
Gift-givers: MFIs start luring clients with "interest-free" loans

Microfinance organizations have begun to actively use so-called interest-free loans as a ploy to attract new clients. The scheme has become relevant because this year the Central Bank has tightened the limits on new loans to borrowers with a high debt load. At the same time, the absence of interest applies to a very short grace period, so such loans by definition can not be called free. In addition, for depositing funds in the most convenient way - through a personal account - are set, as human rights activists put it, robbery commissions, because of which the total cost of the loan often exceeds the established limit of 292% per annum. Izvestia looked into what other tricks MFIs use today.
What are "interest-free" loans of MFIs?
About the fact that MFIs mislead clients by offering so-called interest-free loans, which end up costing more than conventional ones, "Izvestia" was told by experts of the project of the People's Front "For the Rights of Borrowers", to which citizens apply. The organization's volunteers checked the practice by making control purchases, and once again made sure that the saying about free cheese was true.
This year the Central Bank has tightened the limits for MFIs to issue loans to clients with a high debt load, so microfinanciers are extremely interested in attracting new borrowers. One of the tools for this is money without interest. Borrowers are promised to transfer funds online for up to a month and up to 30 thousand rubles.
- At first glance, this is a standard product of microfinanciers "money to salary", but with one marketing element - such a loan promises to issue without interest, - explained "Izvestia" head of the project of the People's Front "For the Rights of Borrowers" Evgenia Lazareva.
However, then it turns out that it is hardly possible to get the funds free of charge, i.e. for free. Thus, it is noted in the description of the product, interest in any case is accrued. And only if you fully repay the loan in the so-called grace or grace period, they are canceled. If, however, the borrower does not fit into the established term, interest is charged for the entire time of use, including the promised "interest-free" period.
- If a product contains interest, then by definition it cannot be called free," said the human rights activist. - Banks do not call credit cards with a grace period free.
As a rule, after reviewing the application, MFIs approve a modest amount of such products - Br5-15 thousand for about a week with a grace period of three or four days. At the same time, new clients willingly agree to use the product, since the money can be obtained online, quickly and conveniently. Many do not even read the terms and conditions, reported the experts of the People's Front project. Worse, the most important nuances are not even on the surface.
MFI tricks when issuing "interest-free" loans
The information that the most convenient way of repayment (through a personal account) is paid - and the commission is 6-8% - is buried in the LC itself. That is, you can see it only after the registration. Even the volunteers during the control purchase could not immediately find it, although they purposefully tried to do it unlike ordinary MFI clients. From what is in plain sight, you can only learn that you can repay the loan free of charge via Russian Post or bank transfer. And immediately follow the warning that with these methods, the money can go from three to five working days, which is important to take into account if you want to hit the free period.
- It is very difficult to manage to repay the loan for seven days in the grace period, which is three to four days, if the transfer goes three to five days, - emphasized Evgenia Lazareva.
If the borrower decides to deposit money through his personal account, he is in for a surprise - a fee of up to 8% for this operation. Thus, the volunteers of the project "For the Rights of Borrowers" during the control purchase borrowed 5 thousand rubles from MFIs for seven days and repaid it the same day. A commission of 400 rubles was charged for this.
The press service of SRO "MIR" (self-regulatory organization of MFIs) told Izvestia that "charging a fee is not the desire of MFIs, but a requirement and condition of the payment system operator (including banks)".
- Depending on the conditions, the commission may reach 8%," the microfinance organization confirmed. - However, the MFI always provides for a free type of payment, where there will be no commission.
The commission that is charged for a convenient way of repayment through a personal cabinet is money that is actually paid for acquiring, the advocates explained.
- First, even large banks charge 0.5-2% commission for making payments, not 8%. Secondly, why can't MFIs take this fee on themselves? We do not pay acquiring costs when we pay cashless in stores. And MFIs have these fees, which are simply lootable. It is not excluded that indirect income is sewn in them - not directly from borrowers, but through payment acceptance operators," said Evgenia Lazareva.
