Ex-helper borrowed money from loan companies

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putput

Registered User
Our ex-helper, a compulsive liar, has borrowed thousands of dollars from loan companies. We had to terminate her contract as we were getting abusive calls from the companies demanding payment. Now we've changed our number, we are getting letters addressed to my husband which is very upsetting. Another helper in our block advised us that somebody tried to come up to our flat while we were out, demanding to see our helper who owed them money too.

We have advised immigration and yet have just found out, through the other helper, that our ex-helper has found another job nearby. I really do feel for the family who is about to take her on as we were getting calls throughout the night; and am also frustrated that this woman owes so much money and will only come here and take more.

Is there anything I can do about this?
 
What an awful situation! If you or your husband have not signed anything or acted as a guarantor then you are not liable for any of your ex-helpers debt. I would have thought this would amount to harassment. Would the police have any advice on this? Unfortunately there is very little you can do to help the new family, unless you decide to dob your ex-helper in. Hope this all resolves for you soon!
 
What exactly is DOB?

What you can and should do is to let the lending company know that the person does not live there anymore and to stop bothering you. If they continue, report them to the police. It will stop quickly.

You also have the option of letting the lending company know the new address of the person in question. Whether you do that or not depends on your version of morality and your sense of right vs wrong.
 
Our previous helper also borrowed money. The collection agency asked me to fax them the letter from immigration acknowledging her contract had been terminated. They will then chase her/family in the Philippines.
 
Sorry - my Aussie slang getting the better of me. Dobbing someone in - pretty much sums up your final paragraph hc :)
 
As Rani notes above, tell them that your helper has been terminated and ask for an address and fax number to send them the immigration letter. If you get a single call after that, make a harrassment complaint to the police. If they come to your home, call the police straight away. Our neighbor had a similar thing happen, the collection agent came through our security by telling the guard he was there for repairs or something and he tried to barge into our neighbor's house. She shouted and my husband went next door to help her get the guy out (he was trying to look for the helper INSIDE her home) while I called the police. He was arrested and as he shoved her aside to get into the door he was charged with assault or something. Anyway, point is that these collection guys can be very aggressive and borderline dangerous so while your situation is unfortunate, be prepared to protect yourself and be proactive in stopping them from harassing you.
 
Same thing happened to me, phone calls and letters, like what Rani said, they will ask for proof that the helper was no longer there and everything will stop........Rani, i don't think though that they go thru the hassle of chasing the helper in the Phils. One helper told me it happened to her, she owed money, terminated but no one chased her, so she was lucky to get money she didn't work for.
 
crystal88 said:
Same thing happened to me, phone calls and letters, like what Rani said, they will ask for proof that the helper was no longer there and everything will stop........Rani, i don't think though that they go thru the hassle of chasing the helper in the Phils. One helper told me it happened to her, she owed money, terminated but no one chased her, so she was lucky to get money she didn't work for.
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Yes some will chase in the Philippines. I guess it depends on how much is outstanding.
 
rani said:
Yes some will chase in the Philippines. I guess it depends on how much is outstanding.
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Oh, hopefully that's true to my ex-terminated helper. She was able to borrow Hk$15,000 on her 3rd month stay in hk, they gave her big amount as her contract is just new, heard if it's almost the end of 2 yrs, can only borrow small amount. Then i terminated her on the 5th month, the guarantor who was her friend had to shoulder the cost, i guess they didn't bother chasing her as there is a guarantor to pay. Hay, why they like borrowing money.
 
From what I can tell -- according to a friend who works for an agency -- they borrow money for 3 main reasons
* They desperately want to work in HK but can't afford the agency fee. So they borrow to pay that off, and start their employment in the hole
* They desperately want their relatives to work in HK. So once they get a HK job, they use that to borrow money for their daughter / sister / cousin / aunt's agency fees. Then it goes in a circle, with each relative paying for other relatives. But if a relative is sacked or quits, then the debt still remains your helper's name.
* They desperately want to pay off some debt for housing / schooling, etc, back in their home village. While not entirely true, many of the men back home don't make much, so there's a big burden on the wife to send home cash.

My friend also said that most of these maids either don't have the know-how or access to get a proper bank loan. So they end up using loan services that charge crazy high rates, or have lots of hidden fees.
 
