The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has announced that it will seek Google to permanently remove harassing and slanderous digital money lending apps from its Play Store.
FCCPC CEO Babatunde Irukera made this known during a program on Arise TV monitored by BizWatch Nigeria.
Digital lenders, also known as “loan sharks,” provide loans with extraordinarily high interest rates and severe collection procedures.
Irukera stated that ethical digital lenders are welcome to do business in the country, but those that harass and defame clients will be dealt with swiftly.
According to him, some digital lenders do not use the Google Play Store and instead prefer to offer their services to customers through Whatsapp and other methods.
“Our concern is if these lenders we’ve approved are still doing it (harassing customers), even if they do it just for once, we will permanently delete them from the Google Play Store. As we discover them, we go after them,” Irukera said.
“There are things they can do wrong where they will be given a second chance but with respect to harassing consumers or defamatory messages, there will not be a second chance.”
Irukera recommended lenders to establish acceptable means of loan recovery, such as assessing a potential borrower’s reliability.
“Most of the people who are failing to pay back these loans are chronic borrowers. So, if you have a problem of paying back your obligation, you should not have the opportunity to borrow again,” the FCCPC boss said.
“But people who truly have a problem and have failed to make a payment or do not fail to make a payment should not be subjected to the inconvenience, the aggravation and frustration that accompanies these defamatory messages.”
