Palmcredit Telesales Agents Apply Loans in Customers’ Names Without Consent – Exposed

After an undercover investigation by NewsNGR into the practices of Newedge Finance Limited, shocking information has come to light regarding the company’s tactics in recovering loans from its customers. The investigation uncovered that the company resorted to using defamation as a means to reclaim owed funds.

Furthermore, additional revelations have emerged about the questionable methods employed by the company’s telesales department. An individual who was formerly employed by Newedge and worked within the telesales division recently disclosed to NewsNGR the extent to which telesales agents would go to achieve their conversion goals.

According to this ex-employee, Newedge offers two types of loans: the Nano loan, linked to Palmcredit, and the VIP loan, associated with EasyBuy. On a daily basis, each telesales agent is assigned a list of 300 potential customers to reach out to. Out of these, they are expected to make 120 calls and successfully convince 20 of these individuals to accept the loans offered.

However, meeting these conversion targets often proves to be a formidable challenge. The reluctance of people to take loans from Palmcredit due to concerns over the aggressive tactics of the collection department contributes to this difficulty. This department has gained notoriety for its inhumane and intimidating tactics in the loan recovery process. The ex-employee pointed out that even before the due date arrives, this collection department initiates a campaign of harassment and threats against borrowers.

As a result of this hostile collection approach, meeting the conversion targets becomes an uphill battle. Telesales agents find themselves compelled to employ unconventional methods in order to achieve their goals.

‘THE COMPANY CREDITS CUSTOMERS WITHOUT AUTHORISATION‘

The ex-employee further told NewsNGR that, even after debtors must have cleared their loans, the company recycled their contacts back to the telesales department where they were convinced to make another loan application.

“Most times after customers must have cleared their loans and they believe they are off the hook, their numbers are sent to us to convince them to apply for another Palmcredit loan,” the ex-employee said.

“Their numbers are recycled to us because 20 conversions a day is not possible without going the extra mile.

“Sometimes, it is the company that applies for these loans on behalf of the customers and then credit them without their consent. This often happens every day and we are usually happy about it because it is part of our conversion target.”

This former Newedge worker told NewsNGR that the company crediting customers without their consent usually happened when the debtor was attempting to repay a loan.

“The company crediting customers without authorisation happens every time. Out of the 120 customers you will call, at least one person would tell you they just repaid their loan this morning and they have surprisingly being credited again,” they said.

“But that is the customer’s business. The unauthorised loan has to be repaid.

“How it happens is that, if a customer has a running loan and is about to pay back, there is a box aside from the ‘repay only’ (that we agents do not usually see on the loan app) that the debtor will have to click.

“If the debtor does not click on this box and only go ahead to repay, they will be credited with another loan immediately.

“Only customers who are used to this app know about this box and click it at the point of repayment. What is funnier is that, a customer might have been credited for up to six hours without even knowing it.

“This is usually not the customer’s fault but the company’s. This is because any loan that has gone more than 24 hours must be repaid with interest. What we tell the customer is that, what has happened has happened and they should look for a way to make repayment.”

‘WE LOGIN TO CUSTOMER’S DASHBOARDS AND APPLY FOR LOANS TO MEET TARGETS’

Besides Newedge disbursing unauthorised loans to customers, this insider told NewsNGR that Palmcredit agents logged in to customers’ dashboards in order to meet their targets.

“At Newedge, if we don’t meet our conversion targets, we risk a query and termination of appointment. To ensure that this never happens, we employ every tactic we know,” they said.

“When we call a customer and the person says he is not interested in the loan, we persuade him to give us his WhatsApp number. From there, we begin to sweet talk the customer and ask that we help him register.

“After the registration, we help him set the pin and then apply on their behalf. Immediately we make this application, we log off from the customer’s dashboard and move to the next one.

“The company knows about it, they are fully aware of this but their crazy targets won’t let them say anything.”

NewsNGR asked the former telesales agent above how Newedge got the contacts of new customers since the existing ones were usually recycled.

The former customer support agent said, “We place unsolicited calls to customers, calls they do not expect. We also go as far as partnering with telecommunications agencies to get contacts of new potential customers.

“They just pack people’s numbers and give them to us and the customer will be there wondering how we got their contact.

“You could just be in your house and receive a call saying, “My name is XXX, I am a customer support agent from Palmcredit. Is this XYZ? I am calling to inform you that you can apply for a loan, minimum N2,000 and maximum of N200,000 on Palmcredit with an interest rate as low as 8%”.

“It is easy to get their names because that comes with the package from the telecommunications companies.

“If the customer is an existing customer, we would say, “I want to appreciate you for your good repayment record on Palmcredit and let you know that your credit limit has been increased”.”

They added that, in order to convince the customer, Newedge workers also lied to customers about non-existent coupons which they claimed helped give customers discounts.

“The coupon is not real. It is only a bait to cajole the customer.”

The former loan company staff said that another unprofessional things they did besides lying to customers was calling them late into the evening just to meet targets.

“The company makes us call customers to take loans as late as 11 pm. We are not happy doing this but we must not fall behind on our 120 target calls daily,” the former employee told NewsNGR.

“We would complain during the day about not being able to make calls but nothing will be done to it.

“Now they have muted us all from talking because of the last story from NewsNGR.

“Meanwhile, rather than subject us to undue pressure, what they should do is review their operational methods and interest rates. You will repay N88,000 for a loan of N60,000.

“The EasyBuy cash loan which is the VIP loan is even crazier. The issue of agents applying for loans on behalf of the customer is more common here because the target of that team is enormous.

“They will tell you to have five conversions in a day but even after 24 hours, you are still on zero conversion. People usually run from them because of the interest rate but so also do we go after them with chronic means.”