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| The Consulate advisory about the fake letter |
The Philippine Consulate General has posted a warning on its Facebook page about a letter using its letterhead being sent to Filipino domestic workers supposedly informing them about complaints made against them because of unpaid loans.
The letter urges
the worker to “initiate a mediation” with the money lender or debt collector to
come up with a mutually acceptable settlement of the loan.
If the worker wanted to dispute the loan, he or she could ask the Consulate to initiate an investigation., said the letter.
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| PINDUTIN DITO |
However, this came with a warning that if the result of the investigation showed that
the worker had committed a misconduct that caused the employer to be harassed, the
employer could terminate the contract without paying compensation.
The letter
further warned of “penalties and compensation”, including being blacklisted and
prevented from working in Hong Kong again if the worker was found to have
committed a misconduct that caused the employer being harassed.
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| Page 1 of the fake letter |
In distancing
itself from the letter, the PCG said it does not intervene on behalf of employers,
money lending companies or individuals to recover a loan.
It urged anyone who receives the said letter to immediately inform the assistance to nationals section of the Consulate.
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| TAWAG NA! |
“We have reported the case to the Hong Kong police force for investigation,” said the PCG's advisory.
The incident
comes amid a rash of complaints from migrant workers who are being harassed
by debt collectors for failing to pay their monthly loan repayments on time,
even if this was caused by their work contracts being pre-terminated.
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| Page 2 of the letter with fake PCG letterhead |
The collectors
warn debtors that Immigration could revoke their employment visa, or reject
their application for a new one, if they are reported as having failed to repay
a loan.
However, no one
gets imprisoned in Hong Kong for non-payment of loan, unless fraud is used to
support the loan application, like presenting an expired employment contract.
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