Tatiana Chekhonina told reporters that pseudo pawnshops can leave customers without gold

Lombard business in the south of Russia is changing under the control of the financial regulator, but when applying for a loan secured by jewelry, it is important to distinguish legal organizations from pseudo pawnshops. What signs should be paid attention to, said the General Director of the network “Lombard-L1” Tatiana Chekhonina in the video podcast “Yugopolis”.

According to Chekhonina, in recent years pawnshops have transformed from small reception points of jewelry into modern offices, and the industry itself has become part of the official financial system. The activities of legal companies are regulated by the Bank of Russia, and compliance with the established requirements helps to protect the rights of customers.

At the same time, stereotypes about pawnshops persist. Chekhonina compared applying to such an organization with obtaining a loan from a bank: in both cases, a person receives a financial service, but the conditions and mechanisms for providing it differ.

Separately, the expert drew attention to cases when pawnshop employees are faced with possible actions of telephone fraudsters. According to her, young people came to the offices of the network, who brought jewelry and at the same time continued to talk on the phone. In one case, employees managed to convince a client to interrupt the conversation and contact the parents.

In order not to face a pseudo pawnshop, Chekhonina recommends first of all to check the organization in the register of the Bank of Russia. She also advises to study information about the legal entity, customer reviews and company rating.

According to the head of the network, legal pawnshops work in the organizational and legal format established by law, in particular in the form of an LLC. However, the final conclusion about the legality of the activity should be made primarily from the data of the regulator’s register, and not only from the name or form of registration.

Chekhonina stressed that customer trust is of particular importance for business in the south of Russia. When choosing a pawnshop, as well as when applying for any financial service, it is important to find out the terms of the contract in advance and carefully read the documents.

The full version of the conversation with Tatiana Chekhonina was published by Yugopolis in the video podcast “Now it’s a whole empire”.