regulations, financial institutions or third-party collection agencies must comply with the corresponding legal procedures and regulations when conducting collection activities. This includes providing clear identification information and proof of entrustment at the time of telephone collection to ensure the legality and regularity of their actions.
When we receive these unidentified collection calls, we often ask the other party to provide their name, work number, affiliation, etc., because this information helps us to preliminarily determine the identity of the stranger and what is the intention and purpose of calling us, and secondly, we will also ask them to provide the relevant agreement or contract that they claim to be entrusted by a certain bank or online loan platform on the phone, so that they can prove the legitimacy of their identity. Check with the bank or online lending platform involved to ask whether the collection agency has been entrusted to truly identify whether their identity is legal or not.
However, the problem encountered by debtors now is that when they receive these strange debt collection calls, the strangers who ask to call will be rejected to provide identity information, and even when the debtor verifies the mobile phone or landline number received from the banks or online loan platforms involved, these banks or online loan platforms cannot provide the basic information of the people who collect debts for them, to put it bluntly, even they themselves cannot prove that these strangers are not outsourced by them.
However, in the process of debt collection, some debtors have complained that banks or online lending platforms are deliberately withholding the information of collectors, which has aroused widespread resonance and discussion among debtors.
First, we need to understand why debtors feel the way they do. In the process of debt collection, collectors often represent the interests of creditors, and their main task is to ensure that the debtor can repay the debt at the agreed time and amount. However, due to the special nature of the collection work, the collector may use some strong or direct communication methods, which may cause discomfort or panic to the debtor in some cases.
In addition, some debtors may have experienced inappropriate behavior by collectors, such as threats, intimidation, or invasion of personal privacy. These experiences cause debtors to have a sense of distrust in collectors, and then believe that banks or online lending platforms are deliberately withholding collectors' information in order to avoid debtors holding them accountable or complaining.
However, from the perspective of banks or online lending platforms, they may believe that they have fulfilled their information disclosure obligations. In the loan contract, the information of the creditor is usually clearly listed, including the contact information and scope of responsibilities of the collector. In addition, banks or online lending platforms will also provide relevant information to the public through official websites, customer service hotlines and other channels to ensure that debtors can keep abreast of the debt situation and collection progress.
So why is this battle for information transparency arising? On the one hand, it may be due to miscommunication or misunderstanding between the two parties. Banks or online lending platforms may not fully take into account the needs and feelings of debtors when providing information, and debtors may also have misunderstandings or biases when receiving information. On the other hand, it may also be due to the imperfection of industry norms and regulatory mechanisms. At present, the laws, regulations and regulatory policies on the debt collection industry are not perfect enough, resulting in some illegal collectors taking advantage of the opportunity to take advantage of the opaque information to carry out misconduct.
Regarding the legal liability of banks or online lending platforms for deliberately concealing post-loan collection personnel
In the collection process, the issue of whether banks or online lending platforms should disclose the information of collectors has been controversial. The purpose of this article is to explore the responsibilities of banks or online lending platforms in withholding information about collectors in debt collection:
1. The role and responsibility of banks and online lending platforms in debt collection: As debtors, banks and online lending platforms play a key role in the debt collection process. They have the responsibility to ensure that debts are collected in a timely and effective manner, and at the same time, they also have the obligation to protect the legitimate rights and interests of debtors. In this process, collectors are important executors of banks or online lending platforms, and their actions are directly related to the rights and interests of creditors and debtors.
When debtors receive calls or messages from third-party collectors, they are often confused about the identities and origins of these strangers. They expect banks or online lending platforms to provide basic information about these collectors in order to verify their identity and legitimacy. However, in reality, banks or online lending platforms often refuse to provide such information, or even ignore the reasonable requests of debtors.
This lack of transparency not only confuses and unsettles debtors, but also increases the risks and uncertainties in the debt collection process. Debtors may find themselves in a greater predicament and even suffer unnecessary losses because they are unable to verify the identity of the collector.
In the face of the debtor's doubts and demands, banks or online lending platforms are often unable to give reasonable explanations. They may believe that they have fulfilled their information disclosure obligations, or they may believe that providing information about collectors will involve privacy protection and other issues. However, this explanation does not satisfy the debtor and does not solve the problem of lack of information transparency.
