MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday has said regulated entities need to ensure that their recovery agents do not resort to harassment of any person while collecting debts.
"It has been noticed that the agents employed by regulated entities have been deviating from the extant instructions governing the outsourcing of financial services," the RBI said in a release.
The timing for call for recovery has been set between 8 am. and 7 pm.
"In light of the concerns raised by the actions of these agents, it is advised that the entitiees strictly enforce that neither they nor their agents engage in acts of intimidation or harassment of any kind, either verbal or physical, against anyone in their debt collection efforts, including actions intended to publicly humiliate or invade the privacy of the debtors' family members, referees, and friends, sending inappropriate messages either on mobile or through social media
"Housing Finance Companies and regulated entities that provide microloans are currently subject to the current rules on the acceptable hours for calling borrowers on the phone for recovery purposes. The Reserve Bank of India has issued some new instructions to Entities by broadening the scope of the rules in light of recent developments, including increased cases of undesirable practises used by regulated entities "The notice said The RBI Governor was previously made aware of the debt recovery strategies employed by several businesses.
RBI mandates norms for digital lending to curb malpractice
Banks can’t perennially rely on support credit offtake: RBI Das
Loan EMIs to hike as RBI brings another rate hike