There are a number of good reasons in favor of having and using a credit card. It’s like owning a gun – it’s really a matter of how you use it. I know, not because I own a gun, but because I’ve handled an international credit card institution for years.
Still, we all know the possible adverse results in the unchecked use of “plastics” or credit cards, such as this one: “THERE’S a credit-card horror story that’s become some sort of an urban legend: A television personality, after losing his job in a top network, resorts to using his plastic money. By the time he finds employment in the rival network, he has wracked up P58,000 in credit card bills. But he figures he’s not yet ready to pay in full, so he pays just the minimum amount due. Yet after five years, he is shocked to realize that his credit card debt had ballooned more than 10 times to P700,000.”
Perhaps you’ve heard, or, most probably, experienced certain “innovative” strategies used by credit card companies and their collection agencies in “persuading” you to pay (they are, of course, entitled to payment). With the rising complaints against these strategies, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued a set of rules and regulations governing the credit card operations of banks and affiliate credit card companies. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following are considered unfair collection practices
a) the use or threat of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person.
b) the use of obscenities, insults, or profane language which amount to a criminal act or offense under applicable laws.
c) disclosure of the names of credit cardholders who allegedly refuse to pay debts, with certain exceptions.
d) threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken.
e) communicating or threat to communicate to any person credit information which is known to be false, including failure to communicate that a debt is being disputed.
f) any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a cardholder.
g) making contact at unreasonable/inconvenient times or hours which shall be defined as contact before 6:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m., unless the account is past due for more than sixty (60) days or the cardholder has given express permission or said times are the only reasonable or convenient opportunities for contact.
As a rule, banks, subsidiary/affiliate credit card companies, collection agencies, counsels and other agents may resort to all reasonable and legally permissible means to collect amounts due them under the credit card agreement. However, in the exercise of their rights and performance of duties, they must observe good faith and reasonable conduct and refrain from engaging in unscrupulous or untoward acts, including those enumerated above.
I was reminded of this topic when, just last week, I handled my first case representing a credit card holder. This is something new to me because, as noted above, I was at the other side of the fence, so to speak. Maybe I should discuss more relevant topics on credit cards. (Read the full text of BSP Circular 454, series of 2004. See also: Credit cards – How to Stay Ahead of Runaway Credit Card Debt.)
Related Posts:- Cash price vs. credit card price
- Credit card fraud
- What would you do as a Credit Card Company?
- Bouncing Checks (BP 22): An Extended Discussion
Tinkering with internet tools comes with the bonus of better understanding how existing laws apply to the third wave - that of technology, particularly the internet. This is also a great medium to disseminate and discuss ideas across borders, time, color or creed. 
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i have been receiving text msg from a credit card collection officer.. and has informed me that because i defaulted my credit card payment my account/me being considered/candidate for case filing, unless i pay a specified amt or half of it. i offered to pay anamount i can afford but they said even if i pay/deposit the said amount they won’t be able to stop the case from being filed since the amount is not sufficient. i have been paying for my credit balance monthly until my mom & my sister were hospitalized & of course, i have to prioritized the hospital bills & medications. i am willing to pay, but at this point since i need money for my mom’s medicine, that is my priority. what are my options?
thanks & god bless
this is in addition to an earlier post. i think the collection officer is not serious in filing the case since when i informed him i won’t be able to make the payment on the given time..he replied that they have no other option than to ask the original amt specified (instead of half of that) as an initial payment so that i can avail of the program they are offering me. which i think is to pay the for the credit card balance in installment.. won’t that mean agreeing to yet another loan?