According to the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, the law stipulates that business operators shall follow the principles of fairness, honesty and credibility when conducting transactions with consumers, and shall not engage in fraud, coercion and other improper acts. In the process of debt collection, if the bank or online lending platform, as the operator, conceals the information of the collector, it may lead to misunderstanding or improper collection of the debtor, thus constituting infringement of the rights and interests of consumers.
Personal Information Protection Law: This law stipulates that no organization or individual shall illegally collect, use, process or transmit the personal information of others, and shall not illegally buy, sell, provide or disclose the personal information of others. However, in the process of debt collection, the disclosure of collectors' information is not equivalent to illegal disclosure or misuse of personal information. On the premise of complying with relevant laws and regulations, the disclosure of collector information is to protect the debtor's right to know and supervision.
Banking Supervision Law and Interim Measures for the Administration of Business Activities of Online Lending Information Intermediaries: These laws and regulations clearly stipulate the code of conduct of banking financial institutions and online lending information intermediaries in their business activities. In terms of debt collection, banks or online lending platforms should follow the principles of legality, compliance, fairness and transparency to ensure the legality and standardization of debt collection activities. If a bank or online lending platform conceals the information of collectors in debt collection, it may constitute a violation of the above laws and regulations.
2. The risk of banks or online lending platforms deliberately concealing the information of collectors: The description of the lack of information transparency between banks and online lending platforms in the debt collection process has become more and more prominent. This is not only reflected in the confidentiality of the basic information of the outsourced third-party collectors, but also in many links and levels.
First of all, when debtors try to check the identity information of collectors through banks or online lending platforms, they are often met with indifferent responses or outright rejections. This closed attitude towards key information makes it impossible for debtors to confirm the identity and legitimacy of the other party when facing collection behavior, thus increasing the risk of being misled or defrauded.
Second, banks or online lending platforms are often vague and unable to provide a reasonable explanation for why these strangers are able to hold their customer information. This lack of transparency not only unsettles debtors, but also heightens public doubts about financial institutions' ability to protect information.
In addition, the lack of information transparency is also reflected in the incomplete disclosure of the debt collection process by banks or online lending platforms. For example, they may only provide partial collection records or information, ignoring key aspects that have a significant impact on the debtor's equity. This selective disclosure of information makes it difficult for debtors to get a complete picture of debt collection and thus make informed decisions.
In addition, some banks or online lending platforms may misuse customer information in the debt collection process. They may leak customers' personal information to criminals or use it for other illegal purposes. This kind of invasion of customer privacy not only harms the interests of customers, but also seriously damages the reputation and credibility of financial institutions.
3. Does the bank or online lending platform deliberately conceal the identity information of the collector deprive the debtor of the "right to know"?
However, banks or online lending platforms deliberately conceal the identity information of collectors, which actually deprives debtors of their "right to know". This deprivation has a multifaceted effect on debtors:
1. Increased risk of misleading or fraud: Because the identity and legitimacy of the collector cannot be verified, the debtor is easily exploited by criminals and falls into a greater predicament.
2. Exacerbate the tension of debt collection: Due to the lack of transparent information, debtors are prone to misunderstanding and resistance to the collection behavior, thus exacerbating the tension of debt collection.
3. Damaging the credibility of the bank or online lending platform: The deliberate concealment of the identity information of the collector not only damages the rights and interests of the debtor, but also seriously damages the credibility and image of the bank or online lending platform.
Summary: The deliberate concealment of the identity information of the collector by the bank or the online lending platform undoubtedly deprives the debtor of the "right to know". This deprivation not only increases the risk of debtors being misled or defrauded, but also exacerbates debt collection tensions and damages the credibility of banks or online lending platforms. Therefore, banks or online lending platforms should strictly comply with relevant laws, regulations and regulatory requirements, fully disclose the identity information of collectors, and ensure that the debtor's right to know and legitimate rights and interests are protected. At the same time, the regulatory authorities should also strengthen the supervision of banks or online lending platforms in the process of debt collection, so as to maintain the stability and healthy development of the financial market.
Let me ask, what kind of responsibilities should banks or online lending platforms bear for these existing problems?