Customer Samuel Agba (pseudonym) took a N50,000 loan from the Cashrun loan app that operates under Flowood Lending Limited. For defaulting for just two days, the lending app threatened to post his obituary and hire cultists to get him.
The same Flowood is approved by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. Number 20 on the “fully approved” section.
Agba borrowed the N50,000 loan on February 9 with a high interest of N24,000 which was to be returned within seven days.
“The interest was very high but I had no alternative,” Agba told FIJ.
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Despite these unfavourable terms, some Cashrun agents went even further by threatening Agba to repay his loan. The agent said cultists were on Agba’s trail to kill him if he defaulted on his loan repayment.
“On the due date, I received several threats and calls from the company’s agents. The worst was a call that they would send cultists and ritualists to monitor me via my phone. He claimed they have software to track calls and location. I ignored it,” Agba said.
“I was actually in a remote area with low network access, so I couldn’t do (the money) transfer.”
Ignoring the threats was not because Agba found them less disturbing, but because he felt the agents acted out their own ideas. He contacted the lending app through its email address.
“I sent a mail to the customer service but they were so unapologetic. They were more concerned with their money, not the threats,” Agba told FIJ.
Cashrun did all of these because he paid the amount two days later than the agreed date.
Despite all these damages, Agba was made to pay N81,000; an additional N7,000 for a two-day extension.
“I plan to take the issue up legally because my BP has been on the rise ever since, because of the shock and emotional trauma,” Agba added.
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FIJ found that the app was listed by the FCCPC as a fully approved lending app.
In this FCCPC document that outlines the metrics for approving lending companies, the agency states that lenders must not engage in predatory lending or misleading loan terms, or threaten, harass or defame borrowers for the sake of collection.
When FIJ called Cashrun on Monday about how Agba was threatened and intimidated, the female recipient said she would “check the system and call back”. They had not done so at press time.
The post ‘Get Ready to See Your Obituary’, FCCPC-Approved Cashrun Threatens Borrower appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.