I’ve been reading the post and some answers too, and thank God i found this site.. i lnow it won’t solve my financial prblem but at least it did shed light to some. thanks & more power!
gud pm po… my ngtxt po kc sa asawa ko,from CREDIT INVESTIGATION BUREAU po. ito po sbi, Your civil case complaint has been finalized to us, under RA8484. We are going to serve our our investigation team after 24 hours as SOP. You can still hold by calling at our office. 029271403/9267949 look for any legal officer available until 4pm. Otherwise just prepare the necessary document with your lawyer for your defense. 9am po ng umga ng txt. ano po ba dapat nmin gwin? nttakot po ako pra sa asawa ko. advice nman po, ASAP. tnx po.
gud pm po. my ngtxt po kc sa asawa ko kaninang umaga. from CREDIT INVESTIGATION BUREAU. ito po sbi, Your civil case complaint has been finalized to us, under RA8484. We are going to serve our investigation team after 24 hours as SOP. You can still hold by calling at our office. 029271403/9267949 look for any legal officer available until 4pm. Otherwise just prepare the necessary document with your lawyer for your defense. ano po pwede nmin gwin? nttakot po ako.=( advce nman po. ASAP pls. tnx.
jessie,
The text you received is from a collection agency. RA 8484 does not apply to someone like you who was not able to pay his credit card debt. Walang nakukulong sa utang. You can safely ignore the text message. Tinantakot ka lang ng tarantadong collector. Hindi sila mga abogado. Nabasa mo naman na baluktot ang English nila.
Please read the other posts in this blog for further inforamtion.
ano po ba ang RA8484. ano po ang pwede mngyari sa ra8484? tnx.
hi warrior, isa rin ako sa mga taong problemado pagdating sa utang ko sa credit cards at loan na naiwan ko sa UAE. recently may naghanap sa akin na c.i from bilkish informing to contact their office for the settlement of my credit cards (unfortunately wala ako sa bahay at auntie ko lang ang nakausap). i dont have yet the documents that they are having right now, they just gave us a small paper with their address and contact person and numbers to call stating that they have documents from UAE for me. Umuwi ako ng August 29 dito sa pinas and unfortunately hindi na ako pinadalhan ng return ticket to UAE ng employer ko so hindi na ako nakabalik. Ask ko lang kung hindi ko na kayang bayaran talaga yung utang ko dahil till now i dont have my job here and since sabi mo walang nakukulong sa utang, may way ba sila para ireport yun sa NBI?mag aappear kaya yun kung just in case na hindi ako makabayad???salamat in advance….
chaey,
Your failure to pay your credit card debt does not make you a criminal. They cannot report you to the NBI. Tinatakot ka lang ng inutil na collector para mapilitan ka magbayad kahit na hirap ka. Only criminal offenders who were convicted by a court are reported to NBI. I repeat, hindi ka criminal.
You can also safely ignore that stupid collector who came to your house. Pag bumalik, mag iskandalo ka. Sumigaw ka at hiyain ang hayup na collector. Isigaw mo na may holdupper. Wala siyang karapatan na pumunta sa bahay mo. Kaya kung ayaw mo siya kausapin o papasukin, ok lang. Palayasin mo siya.
Paki read ang ibang posts sa blog na ito para sa iba pang kaalaman.
we have a loan with one of dubai banks.we were also terminated in dubai. yung law firm na affiliated sa manila po, we found out po na nag punta sila sa house namin sa philippines. nag check sila and they sent a demand letter sa family ko na may capacity kami na magbayad dahil sa property na nakita nila which is not ours but our parents house. pwede po ba nilang iinvolved ang third party and pwede ba na isali ang property na hindi naman sa amin. yun po kasi ang nakalagay sa passport ko na in case of emergency address pero hindi naman nastate sa loan ang third party involvement..ano po gagawin namin may two days kami para makipag settle sa law firm sa pinas. we are currently out of the country..thank you..
marni
marnie,
kahit na may property ka sarili mo, hindi puwede kunin ito dahil hindi naman naka prenda ang property na iyon ng ikaw ay nag apply sa credit card.
hindi din puwede ma-involve ang third party. Kung bumalik sa house niyo ang inutil na collector, palayasin mo siya. huwag papasukin sa house. walang karapatan ang bobong collector na magpunta sa bahay mo. Safe lang na awayin niyo ang collector. Hampasin mo ng dos por dos because you have the right to protect your person from people who threaten you.
