Many principals in Nghe An were forced to pay debts like gangsters even though they did not borrow money.

Suddenly become a "debtor"

In recent days, Mr. Nguyen Trong Giap - Principal of Yen Thanh 2 High School (Yen Thanh District), has had to constantly clarify to friends, colleagues and relatives that he is not in debt. Every time a strange phone number calls, Mr. Giap hesitates to answer, for fear of being "terrorized" by debt collectors. "It's very troublesome. I'm the principal, if I don't answer the phone, it's not okay, even if it's a strange number. Because who knows if their parents have something to report," Mr. Giap said.

According to Mr. Giap, he and many teachers in the school have been harassed, slandered and threatened for about a week now. The reason is that a male teacher in the school named LXL borrowed money that has come due but has not yet been paid. Mr. L. borrowed on credit from Vietnam Prosperity Bank Finance Company Limited (also known as FE Credit, a subsidiary of Vietnam Prosperity Bank).

Many teachers and principals of Phan Dang Luu Secondary School are confused because of being "terrorized" by phone calls. Photo: Tien Hung

“First, they called me, saying that Mr. L. owed them a sum of money, and asked the principal to instruct Mr. L. to pay immediately. After I said that the teachers' debts outside had nothing to do with the school and that they would handle them according to the law, they continuously called to harass and threaten me. They called several times a day, regardless of the time, with many different phone numbers. Sometimes they claimed to be FE Credit employees, but sometimes they didn't. Every time they saw me answer the phone, they yelled, threatened, and used obscene words. Perhaps, their purpose was to pressure Mr. L. to pay them,” Mr. Giap said.

After threatening Mr. Giap to no avail, the group turned to attacking the phone numbers of many other teachers at Yen Thanh 2 High School. The debt collectors even called a series of Mr. Giap's former students, falsely accusing the principal of owing them money but refusing to pay.

“Up to now, I have received 5 calls from 5 former students asking about me. They said they received phone calls from debt collectors saying that Mr. Giap owed money and refused to pay. Most of these students have graduated for more than 20 years, and we only contact them occasionally. I don’t understand how the debt collectors knew our relationship and knew their phone numbers to call and slander me like that,” Principal Giap asked.

Ms. Hien was slandered on social media. (Portrait photo blurred by reporter) Photo: TH

Not only harassing the teachers at Yen Thanh 2 High School, the debt collectors also attacked the principal and dozens of teachers at Phan Dang Luu Secondary School (Yen Thanh town). This is the school where Mr. LXL's wife is working.

Ms. Ngo Thi Hien - Principal of Phan Dang Luu Secondary School said she received her first harassing phone call on May 11. Since then, she has received 4 to 5 debt collection calls almost every day, even during lunch break. "Every time I pick up the phone, they yell and curse at me. They say this and that about the principal. I was very shocked," Ms. Hien said.

In addition, the debt collectors also called the vice principal and dozens of teachers in this school. “They called my teachers, sometimes accusing me of borrowing money and not paying it back, sometimes saying that they asked the principal to instruct Ms. Th. (Mr. L.’s wife) to quickly pay them back,” Ms. Hien added.

Not only were Ms. Hien and a vice principal in the school insulted by phone calls, they were also attacked and slandered on Facebook. Accordingly, two strange Facebook accounts downloaded portraits of Ms. Hien and the vice principal, then used those images to comment on all of her and her friends' posts online with the content "request Ms. Hien to pay the debt urgently...". According to school statistics, out of 42 teachers in the school, more than 20 teachers were harassed by phone calls because of this debt. In the Literature group alone (Ms. Th.'s group), all teachers were harassed by phone calls. Currently, the school has reported the incident to the Yen Thanh District Police.

A comment on Ms. Hien's Facebook. Photo: TH

In addition, the vice principal's Facebook account was also hacked. Photo: TH

Many scandals because of debt collection style

Speaking to Nghe An Newspaper reporters, Mr. LXL said that he felt very guilty for causing offense and inconvenience to many people because of personal matters. Mr. L. said that in 2018, he borrowed 32 million VND from FE Credit, and was allowed to repay the debt in installments. Mr. L. then paid 15 installments, with about 22 million VND. After that, due to economic difficulties, the remaining debt was overdue.

“That day, a FE Credit employee called me, but I was in class so I couldn’t hear. They saw that I wasn’t answering the phone, so they thought I wouldn’t pay, and then they started harassing the people around me. If I was in overdue debt, they should have just followed the regulations. They should have punished me, but they can’t collect debt like that,” said Mr. L., adding that by the afternoon of May 17, he had gone to the Vietnam Prosperity Bank branch in Vinh to pay the remaining debt, which had now reached nearly 28 million VND. In total, the debt of 32 million VND after nearly 4 years had reached 50 million VND. As soon as Mr. L. completed the debt, the teachers and school principals stopped being harassed by phone calls.

Discussing this incident, Mr. Vo Chi Quyet - Director of Vietnam Prosperity Bank, Nghe An branch, said that FE Credit is a subsidiary of Vietnam Prosperity Bank. "However, this company is managed by the group out there, we are a branch, not in charge, so we do not know," Mr. Quyet said. Meanwhile, Mr. Cao Van Hoi - Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam, Nghe An branch, said that the unit has not received any feedback about FE Credit collecting debt in a gangster-like manner like this. "If we receive a well-founded feedback, we will send a document to the State Bank of Vietnam for handling, and may even revoke FE Credit's license," Mr. Hoi said.

FE Credit has had many scandals in the past.

FE Credit was established in 2010, is the Consumer Credit Services Division of the Consumer Credit Division under Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank). By October 2021, VPBank and SMBC Consumer Finance Company (SMBCCF) - a subsidiary of SMBC Group Japan, completed the transfer of 49% of charter capital at FE Credit. After 6 months from the date the two parties signed the capital transfer contract and completed all procedures, SMBCCF became a major shareholder at FE Credit, Vietnam Prosperity Bank Finance Company Limited was renamed VPBank SMBC Finance Company Limited. However, the FE Credit brand remains the same. VPBank continues to hold 50% of charter capital at FE Credit, while the remaining 1% of charter capital belongs to another investor.

In the past, FE Credit has also been involved in many scandals. Specifically, in 2018, the Competition and Consumer Protection Department reported that more than a hundred customers complained about being called by FE Credit to collect debts even though they did not borrow money, or the case of DeAura, a beauty service partner of FE Credit, being "accused" of forcing customers to buy products. FE Credit later admitted that "some debt collectors over the phone had inappropriate attitudes", violating the company's regulations on principles of conduct with customers, causing unnecessary trouble. The company also said it would handle it strictly according to regulations.

Then, on June 21, 2020, a man residing in Ho Chi Minh City jumped into the Saigon River to commit suicide. According to his family, in 2018, he borrowed a sum of money from FE Credit but his family did not know. On June 19, 2020, a group of debt collectors came to his house to threaten, curse, assault and escort him and his wife to the debt collection company's headquarters, continuing to threaten for many hours but the local authorities and functional forces were not present to intervene. These people threatened to kill him if he did not pay before June 22. He then committed suicide on June 21.

Talking to Nghe An Newspaper reporter, Professor Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training said that he himself was also bothered by phone calls because a teacher at Yen Thanh 2 High School owed money. "This is not the only case, I have been bothered many times. They have hung up, called and texted, sent emails..., very annoying. I have also reported to the police", Mr. Thanh said and at the same time advised all teachers in the province to choose reputable financial institutions and banks to borrow money when needed. Avoid borrowing money from outside, affecting the honor of other groups and individuals.

Tien Hung