Under the new Debt Collection Bill that was passed in Parliament on Tuesday, it seeks to regulate the debt collection industry and prevent problematic debt collection by putting in place appropriate levers to take errant debt collection businesses and debt collectors to task.
“From 2018 to 2021, an average of 367 reports were lodged each year. The reports were mainly against debt collection tactics aimed at pressuring debtors into payment by causing public embarrassment and inconvenience to them,” said Sun. The first was in 2019 when the debt collector wore a traditional funeral outfit and harassed the debtor’s workplace. The second example brought up was the incident at a food stall in Funan Mall in 2015. The debt collectors unfurled a large banner stating that debt recovery was in process and proceeded to disrupt the stall’s business, including harassing the staff and damaging the stall’s equipment.
Under the new law, all debt collection businesses, including their key appointment holders, and debt collectors, will be screened by the police and must be assessed to be fit and proper before they are granted a licence or approval.