RA 8484, in relation to non-payment of credit card debt
What is R.A. 8484?
Under the law, an access device means any card, plate, code, account number, electronic serial number, personal identification number and other telecommunication services, equipment or instrumentalities-identifier or other means of account access that can be used to obtain money, goods, services or any other thing of value or to initiate a transfer of funds other than a transfer originated solely by paper instrument.
Let’s look at the penal provision of the law, in short, the punishment if you violate the law:
Section 10. Penalties. Any person committing any of the acts constituting access device fraud enumerated in the immediately preceding section shall be punished with:
(a) a fine of Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) or twice the value obtained by the offense, whichever is greater and imprisonment for not less than six (6) years and not more than ten (10) years, in the case of an offense under Section 9 (b)-(e), and (g)-(p) which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under Section 9;
(b) a fine of Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) or twice the value obtained by the offense, and imprisonment for not less than ten (10) years and for not more than twelve (12) years, in the case of an offense under Section 9 (a), and (f) of the foregoing section, which does not occur after a conviction for another offense under Section 9; and
(c) a fine of Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) or twice the value obtained by the offense, or imprisonment for not less than twelve (12) years and not more than twenty (20) years, or both, in the case of any offense under Section 9, which occurs after a conviction for another offense under said subsection, or an attempt to commit the same.
Yes, imprisonment is included in the penalties. But let us take a closer look at the prohibited acts section to check what are the acts that are prohibited:
SECTION 9. Prohibited Acts. — The following acts shall constitute access device fraud and are hereby declared to be unlawful:
(a) producing, using, trafficking in one or more counterfeit access devices;
(b) trafficking in one or more unauthorized access devices or access devices fraudulently applied for;
(c) using, with intent to defraud, an unauthorized access device;
(d) using an access device fraudulently applied for;
(e) possessing one or more counterfeit access devices or access devices fraudulently applied for;
(f) producing, trafficking in, having control or custody of, or possessing device-making or altering equipment without being in the business or employment, which lawfully deals with the manufacture, issuance, or distribution of such equipment;
(g) inducing, enticing, permitting or in any manner allowing another, for consideration or otherwise to produce, use, traffic in counterfeit access devices, unauthorized access devices or access devices fraudulently applied for;
(h) multiple imprinting on more than one transaction record, sales slip or similar document, thereby making it appear that the device holder has entered into a transaction other than those which said device holder had lawfully contracted for, or submitting, without being an affiliated merchant, an order to collect from the issuer of the access device, such extra sales slip through an affiliated merchant who connives therewith, or, under false pretenses of being an affiliated merchant, present for collection such sales slips, and similar documents;
(i) disclosing any information imprinted on the access device, such as, but not limited to, the account number or name or address of the device holder, without the latter's authority or permission;
(j) obtaining money or anything of value through the use of an access device, with intent to defraud or with intent to gain and fleeing thereafter;
(k) having in one's possession, without authority from the owner of the access device or the access device company, an access device, or any material, such as slips, carbon paper, or any other medium, on which the access device is written, printed, embossed, or otherwise indicated;
(l) writing or causing to be written on sales slips, approval numbers from the issuer of the access device of the fact of approval, where in fact no such approval was given, or where, if given, what is written is deliberately different from the approval actually given;
(m) making any alteration, without the access device holder's authority, of any amount or other information written on the sales slip;
(n) effecting transaction, with one or more access devices issued to another person or persons, to receive payment or any other thing of value;
(o) without the authorization of the issuer of the access device, soliciting a person for the purpose of —
1) offering an access device; or
2) selling information regarding or an application to obtain an access device; or
(p) without the authorization of the credit card system member or its agent, causing or arranging for another person to present to the member or its agent, for payment, one or more evidence or records of transactions made by credit card.
Your reward for reading that long enumeration of prohibited acts brings you this conclusion that there is no imprisonment for non-payment of a credit card. Let me reiterate it for you, as long as you are a debtor in good faith, non-payment of a credit card was not included in the prohibited acts; hence, you cannot be imprisoned for non-payment of credit card debt. In the course of this research, I’ve read numerous cases. If there’s one thing that’s dominant there was the fact that nobody was imprisoned for not paying their credit card debt. Why, because it’s a constitutional right (for Filipinos that is). It’s expressly stated in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines -the non-imprisonment in the case of debt. In short, the collection agency who attached the provision of RA 8484 (See part 1) was just messing with your mind. He is just scaring you so that you will pay your debt!
*end of Part 2*
No comments:
Post a Comment