BEAT THE LOAN SHARKS – BITE BACK!

As the recession hits harder, money problems are affecting more and more of us. Who do you turn to when the rent’s overdue, the gas bill’s higher than you expected, or the washing machine breaks down? The Wales Illegal Money Lending Unit (IMLU) is warning local residents not to make the mistake of turning to illegal lenders – male or female.

IMLU was set up by central government at the end of 2007 to search out and prosecute loan sharks throughout Wales, and operates as part of Trading Standards. These illegal lenders operate without a consumer credit licence, and prey on people who are vulnerable – whether because of poverty or debt, or difficulties in their lives such as addiction or health problems.

Loan sharks will rip off borrowers by charging extortionate interest (IMLU say that 150,000% APR is not unheard of!) and adding on penalty payments as and when they want. “Sharks don’t give you paperwork explaining the terms of the loan, and you have to keep paying them back until they decide you can stop. They may appear friendly when they offer the loan, and when you pay - it’s when you can’t pay that you see the other side of them”, explains Steve Tooby, IMLU manager.

It can get worse than just being ripped off. Loan sharks use threats and sometimes violence to make sure their victims keep paying. A loan shark in the north of England was recently imprisoned indefinitely for rape and blackmail. Steve warns that the helpful person who offers to lend you some cash may not be such a good guy. “Victims have found themselves forced into criminal activity to pay back the sharks. We have come across children pushed into shoplifting, and women pressurised into prostitution by these criminals.”

IMLU warns residents to make sure that anyone offering to lend money has a consumer credit licence. If you are a loan shark victim, or think there may be a shark operating nearby, phone IMLU on the 24 hour Hotline: 0300 123 3311. You can phone anonymously if you want.