June 9, 2021 5:31 PM
GEORGE TOWN: Banks and legal firms are making a killing by charging exorbitant legal fees on those who miss out on payments during these hard times, a consumer group has claimed.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) CEO Saravanan Thambirajah said they had received many complaints from consumers that their banks have levied extra charges on top of whatever they owed.
He said that based on complaints lodged through the national consumer complaints centre, if a lawyer’s letter is sent to a defaulting customer, the bank would charge the sum to their account.
Saravanan said the bank action was swift, too, with lawyer’s letters given within less than a month, especially to those who had been good paymasters but are struggling to make ends meet due to the MCO.
“During the time of the pandemic, it is cruel that banks look for ways to penalise customers. Most complained that they had been paying on time and had nothing overdue. These were customers with direct debit instructions, where money was deducted directly from their savings.
“It looks like the banking sector is trying to profit from people truly affected by the pandemic. Bank Negara Malaysia must investigate whether this is a new modus operandi for banks and lawyers to make a profit,” he said in a statement.
Saravanan said the central bank must audit how many cases were served with lawyer notices and how much banks charged their customers for these since the MCO began.
He said that ideally, a moratorium or other assistance should be offered to the deserving, especially those who have been previously servicing their dues on time.
“BNM should temporarily revise their code of conduct and guidelines with regard to serving lawyer’s notices during the pandemic. Many consumers have lost their jobs or had their incomes substantially decreased.”