Please read the other posts in this blog for further information.
Hi,
this is Cris and I just received a letter from my the law office with regards to my credit card and it was really alarming kasi last year I have an agreement with another legal office with regards to my account and I pay my account through sa amnesty nila but I was not able to pay the last payment kasi nakaligtaan ko and now they want me to pay back again the amount and more na isang payment lang naman ang na miss ko
Crisanie,
If you think you are not in a position to pay your credit card bills, then please refrain from availing of an amnesty program.
For one thing, that amnesty program is fake. Your bank did not authorize the collection agency to offer you an amnestry program. That is why, if you were able to complete your payments under an amnestry program, your record will be passed on to another collection agency who will then offer you another amnesty program. In short, niloloko ka lang ng tarantadong collector at kung ikaw ay nakabayad sa amnestry program, ibig sabihin, may pera ka pala.
By the way, do not issue any post dated check to the collection agency.
Chaey, same with me recently i received a letter from law firm mentioning that the are affiliated to bank in dubai kung san ako may o/s due and ng ddemand ng full payment with maraming interest and professional fee na kagad na pinatong na sa original amount ko.. and ng tumawag sya sa akin wag nya na ako tawagan dahil nakikipag usap ako direcho sa bank.. and ngaun one week na sla hindi nangunglit pero expect ko parin sila sa mga sumsunod na araw kasi kasama sa JD nla ng mngbwisit ng tao.. hehehe..
saka di sila pwede mgsampa ng kaso dito sa pinas, ang proper court i think will be in dubai since dun ung utang natin.. tama ba..? any comment naman dyan.. hehee
Hi Eloisa,
Tama ka since yong utang is from Dubai the case will be filed in UAE court or sharya court not sa pinas I’ve learned that recently through a friend in UAE.
Anyway, Warrior is right or tama sia, just ignore all communication from those collector and stand on your own ground, wala silang magawa kong hindi tayo ma ka-afford to pay our debt due of whatever financial reason each of us has/have.
Merry Christmas and A prosperous New year Mr. Warrior and to everyone on this Blog.
Regards & thanks Mr. Warrior sa lahat na advice…!
hi, warrior. I would just like to know if debts in companies like Avon can be considered a civil case? It was just a small amount, around 2k, I was not just able to settle it because I had to leave Manila immediately two years ago.
I will probably be able to settle it on January. My previous landlord informed me that there were some letters from a collecting agency, and another from “the courts of law”. I’m quite clueless of what to do when I go to Manila to settle it.
Thank you in advance…
It depends on the terms of the contract you signed with the company.
Sir, naka receive ako ng email from a arab guy who said he represents a bank in Dubai. sabi nya sa lettet…
FINAL DEMAND TO BORROWER
On behalf of our client, the Dubai First, we wish to inform you that you have failed to maintain your repayments & have thus broken the terms of your agreement with the bank. And despite repeated request & reminders, you have failed to settle the amounts due. We therefore now demand immediate settlement of your total debts with the bank amounting to AED________ for credit card A//c——– Please note as per the banks policy that once a customer has left the U.A.E, all amounts outstanding become due immediately. If payment is not received with 3 days from the date hereof, we will initiate legal proceedings against you in your country of residence to recover the outstanding.
Interest & charges will continue to accrue until repayment in full.
Pede nya bang gawin to? Natatakot lang po kasi ako…Nawalan din ako ng work sa Dubai.
PLEASE HELP ME!!!
em,
The guy is a fake arab and I am sure is just one of the uneducated Filipino collectors, who are actually just here in Pinas. Collectors are liers. Don’t ever believe them.
The style of writing is very much Filipino. The phrases “we wish to inform you”, “we therefore now demand”, “please note as per the bank’s policy”, “we will initiate”, are Filipino English. Don’t believe that letter.
This is what you should believe: WALANG NAKUKULONG DAHIL SA PAGKAKA UTANG. The Philippine Constitution says so.
