In May, the diocesan Modern DaySlavery conference in Wordsley heard something about the dangers of illegalmoney lending. Its one of the ways in which some people can get trapped inslavery. It is also just as easy to hide as other slavery related crimes, butsome simple awareness and a willingness to report it, can make all thedifference and change peoples lives.
A loan shark is someone who lends cash as anunauthorised business and theyre not always easy to spot. They will at firstappear friendly, just part of the community, but when you cant pay, they willturn on you.
A loan shark will often resort to threats,violence and intimidation, even if the debt has been paid off several timesover. They will typically have little paperwork and, will add penalty chargesfor late payments. Sometimes they will add random sums to the bill.
Many victims keep paying because they think theycan afford the agreed weekly sum, but they dont realise how much theircontinuing weekly payments add up to or they are to afraid to stop payments.
Mikes Story
Aged 17, Mike* was keen to buy his first car.When Peter* offered to lend him 250, Mike agreed and began paying back ininstalments until the loan was repaid. It was only then that Peter mentionedadditional interest, Mike wasnt expecting this and found it difficult torepay, so Peter offered him a further loan to pay off the first.
This became a cycle and continued over the nexttwo decades.Mike was trapped in a neverending spiral of debt, and struggled to get by, despite working two jobs. Hewould make large repayments but his outstanding balance would never drop below9000. Over the years Mike paid a staggering 90,000 to the loan shark, allfrom an initial loan of 250.
On more than one occasion, Mike attemptedsuicide.
You wouldnt wish it on anybody Hesaid It affected my relationship with mywife. If I wasnt at work, I was home arguing, and it affected the kids. Theyhad nothing. Every Friday and Saturday he was sat outside my work. It was aliving nightmare
The turning point was when Mike spotted anarticle in his local paper about a loan shark who had been prosecuted by theTeam. Peter was now threatening to harm Mikes wife and realising he couldnttake any more Mike called the confidential hotline.
From that point forwards he was supported andPeter was prosecuted and imprisoned.
I wish Id known there was somewhere to go years ago, Mike said. The Team werefantastic, they offered so much support, and delivered on every promise theymade. It was such a relief when Ifound out Peter was arrested and then put in prison. I would tell anyone who isborrowing from a loan shark to be confident to stand up and speak out- the Teamwill support you the whole way. Even a year later the Team are always there forme, regularly in touch and always on the end of the phone.
If you're worried about the impact of a loan shark, call the team in confidence on 0300 555 2222, Text: 07860 022116, email: reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk or visit: www.stoploansharks.co.uk.
