Be aware of loan sharks | Berneslai Homes

Article: Be aware of loan sharks

 Did you know that:

• The average cost of borrowing from a loan shark is 3 times the price of the highest cost of legal credit.
• One loan shark customer has had to pay £50 a week out of her benefits of £74 per week leaving her with just £24 to live on!
• Another customer was charged 117,000% interest (APR).
• Victims often face violence, intimidation or blackmail if they fall behind with their payments.

A specialist Illegal Money Lending Team, based in Birmingham is working with Barnsley Trading Standards to crackdown on illegal money lenders in the Barnsley area and stop people being exploited by them.

Berneslai Homes is supporting this initiative by raising awareness of the risks involved by borrowing money from the loan sharks and offering tips on borrowing on the doorstep.

Here are some borrowing on the doorstep tips:

1. Only borrow from legal lenders. Ask for proof the lender has a Consumer Credit Licence.
2. It is illegal for people to lend without a licence. You are not breaking the law if you borrow from someone without a licence but you are likely to be ripped off and worse.
3. Illegal lenders are loan sharks. You may have been bitten by a loan shark if your loan keeps growing even though you pay regularly.
4. Some loan sharks threaten you when you cannot pay. These kind of loans are unenforceable without a court order.
5. Most loan sharks do not provide paperwork or receipts. You never know how much you have paid.
6. Report your lender if you do not think they have a licence. Phone the confidential help line 0300 555 2222. It's staffed 24 hours a day,  7 days a week, 365 days a year by members of the Illegal Money Lending Team. They will check to see if they are legal, you will not get into trouble with the authorities and remember, it is the loan shark who is behaving illegally.
7. You probably will not have to repay loans from an illegal lender.  Contact the confidential helpline 0300 555 2222 for guidance.
8. If you think you’ve been bitten by a loan shark or know someone who is a victim of a loan shark operating in Barnsley then phone 0300 555 2222 (charges are local rate inclusive minutes from mobile phones), email: reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk or text ‘loan (space) shark (space) + your message’ to 60003.
9. If in doubt give us a shout! Phone0300 555 2222.