Consumer police probe complaints about loan sharks

The move followed a recent petition from victims to the Prime Minister’s Office in Bangkok over the lack of progress in police investigations into their complaints about interest rates that exceeded legal limits and threats from loan sharks.
One of the alleged victims, Udon Thani-based textile shop owner Sommai Prasertkul, claimed to have borrowed Bt4.5 million for business expansion in 1993 and 1994 from an investor, who then told him in 2006 to repay the money plus accumulated interest worth Bt6.6 million. 
Sommai signed a Bt6.6-million debt settlement contract at a court to repay the amount in monthly instalments of Bt30,000, but he fell behind due to the slowing economy. His properties in Udon Thani and Bangkok were seized and sold for debt repayment. 
The debt continued to accumulate to Bt7 million and then Bt10 million. He sold another property to repay Bt7.3 million and had only a balance of Bt2.7 million left, which he paid back in monthly instalments of Bt20,000.
He said the lender recently told him to pay the remaining sum of Bt1 million right away, but he could not. The lender then seized 19 plots of land worth Bt51 million for that debt.
Feeling that he had been taken advantage of despite the fact he had kept repaying his debt, he filed complaints with the PM’s Office and the Justice Ministry’s Department of Special Investigation. 
A source at the CPPD said some lenders had used social connections with senior state officials to silence debtors’ complaints and had lawyers use legal loopholes to take advantage of borrowers.
The source claimed some lenders deliberately avoided accepting repayments when loan contracts were nearly finished in order to seize properties placed as collateral.