Aggressive ads for easy money spell trouble

A check yesterday showed that one newspaper had ads placed by licensed moneylenders in 14 of its 20 classified pages. Some of the ads showed exclamations such as "You could save money with our low interest rate!" and "Low income welcome!", and even exhortations like "It's time to change your fortune!".



With licensed moneylenders engaging in increasingly aggressive marketing tactics - sending unsolicited SMSes, distributing fliers in the mail and on car windscreens, as well as placing ads in some newspapers - some are calling for a tightening of advertising regulations for the industry, arguing that the barrage of ads tempt borrowing.

One such advocate, Credit Counselling Singapore president Kuo How Nam, said: "The aggressive advertising by licensed moneylenders does tempt individuals to borrow from them, especially since for many of the businesses, they market on how easy it is to get a loan."

A clampdown on permissible advertising, or even a blanket ban, could help stem the tide of people who mistakenly think turning to licensed moneylenders is the solution to their debt problems, Mr Kuo feels.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

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