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It all began when she ran into some financial trouble due to a medical emergency, and that's what prompted a Belize City woman to apply for a quick loan from a micro credit outfit in November of last year. But soon after when all the fees began adding up, she says that she quickly found herself having to pay back more than double the amount she had borrowed in the first place. She has lawyered up after the business refused to freeze her interest so that she can commence repayment pay. She spoke to us off camera today and gave us more details on her situation - which serves as a cautionary tale to other borrowers.
Shermadine Dennison, Borrowed 2k, Owes 5.5k
"Last year, I had a minor stroke, it's called Bell's Palsy and with that I ended up with some financial issues. So I went to that institution and I obtained a loan. Shortly after getting the loan I was told I had to do an operation so it did the operation, and after the operation I realise I have to, I realise I didn't have the finances because of the operation to really pay back the loan. So I sent an email to the boss asking for them to freeze the interest which was at the time 20% to freeze the interest and I got a response that they cannot freeze the interest. And so what I did was pay them what I have, which was a lesser amount. And the following week or two weeks after they took out a summons, I got served and on that summons it had that I owed them an additional $2,000 which they call, Im trying to remember what they called it, and there was another fee for interest and it was some other fees. That I believe that when you obtain these loans from these lending institutions they really take advantage of us, because in the past they used to charge 4% and now they say it's 20% but really sometimes it's a 100% they are getting back or sometimes it's 200%."
"At present my bill stands at $5,517 dollars. That alone could put me into another stroke, because I didn't borrow that much. I don't have that much interest for them. You understand me? It's just that one time."
"I was hardly unable to pay the interest and now you're going to drop over 3k on me?"
The individual says that she had already written to FIU and Central bank and they were also unable to assist her. She says others are in this same situation also seeking legal advice.
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