As reported in the electronic media today, over 20,000 college students have taken high-interest loans to buy fancy electronic products, mostly Apple devices, in central China’s Wuhan city. From the start of January 2012 to the end of February 2013, the students have applied for loans of 160 million yuan ($25.76 million) from Home Credit China (HC China), a subsidiary of international investment business PPF Group, reported Xinhua.
“We have lost touch with about 100 of them, getting no response to calls or letters reminding them about delayed payments,” said Liu Mingwei, Wuhan regional manager with HC China, Wednesday. With around 1 million students in Wuhan, it means about one in 50 of them are shouldering HC China’s heavy annual interest rates of up to 47.12 percent on a 12-month-term loan.
About 90 percent of the credit was used to buy Apple products, such as iPhones and iPads, and other high-end electronic products, said Li. Home Credit China provides credit loans in nine, 12 and 15-month terms for college and university students, providing they can present an ID card, bank card and student ID card. Loan amounts range from 540 to 10,000 yuan.
It is expected that majority of the defaulters would clear their debts with the help of their parents.
The moral of above incident especially for youngsters is that they should not buy any costly gadjet in the heat of the moment. One should evaluate pros and cons of buying new smartphone or tablet i.e. whether the features mentioned in the gadget have any usage for the buyer or not. One should not buy the product because his or her friend has bought the same.
I have seen many youngsters flashing their Galaxy Note II smartphones and on being asked whether they use all the functions, I was surprised to note that majority of them said NO. To my opinion, they are using it just for the sake of its big screen and for fashion statement. How many of the youngsters customers have bought if from their hard-earned money, it is anybody’s guess.
One should have only those smartphone or tablet, which one can afford and which has utility features for the users. One should not burden one self or their parents to help them to buy expensive devices, which most of the time prove counter productive in the long run.
