Can debt collectors in Vietnam call the relatives of the borrower to remind them of the debt?

Can debt collectors in Vietnam call the relatives of the borrower to remind them of the debt?

Pursuant to Clause 2.dd Article 7 of the Circular 43/2016/TT-NHNN (amended by Clause 7 Article 1 of the Circular 18/2019/TT-NHNN) stipulating internal rules for consumer lending as follows:

dd) Actions to be taken to push customers into repaying and collect debts which are relevant to specific customers, conform to laws and exclude any threat to customers. The maximum rate of sending debt repayment reminders shall be 05 (five) a day; the method and time frame of reminding debt repayment which are agreed upon in consumer lending contracts, especially such time frame that must be between 7 (seven) and 21 (twenty one) o’clock; a ban on sending debt repayment reminders, debt repayment requests and information about debt collection to organizations or individuals that are not liable to pay debts to finance companies, unless otherwise required by competent regulatory authorities regulated by law; customer information confidentiality prescribed by law;

As regulations above, debt collectors in Vietnam are not allowed to call the relatives of the borrower to remind them of the debt.

Can debt collectors in Vietnam call the relatives of the borrower to remind them of the debt? - Image from Internet

What are the fines for debt collectors who repeatedly harass the borrower in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 3 Article 102 of the Decree 15/2020/NĐ-CP, a fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for the commission of one of the following violations:

a) Illegally accessing, using, disclosing, interrupting, altering or destroying information/information systems;

b) Failing to implement necessary measures for preventing the access to or removing violating information at the request of a competent authority when transmitting or leasing of space for storing digital information;

c) Failing to comply with the request of a competent authority for determination of the list of owners who lease space for storage of digital information;

d) Failing to keep confidentiality of information of organizations/individuals leasing space for storing digital information, unless the information must be provided at the request of a competent authority;

dd) Failing to implement necessary managerial/technical measures for protecting personal information from loss, theft, disclosure, change or removal when collecting, processing and using personal information of other persons in cyberspace;

e) Collecting, processing and using information of other organizations/individuals without their consent or for serving purposes other the prescribed ones;

g) Providing, exchanging, transmitting or storing and using digital information in order to threaten, disturb, distort, slander or damage the prestige, honor and dignity of other organizations or individuals;

h) Providing, exchanging, transmitting or storing and using digital information for advertising or promotion of prohibited goods/services;

i) Illegally obstructing the transmission of information online, intervening, accessing, damaging, removing, altering, duplicating and falsifying information in cyberspace;

k) Failing to monitor or supervise digital information of other organizations/individuals at the request of a competent authority;

l) Failing to cooperate in investigation of violations against the law in course of transmission or storage of digital information of other organizations/individuals at the request of a competent authority;

m) Disclosing information classified as state secrets, personal and family secrets if not liable to criminal prosecution;

n) Impersonating other organizations/individuals and disseminating fake or false information which infringes upon legitimate rights and benefits of other organizations/individuals;

o) Appropriating another person’s mails, telegraphs, telex, faxes or other documents which are transmitted in cyberspace in any forms;

p) Deliberately obtaining information/contents of another person’s mails, telegraphs, telex, faxes or other documents which are transmitted in cyberspace;

q) Listening or recording conversations against the law;

r) Confiscating mails or telegraphs against the law.

As regulations above, a fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for debt collectors who repeatedly harass the borrower in Vietnam.

Best regards!