She gave an example that one organization volunteers found explanations about the commission of 6% when repaying with a MIR card.
- But we know that all card transfers are free. So, this is the operator's net income, which, I am sure, he shares with MFIs," believes the human rights activist.
In any case, the very presence of a fee a priori makes the loan not interest-free. Thus, in the above case, when for the repayment had to pay 400 rubles, the full cost of the loan (PSC) clearly exceeded the established maximum threshold of 292% per annum.
As the Central Bank's press service reminded Izvestia, "according to the law, all payments of the borrower on repayment of the principal, interest, commissions and other payments for all services, works or goods, if the making of such payments actually affects the terms and conditions of the consumer loan agreement, are included in the APC". At the same time, the Central Bank emphasized, "the full cost of the loan for such products is calculated on the basis of the maximum costs that arise when repaying the loan not in the interest-free period, but at the end of the term of the contract".
It's all about wording
The Central Bank also noted that the lender must necessarily inform the borrower of the free method of repayment of obligations. And this condition is observed. Methods of loan repayment, including free of charge, are agreed in the individual terms of the contract, the Central Bank added.
- Many consumers complain about non-obvious explanations on this matter in the description of the product on the website or in advertising, but only in the individual terms of the contract. Moreover, in such formulations, which the consumer does not understand. For example, people were sure that the loan was free for the whole period, but not for a grace period. Formally, MFIs do not violate the law - everything is written in the terms and conditions. But this approach, in our opinion, goes against the spirit of the law on consumer loans, because the information is not provided in an accessible and understandable form," emphasized Evgenia Lazareva.
It is also important - is it possible to give money to MFIs within the grace period (three-four days), if the transfer through a bank or Russian Post can take up to five days? The press service of SRO "MIR" said that large MFIs consider the date of payment to be the date of deposit, not the receipt of payment. However, this is not always the case.
- As a rule, for the free period, it is the date of receipt of money to the MFI that is taken into account, not its transfer by the borrower. Many people forget about this. The borrower is sure that he repaid everything on time, but in fact the crediting of funds to the account occurred later than the established period. This means that interest was charged for the entire period of money use and the transferred amount was not enough for repayment, - emphasized the head of the People's Front project.
In fact, she noted, people often fall under the "catch 22", that is, a priori can not fulfill the conditions to avoid interest.
What risks are there for "free" borrowers
In this situation, we are witnessing a practice that raises serious questions from the point of view of consumer protection legislation and financial services regulation, says Alexander Terentyev, a forensic expert at the Veta Expert Group. In his opinion, such actions of MFIs can be considered as unfair practices aimed at misleading consumers. The expert explained that according to the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights", a citizen has the right to receive full and reliable information about the service.
- In this case, MFIs actually create the illusion of a favorable offer by omitting essential conditions that make it virtually impossible to obtain the promised benefit. The obvious purpose of this practice is to attract clients and then receive income, for example, from commissions for a "convenient" method of repayment," explained Alexander Terentyev.
According to Svetlana Tarnopolskaya, a partner of Yukov & Partners, the key word in this situation is "trick". She agrees that this is another way to illegally earn money by misleading the consumer.
- There is no economic sense in issuing interest-free loans. That is, MFIs either count on the fact that borrowers for "personal" reasons will not be able to repay the loans during the interest-free period and will "fall on interest", or knowingly "help borrowers to fall on interest". And the second situation is already a zone of control of the Central Bank, - commented the lawyer.
Also, added Alexander Terentyev, it is possible to appeal to the court with a request to recognize the relevant provisions of the contract invalid. The essential argument may be that the organization knowingly creates conditions under which the interest-free period becomes unattainable, the expert said.
And Evgenia Lazareva is sure that the described practice of MFIs is unfair and misleading. Choosing an "interest-free" product, a conscientious consumer proceeds from the circumstances of his life. According to the human rights activist, they are sure that the loan is free. Therefore, they are not ready to spend additional money for the use of borrowed funds, which can lead to delinquency and non-payment.