Overwhelmed businesswoman registers for Thai government’s debt relief scheme
A businesswoman, burdened with an overwhelming debt, registered for an out-of-system debt relief scheme.
She owes money to 14 lenders and faces the daily challenge of finding more than 7,000 baht for interest payments at a rate of 20%. This move comes after the government, under Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, has been focusing on resolving out-of-system debt issues for citizens nationwide.
The Ministry of Interior has been instructed to facilitate registration for debtors and creditors from yesterday, December 1, until February 29 next year.
Nattapatch Putsa, the District Office Chief of Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima, today, December 2, revealed that after the launch of the registration, both debtors and creditors have been actively participating.
On the first day of the registration, a stressed businesswoman registered for the debt relief scheme. She has accumulated debt from 14 different lenders and needs to find over 7,000 baht daily to pay the interest.
Nattapatch further added that there were 18 registrations at the District Office amounting to a debt of 5,421,800 baht, and 240 online registrations with a total debt of 5,738,570 baht. Thus, on the first day, a total of 258 registrations were made with a collective debt of 11,160,370 baht.
Loan agreements
The District Office registration service will be available from Monday to Friday during office hours. Those who wish to register can bring related documents such as loan agreements and proof of payments for verification by officials. This would aid in formulating a future assistance plan.
One of the debtors, a 37 year old woman named Noi (pseudonym), has expressed relief at the government’s policy to resolve out-of-system debt. She got into financial trouble due to her struggling business and had to borrow money from various out-of-system lenders. However, she couldn’t keep up with the interest payments, leading her to borrow from other lenders to pay off the previous ones. Currently, she owes about 150,000 baht to 14 lenders and has to find over 7,000 baht daily to pay the 20% interest, reported KhaoSod.
Noi further stated that the relentless pressure to pay daily has caused her a lot of stress. She hopes the government can negotiate with the lenders as she does not wish to evade her debts. If possible, she would like to have the option to make weekly or monthly payments since finding money for daily payments is challenging.
As a long-term solution, she suggested that banks relax their conditions to allow people to borrow money without requiring a credit history. This could significantly help alleviate the out-of-system debt problem.
