When I saw this prompt, I had to laugh for a few minutes because it reminded me of a scenario that happened three years ago to a friend of mine. It wasn't a good one, and that made me zero in on taking loans from all these loan apps. They aren't as nice as they project when they want you to take a loan from them. When the time comes to pay back and you miss a day, then you will have an experience that is more or less like hell on earth.
Taking a loan from loan apps in Nigeria is like signing a death penalty because at the end of the day, the frustration might be the end of such individuals.
It happens that in our second year of school, my friend had a bit of difficulty paying for her school fees, and we looked for means to get it, but to no avail, so we decided to go for a loan. Her mom promised to send the money, but it was getting late as the first-semester examination was fast approaching.
I remember while filling out the form, she added my number as family. Well, I didn't see it as a big deal because I believed that before a month, her mom would have sent the money and she would have repaid. She collected the loan and paid her school fees.
A month seems like two weeks; it was so fast that I was wondering if the loan app performed magic. Her mother has yet to send the money, and the set date for the repayment is drawing near. Four days before the set date, the loan app called her to remind her that her loan would be due for repayment in four days. We laughed about it and insulted them by saying that they couldn't wait for the set date before calling.
Two days before the set date, I was called by the loan app to remind me that a family of mine had taken a loan from them and it would be due for repayment in two days. She called her mom and told her she hadn't seen the money.
Her mother said it would take a while because she hadn't received the money she was expecting. It was then that I realized what we'd signed for. The set date arrived, and immediately, by 7 a.m., when we were still in bed, my friend's phone rang, and it was the loan app.
"We are calling to remind you that your loan is due for repayment today, and we would be glad if you paid within an hour. Thank you." Immediately, immediately we heard that my friend didn't wait for the caller to continue; my friend hung up the call.
A few minutes later, my phone rang, and it was a call from the loan app. "Your family named Adedoyin Mary (real name withheld) took a loan of $50,000 on the 23rd of March 2020 and is to repay $55,700 on the 22nd of April 2020, but she's yet to pay. Please remind her to pay the amount stated above within one hour," said the caller. I replied, "I will," and I hung up.
To cut the story short, they called again in less than 30 minutes to request payment. This continued, and it was so frustrating. That day, I lost count of how many times they called; they were calling both myself and my friend. The second day, which we didn't pay, they sent her picture, which she took during verification, to me, stating that she was a fraudster who took a loan from them and didn't want to pay it back.
They had access to her contacts, and I guess they picked them randomly. The same message sent to me was sent to her mother, one of her brothers, and a friend at school. At that instance, she needed to repay as fast as possible.
The third day, they had been calling, but she wasn't picking, nor was I. Then her mother called, saying that she had sent the money. Immediately, she rushed to pay back the money she loaned, and they called to say that they had received the money. My friend decided to lash them for treating her badly, but the response was, "Sorry, ma'am, it's business.".
Since that day, I never wished to go through that frustration again with the loan apps. One major reason why I don't take loans from them is that they will simply make life unbearable for one if payment isn't made when it is due. It was a bad experience, I must say.
What I could say I learn in this experience is you are nobody without money, and at that vulnerable state, one will be openaltyn to different kinds of insults because if she hadn't taken loan from that loan app, I'm sure she wouldn't have gone through so much insults and embarrassment.
Thanks for your time, and your comments will be appreciated.