Banks might be stopped from using debt collecting agencies if complaints against their unscrupulous tactics increased, a monetary official said yesterday.
Democratic Party legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo told the Legislative Council's security panel meeting that many lawful debts were being collected by unlawful means.
Government figures showed there were 319 cases involving illegal means to collect debts between November 1994 and October last year.
He asked whether the Monetary Authority could instruct banks to stop using debt-collecting companies.
The authority's deputy chief executive Choi Yiu-kwan said a hotline had been introduced in April for the public to report debt collectors who used intimidation and violence. 'If there is no improvement in the situation, we can order banks to stop using debt collecting agencies,' he said.
He said the authority had started discussions with some banks on the work of the agencies that had received the most complaints.
