The Commerce Commission has prosecuted Sunway Finance Limited

As a follow up to our previous article here, the Commerce Commission has now successfully prosecuted Sunway Finance Limited (Sunway).

Sunway, an unlicensed money lender, was fined $30,000.00 in Auckland District Court and all of its loan contracts were extinguished. As a consequence, debtors do not have to pay back any outstanding money under these loans.

Sunway was found guilty of three charges brought by the Commerce Commission under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA), relating to failing to provide key information to customers about their loans.

The lending business was operated by Yuan Rong Yang who was fined $22,500.00 when he appeared in court on similar charges in October.

Mr Yang had been lending to Auckland’s Chinese community for at least 17 years. He was banned from lending indefinitely, ordered to pay $3,000.00 to a complainant in the case and his loan contracts were also quashed.

In sentencing Sunway, Judge Field said; "There was a general and blatant failure to provide the necessary documentation to those who may well have been desperate and prepared to enter into any agreement, sight unseen."

The full press release can be found here.