Our helper came to us recently with a similar story. A 'friend' once lent her a small amount of money ($1000 or so) which she duly paid back. The 'friend' then asked our helper to be a guarantor on a $15000 loan she was taking out. Obviously not thinking straight our helper agreed to this. This 'friend' ended up having her own contract terminated and left for the Philippines. Since then our helper has been receiving calls from the loan company and from time to time we do on our home phone too. Here's the weird bit and we only found out after the last call - our helper actually didn't sign anything but only verbally agreed to be guarantor over the phone. I'm no lawyer but from my understanding unless you actually sign something you aren't a guarantor. We've asked our helper to request any and all documentation from the loan company so we can get to the bottom of this. Has anyone else had a similar experience?
 
I think she's right. It could be a verbal agreement. A neighbour's helper also borrowed money, and tried to use my helper as a guarantor. When the company called the house, to verify my helper's details and confirm she would, they got me instead. And I asked them loads of questions. My neighbour's helper may have still been at the loan office, cos she hadn't told my helper she was putting her name down as a guarantor. So they caught her totally off guard, and plus they got ME and I said NO!
 
Gracey said:
From what I can tell -- according to a friend who works for an agency -- they borrow money for 3 main reasons
* They desperately want to work in HK but can't afford the agency fee. So they borrow to pay that off, and start their employment in the hole
* They desperately want their relatives to work in HK. So once they get a HK job, they use that to borrow money for their daughter / sister / cousin / aunt's agency fees. Then it goes in a circle, with each relative paying for other relatives. But if a relative is sacked or quits, then the debt still remains your helper's name.
* They desperately want to pay off some debt for housing / schooling, etc, back in their home village. While not entirely true, many of the men back home don't make much, so there's a big burden on the wife to send home cash.

My friend also said that most of these maids either don't have the know-how or access to get a proper bank loan. So they end up using loan services that charge crazy high rates, or have lots of hidden fees.
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Yes. The agency fees are enormous--a real racket--especially on the Philippines side with lots and lots of corruption. Our helper has taken out a series of small loans (as much as they would loan her) since she first arrived about 18 months ago. The reason was that she had to pay off the loan sharks that were threatening her husband and children back home due to her husband's gambling debts. In fact, that's the reason why she's here working in HK in the first place--to clean up his messes. Also, he had bought a vehicle to use for a small business and they had to pay that off. She has kept up with all of her payments and is responsible. I admire all that she is going through for her husband and children. Strong mama, that's for sure.
 
Unfortunately, some are not so noble. My ex-helper borrowed money to buy extravagant gifts for her children such as laptops and expensive mobile phones, and other 'luxury' items for herself. I was taught to live within my means and therefore resent the idea of somebody who lives in my house doing otherwise and causing us no end of trouble as a result. I feel guilty that I can't warn this family who has taken her on especially if they have children as the stress impacts the whole family.
 
putput said:
Unfortunately, some are not so noble. My ex-helper borrowed money to buy extravagant gifts for her children such as laptops and expensive mobile phones, and other 'luxury' items for herself. I was taught to live within my means and therefore resent the idea of somebody who lives in my house doing otherwise and causing us no end of trouble as a result. I feel guilty that I can't warn this family who has taken her on especially if they have children as the stress impacts the whole family.
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That is unfortunate. I might imagine that if you've never had much money before and you kind of "hit the jackpot" by landing a decent job in HK you might go overboard--especially if you've never had a lot of training/understanding on how to handle money. There is a lot of pressure (direct and indirect) to buy, buy, buy here in HK. It's really too bad that you are the ones that got stuck with the mess.

But, if you are being harassed, I think there must be some legal recourse. I would seek some free legal counsel that is offered through the government (I had to do this once for another issue) and find out what can be done to get these loan sharks off your back. Too bad that you can't warn this other family too--but who knows, maybe you'll meet them in passing or something. I'm the type who would take them aside and let them know what I've gone through. Sure can be risky business hiring a helper in HK. I think one huge factor for my helper and I is that she is a very dedicated Christian and we share a similar moral code--by everything I've seen and experienced with her (and by now our friendship is pretty close) she walks the talk. That has given me a lot of peace of mind.
 
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