Legal measures regarding informal loans Case study of 4 districts in Udon Thani Province

Abstract

Due to the current slowdown in the economic situation in Thailand may cause private consumption, investment and income in the economy to be decreased. There is the problem of higher unemployment rates, causing many people to lack income. Even before the outbreak of COVID-19 in Thailand, there was an economic slowdown from a trade war. This causes the problem of higher living costs. As a result, people have insufficient income to cover expenses. This, in turn, causes borrowing both inside and outside the system. Most of the debtors outside the system are low-income people who are unable to borrow money from within the legal, established system. Therefore, it is necessary to use the loan service from outside the system, which is an informal loan (loan shark) between people and the lender.

Most of them have set interest rates that are higher than that is required by law and there are methods for debt collection that use threats and force or use violence. The problem of informal creditors is a problem that occurs in many ways. Countries around the world have become plagued with social problems and crime problems as a result. However, in the past problems were able to be solved to a certain extent but still does not cover the entire problem of informal creditors. This may change according to the change of government. Most of them focus on solving short-term problems causing more problems in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to study to find legal measures to provide clear operational guidelines so that the government can continue to solve the problem of informal creditors in a sustainable way.