That stupid collector can only threaten you. He can also curse you. He can shout at you over the phone and say “putang…” to you. But that is all. He cannot do anything against you like filing a court case.
The best thing for you to do is to ignore the calls of those idiots of the collection agency. Don’t ever talk to them. Tell your housemates to just hang up the phone whenever the morons of the collection agency will call. Just forget the damn credit card.
The name of the game is TAKUTAN. Pag natakot ka sa tarantadong collector, talo ka. Pag lumaban ka, PANALO ka. It is your choice.
Thank you very much for your advise. For sure wala naman may gustong mabaon sa utang, nagkataon lang na nawalan din ako ng work like the others.
sir, have a nice day! ask ko lng poh sana ,tgal na ba itong website about s credit card? panu mo poh nlaman n my mga issurance ang mga credit card at mga fake n mga lawyer at mga collection agency lng pla cla….sensya n poh ha..pra my sgot ako s mga collection agency n pupunta s office if ever lng.tnx poh warriors
cindy,
I work in a bank. I also happen to have a former classmate in college who worked in a collection agency before he migrated to the U.S. However, my classmate respects the credit card members he dealt with, unlike the collectors you deal with now who are no better than idiots.
I encourage you to do your own research regarding the insurance of credit card against default and the fake lawyers of the collection agency.
Yes tama si warrior. Walang nakukulong sa pagkakautang dito sa atin. But sad to say for me, it will haunt you later on. I defaulted on my card almost 8 years ago. Akala ko nakalusot na ako. But then I got hired as an officer in one of the big banks here. Part of the application process was to sign a waiver that permits the BSP (Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas) to look into your credit history (this is a mandate for all bank employees as imposed by BSP). Lo and behold, I was informed by HR to settle my outstanding obligation otherwise I will be disqualified from my post as an officer. Now I am forced to submit myself to paying the outstanding amount and getting the Certificate of Full Payment from the bank I defaulted which takes 2-3 weeks depending on the institution. This would only pave the way for me becoming a full-pledged officer. So if I were you guys out there, better get a quick cash loan than a credit card. I had a quick cash loan na hindi ko din nabuo bayaran years ago but hindi nakita sa BSP. So my question for warrior is, can you explain how did that happen? Thanks and more power!
I have the same issue. I have a past due account with BPI CC, which is I did not spend, a friend used my credit card and sa awa ko sa kanya I let her with the understanding na babayaran niya ang monthly na only php700, kumuha po siya ng tv. i went back to the province and move on with my life. I was informed by my ex colleagues of demand letters they are getting from the bank, so when I tried calling my “friend” not working na phone niya, also their office number would only ring but nobody would pick up. I was in bad financial status at that time, so I too was not able to cover the payments. 9 years later, I applied for a housing loan thru a bank, then lo, my records are still there for php8k. The bank approves my loan though without demanding for me to pay the overdue cc.
Gud pm po, just wanted to ask what should i do if ever ctbank file a case against me, i really don’t have an idea what to do…I’ve used my card credit limit but unfortunately my husband lost his job & i can’t afford to pay even the minimum balance only..Please help me…..
Anabelle,
Citibank (“shit-y bank”) won’t file a case against you. They are not sure if they could ever collect from you. They are not sure if you will even care to attend the hearing. They will be on the losing side even before the war begins, so to speak.
I suspect that you are being threatened by a good-for-nothing collector who told you that he is from Citibank. Citibank account officers will not spend their time calling you to collect on your debt. For one thing, your credit card debt was already paid. All of it. You see, your credit card was insured and the moment you defaulted, Citibank already collected from the insurance.
hi sir, regarding sa amount ng credit card debts, papano po kung umabot na sa hundred plus plus thousands na yung amount ng utang sa crdit card? meron na ba kaso un? pwde na ba makulong? thanks po
elena,
The credit card company can file a case against a defaulted credit card member regardless of amount. Even so, Walang nakukulong sa utang.