Students go into debt to buy Apple gadgets

MORE than 20,000 college students have used their student loans to buy Apple gadgets in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Wuhan Evening News reported today.

The total debts of these students has reached 160 million yuan (US$25.7 million) for an average of 8,000 yuan each, the report said.

Any college student can apply for a loan from Home Credit Consumer Finance Co Ltd with their identity card and student ID card when purchasing Apple products or other electronics, the newspaper reported.

The case was exposed when college student Chen Gang wrote to Wuhan Evening News, saying he was afraid his credit rating would be affected if he missed loan payments. He bought an iPhone5 for his girlfriend on Valentine's day with a down payment of 2,000 yuan, plus payments of 399 per month for one year, Chen told the newspaper.

Most students don't tell their parents about such purchases in advance and prefer to repay such loans out of their living expenses or by working part-time, according to a survey of 169 college students.

A lawyer surnamed Yuan suggested lenders be more careful when loaning money to students.

An official with Home Credit Consumer Finance Company told the newspaper that late payments may hurt a student's credit rating and affect their chances at getting a housing loan in the future.