Complaints - Securities and Exchange Commission

IMPORTANT: Only registered Lending Companies and Financing Companies with Certificates of Authority to Operate as a Lending/Financing Company (CA) may become respondent/s to your complaint. For complaints against individuals/companies engaging in lending activities without CA, please send your email to Enforcement and Investor Protection Department at epd@sec.gov.ph
	Complaints that are insufficient in form and in substance may cause the outright dismissal of your complaint. To avoid that:
		1.	Always fill out the Complaint Form completely and accurately.
		2.	Do not forget to attach all relevant documents/evidence/proof to support your complaint.
		3.	Submit ONE COMPLAINT FORM PER RESPONDENT COMPANY.
		4.	Provide us with a valid government issued I.D.
		5.	Do not forget to provide evidence/proof that you have exhausted all remedies against the company concerned before filing your complaint with the SEC.

You may raise the following issues in your complaint:
–	Violation of Republic Act No. 9474, or the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations
–	Violation of Republic Act No. 8556, or the Financing Company Act of 1998 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations
–	Violation of Republic Act No. 3765, or the Truth in Lending Act
		A financing or lending company violates TILA when they do not provide their borrowers with a Disclosure Statement prior to the consummation of the loan transaction.

What if my complaint does not involve any of those issues?

If your complaint does not involve any of the issues mentioned, we may do any of the following, depending on our Department’s assessment of your complaint:
–	Endorse your complaint to other government agencies, e.g. National Privacy Commission, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Trade and Industry, etc.

For complaints involving data privacy breach/unauthorized access to contacts, please visit https://www.privacy.gov.ph/ for more information.

–	Endorse your complaint to other departments in the Commission, e.g., Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD), Markets and Securities Regulation Department (MSRD), etc.
–	Furnish the financing company or lending company with a copy of your complaint for its answer/comment
	You may also consult your lawyer so that the facts and circumstances of your complaint may be reviewed and that you may be advised of the remedies available to you against the financing company or lending company.

NOTE: The Commission CANNOT do any of the following:
–	Change the terms of the loan contract, including the payment terms
–	Declare that the interest rate is null and void for being excessive
–	Declare that the loan contract is void
–	Cancel/settle your loan obligation

Download the Complaint Form here.
1.	Always fill out the Complaint Form completely and accurately.
2.	Do not forget to attach all your evidence/proof to support your complaint.
3.	Submit ONE COMPLAINT FORM PER RESPONDENT COMPANY.
4.	Provide us with a valid government issued I.D.

After accomplishing the Complaint Form with all the requirements, you may file your complaint through the following:
1.	Walk-in/Personal filing
	You visit our office at Ground Floor, North Wing Hall, Secretariat Building, PICC Complex, Vicente Sotto Street, 1307 Pasay City, Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
	Bring an accomplished Complaint Form, with the following:
	a.	Photocopy of your valid government-issued I.D.
	b.	Supporting evidence/documents such as the disclosure statement, amortization schedule, receipts, promissory notes, and other relevant documents in connection with your loan transaction that will help us evaluate your complaint.
2.	E-mail
		You may send an accomplished Complaint Form at cgfd_md@sec.gov.ph, and attach a scanned copy of your valid government-issued I.D. and supporting evidence/documents such as disclosure statement, amortization schedule, receipts, promissory notes, and other relevant documents in connection with your loan transaction that will help us evaluate your complaint.

REMINDER: Use the following format in the subject head: COMPLETE NAME_RESPONDENT COMPANY_SUBJECT OF COMPLAINT

(ex: JUAN DELA CRUZ_ABC123 LENDING COMPANY_DISCLOSURE STATEMENT VIOLATION)

Upon receipt of the accomplished Complaint Form, our Department will evaluate it together with all the evidence/documents you attached to support it.
A copy of your complaint will be sent to the financing company or lending company for its answer/comment. They are given ten (10) days from receipt to give their answer/comment.
Our Department will evaluate the financing company/lending company’s answer/comment and may do either of the following:
–	Require you to file your Reply to the financing company/lending company’s answer/comment
–	Close and terminate the complaint if, in their assessment, the issue has been resolved.
If our Department finds sufficient grounds that warrant the commencement of an administrative action against the financing company/lending company, we will issue a Formal Charge and proceed against the financing company/lending company in accordance with the 2016 Rules of Procedure of the Securities and Exchange Commission.