With the number of financial disputes on the rise, government officials yesterday urged all citizens to use due legal process to address their grievances, and not to turn to private agencies to seek restitution.
Officials specifically warned against seeking recourse with debt-collectors, many of whom may be operating outside the law.
"Debt-collection firms, licensed or not, are no substitute for legal procedure in settling financial rows," said Wang Chun-kai (王俊凱), an official from the Ministry of the Interior's social affairs department.
Sitting beside Wang was a man surnamed Hsiao, who turned to debt-collectors to claim his back wages and has since embarked on what he called "an odyssey of nightmarish experiences."
Hsiao, who refused to disclose his first name, said he went to a debt-collection company for help after his former employer failed to pay him back wages.
"The receptionist there was really nice and helpful," Hsiao said. "But the civility soon ended after I signed an authorization paper."
He added that armed with the agreement, the debt-collection firm has kept pressing him to pay exorbitant service fees -- although it has failed to accomplish its task.
Intent on settling accounts with his former employer, Hsiao said he later sought help with a law association, which turned out to be a debt-collecting company in disguise.
"This time I was entrapped by the `free' assistance advertised by the association," Hsiao explained.
But to his dismay, Hsiao said that the self-proclaimed non-profit organization asked him to apply for its expensive membership and handed over the mission to another debt-collection company.
He said he was coaxed into signing another authorization paper as a result of which he has been plagued by yet another firm pressing for unpaid service charges.
The debt-collectors dragged Hsiao to court and threatened "serious consequences" if he continued to default on the payments.
Wang admitted that it is not uncommon for civic groups to engage in activities at odds with their charters but that it is impossible for his agency to crack down on them.
Wang pointed out that there are only eight employees at the social affairs department that is responsible for supervising more than 4,000 registered civic organizations nationwide.
He suggested that the public consult his department on the legality of private associations before entering into deals with them.
Nevertheless, KMT lawmaker Huang Hsien-chou (黃顯洲), who helped Hsiao lodge a complaint, said he suspected illicit practices on the part of the firms and requested that authorities launch an investigation.
The legislator also advised against illegal approaches to solving financial disputes.
Wang said that the ministry has compiled a list of civic groups that have been the subject of complaints and that the information is available on the ministry's Web site.
The Ministry of Interior's Web site is http://vol.moi.gov.tw.
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