The State of Philippine Consumer Complaints

Name: State of Philippine Consumer Complaints — LabanPH open dataset
Creator: LabanPH

An original, cite-to-public-record dataset compiled by LabanPH: what the Philippine record actually shows about consumer-finance enforcement, and what borrowers, OFWs, and pawners are charged. As of July 7, 2026. Every figure below is computed from a named source dataset — nothing here is estimated or invented.

⬇ Download the data (JSON)Methodology & transparency

1. The regulator-action landscape

Source: LabanPH public-record register (src/lib/publicRecord.ts) — court decisions, regulator orders, documented incidents, and primary-source statutes/circulars. Each row links to its source page.

Public-record entries

Enforcement + court rulings

Outcomes adverse to a company

Distinct issuing bodies

By issuing body

SEC Philippines	12
National Privacy Commission	10
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas	9
Supreme Court of the Philippines	8
News Media	6
Food and Drug Administration	1
Bureau of Internal Revenue	1
FSA Japan	1
OJK Indonesia	1
National Bank of Cambodia	1

By record type

Primary-Source Document	32
Regulatory Action	10
Court Decision	4
Documented Incident	4

By outcome (from the company's point of view)

Neutral / informational	34
Adverse to company	12
Favorable to company	2
Pending / open	2

Documented enforcement actions & court rulings

Date	Action	Body	Outcome
2026-04-01	SEC advisory warns public against unregistered 'Atome Loan' app operated by Backoffice Associates Philippines	SEC Philippines	Neutral / informational
2026-02-14	SEC advisory warns public against fraudulent Facebook page impersonating Tala Financing Philippines	SEC Philippines	Neutral / informational
2025-08-15	SEC issues cease-and-desist orders against seven unregistered online lending platforms	SEC Philippines	Adverse to company
2025-05-09	SEC revokes Digido Finance certificate of authority and primary registration	SEC Philippines	Adverse to company
2025-01-01	FDA Advisory 2025-0017 — unregistered M Lhuillier-branded food productFDA Advisory 2025-0017	Food and Drug Administration	Adverse to company
2024-05-16	NPC Resolution NPC-BN-19-002 — In re PJ Lhuillier IncorporatedNPC-BN-19-002	National Privacy Commission	Adverse to company
2023-09-26	NPC Decision NPC SS-21-008 — In re Populus Lending Corporation (Pesopop)NPC SS-21-008	National Privacy Commission	Adverse to company
2023-01-11	Supreme Court rules 36% per annum interest unconscionable in Manila Credit Corp. v. ViroomalG.R. No. 258526	Supreme Court of the Philippines	Adverse to company
2022-06-16	NPC Decision SS-21-005 — In re Oriente Express Techsystem Corporation (Cashalo)NPC SS-21-005	National Privacy Commission	Adverse to company
2022-03-02	BIR padlocks 10 unregistered Global Mobility Service branches	Bureau of Internal Revenue	Adverse to company
2021-03-16	NPC orders immediate takedown of JuanHand and three other online lending apps	National Privacy Commission	Adverse to company
2006-05-03	Supreme Court companion ruling on pawnshop tax classificationG.R. No. 166786	Supreme Court of the Philippines	Favorable to company
2003-07-15	Supreme Court rules in M Lhuillier's favor in pawnshop tax caseG.R. No. 150947	Supreme Court of the Philippines	Favorable to company
1998-01-28	Supreme Court affirms illegal dismissal finding against predecessor pawnshopG.R. No. 105892	Supreme Court of the Philippines	Adverse to company

2. What borrowers, OFWs & pawners are charged

Source: LabanPH rate-comparator datasets (lenders, GPS providers, remittance providers, pawnshops, domestic padala schedules). Figures are aggregated ranges across every provider on file.

Loans

Lenders profiled

7.5–72%

APR spread (min–max)

With GPS kill-switch

Kill-switch prevalence

GPS / vehicle-tracking devices

Providers profiled

With remote-kill capability

Lender-controlled (not customer)

Customer-owned device

Remittance (cost on a $200 send)

Providers profiled

0–2.5%

FX margin spread

Cheapest (Sendwave)

Dearest (MLhuillier Kwarta Padala)

Total cost = flat fee amortised over a $200 transfer + FX margin.

Pawnshops

Chains profiled

2.5–3.5%

Monthly interest spread

60–70%

Appraisal (% of value)

Domestic padala send fee (on ₱5,000)

₱130

M Lhuillier

₱145

Cebuana Lhuillier

₱0

GCash wallet-to-wallet

₱350

Top fee (at ₱50,000)

M Lhuillier schedule verified January 6, 2026; Cebuana (Metro Manila column) verified January 7, 2026. Compare the full tables at /rates/remittance.

3. The complaint taxonomy

Source: LabanPH issue taxonomy (src/lib/issues.ts) and company register (src/lib/companies.ts).

Distinct issue types tracked

Companies profiled

SEC-registered

BSP-supervised

Issue type	# companies
Remote Engine Kill / MCCS Disable	1
GPS Tracker Malfunction	1
Tracker Not Removed After Loan Settlement	1
Unauthorized GPS Data Sharing	1
Tracker-Caused Financial Loss	1
Remittance Overcharge / Rate Discrepancy	1
Pawnshop Undervaluation	1
Hidden or Undisclosed Fees	2
Loan Terms Not Properly Disclosed	1
Contact-List Access / Debt Shaming	5
Excessive / Undisclosed APR (Online Lending)	7
Abusive or Threatening Loan Collection	5
BNPL Undisclosed Late Fees / Interest Charges	3
Refusal to Release Cancellation of Mortgage	12
Vehicle Repossession Without a Court Order	1
Wrong / Unauthorized E-Wallet Transfer	0

Companies by vertical

loans	22
regulator	5
remittance	2
pawnshop	2
gps	1
insurance	1

4. Complaints filed with LabanPH

Live aggregate from the LabanPH complaint intake, as of July 7, 2026.

Complaints on file

₱76,802

Damages claimed (user-stated)

Coordinated filings

Volume caveat. These counts are early and growing. They reflect submissions to LabanPH only, are user-stated and unverified, and are not a census of Philippine consumer complaints. Treat them as a lower bound on activity, not a measure of prevalence.

Methodology & caveats

Compiler. Compiled by LabanPH, an independent Philippine consumer-advocacy platform. No corporate funding.
As of. Curated figures as of July 7, 2026; temporal coverage of the public-record register spans 1930–2026. The live complaint block carries its own fetch timestamp.
Cite-to-public-record. Every regulator-action and court figure traces to a primary source (court decision, regulator order, official gazette, or ≥2 independent news outlets) via its /record/{slug} page.
Rate figures are aggregated ranges across the providers LabanPH tracks — not a market census. Verify current rates with providers before acting.
Complaint volume is early. Any complaint count is a growing lower bound from LabanPH submissions only, user-stated and unverified.
Source datasets: src/lib/publicRecord.ts, src/lib/lenders.ts, src/lib/gps-providers.ts, src/lib/remittance-providers.ts, src/lib/pawnshops.ts, src/lib/padala-rates.ts, src/lib/issues.ts, src/lib/companies.ts.

Reuse the figures — the full dataset is downloadable as structured JSON (CC BY 4.0). Attribution: “LabanPH, State of Philippine Consumer Complaints.”