You have the right to:
1. Right to peaceful existence during the period of the loan
A borrower should not be subject to constant scrutiny and interference during the period the loan he has taken from the lender. A constant scrutiny and interference can affect how the borrower can work and therefore his ability to repay the loan is also affected.
2. Right to work during the time of the loan
– even when the borrower has used his/her shop as security for a loan, the lender has no right to just walk in and lock it up without any notice to the borrower. And where the said shop or workplace is not a security, the lender has no right or power to go there to lock it up for any reason.
3. Owing is not a Crime
– the Police has no role in debt collection under our laws in Ghana. Owing money is also not a crime and the police cannot be brought in to arrest a debtor for any reason. If a borrower is failing to pay, the lender can only demand for the money and if he or she fails, use the court system to get the money.
No Loans' company or individual lender can cause your arrest, or arrest you by itself if you have not paid a loan they have given you. They have the right to come for their money, but that does not give them the power to unduly defame you, harass you, seize your property, or destroy your property.
4. Right to Confidentiality
- Section 56 prohibits a lender from disclosing information obtained from the borrower to any other third party unless with due process of law. Due process of law may include a court order, an agreement between the lender and the borrower, or where there is default in payment then the procedure under section 60 clause 3 can be applied.
That procedure is that the lender must send a written letter to the borrower to come and pay. If the borrower refuses to accept the demand notice (Demand letter) on three consecutive occasions, then the law says, the lender can publish the Demand Notice in any newspaper.
Clearly, writing on the customers walls or publishing his pictures with words like CRIMINAL, THIEF AND WANTED (or calling the borrower such names) are not part of what the law says, and the customers of such lenders can either report them to the bank of Ghana or sue them or do both.
- Prepay any loan without penalty
- Change repayment plans
- Receive grace periods and subsidies on certain loans
- Use deferment or forebearance to postpone payments
- Receive documentation of loan obligations, rights, and responsibilites, and when the loan in fully repaid.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. Don’t be intimidated by any policeman. They are not debt collectors. Report them to their superiors when they arrest you over non- payment of loans.
2. A lender has no power to lock up your shop, office or home because you have not paid the loan. When they attempt to do so, you have the right to use reasonable force to resist them. If they lock your shop, you have the right to break the lock and throw it away or call in the Police to assist you.
3. Don’t allow any loan officer to destroy your property because you are owing. They cannot write on your walls, break your window or doors. They have to pay for this if they do.
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