ALOR STAR: The Kedah Consumers Association (CAKE) has received more than 60 complaints on old debts and threats by bill collectors since last year.
Its secretary, Mohamad Yusrizal Yusoff, said most of the complaints were over motorcycle purchase and also for electrical appliances, such as television and washing machine, with some of the debts accumulating since 17 years.
“Based on the complaints, most of the bill collecting agencies use the name of legal firms. They make telephone calls, followed by short messaging system (SMS), and now through WhatsApp, to consumers to inform they have old unpaid debts.
“The latest case involved a civil servant who received a call from a man who sad he was from a legal firm and told him (civil servant) that he had an outstanding debt of RM12,750 for a motorcycle which was purchased in 2001.
“The original price of the motorcycle was RM4,000 only, but he has to pay triple the amount, possibly because of the high interest. The civil servant also received a message through WhatsApp from a woman who threatened him to pay up the debts,” he told Bernama recently.
Mohamad Yusrizal claimed that the bill collecting agency also caused embarrassment to the civil servant by informing his superiors about the debt.
He said consumers should be aware that under the Limitation Act 1953, an action for an account should not be brought in respect of any matter which arose more than six years.
This means that the bill collector only has six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued to demand for payment of debts through the court process, he added.
