Stop Loan Sharks Awareness Week - Look Behind The Mask!

Wirral Council has joined local authorities and other organisations across the country to support ‘Stop Loan Sharks’ Awareness Week (24 to 31 October) and share some useful tips on dealing with illegal money lenders and how to avoid their harmful influence.

The theme for this year’s awareness week is ‘People pretending to be something they are not’, as most victims of loan sharks - estimated to be 56 per cent by England’s Illegal money lending team - believed that their illegal lender was a friend when they took out the loan. This year’s campaign aims to encourage people to question if that is really the case.

Find out how you can spot a loan shark in this short video:

It is estimated that around 310,000 people in the UK owe money to loan sharks, who charge very high rates of interest and don't provide much paperwork to confirm the arrangements they've made with borrowers. Loan sharks often take other illegal action to collect the money they've lent out, such as threatening violence and taking credit cards and valuables. They have even been known to force borrowers who are unable to repay loans into prostitution and drug dealing.

One mother from Cheshire, Kelly, has bravely spoken about her experience in a video produced by England’s Illegal Money Lending Team, to reveal how she was driven to the brink of suicide and trapped in a vicious cycle of debt by a ruthless loan shark. Watch Kelly’s story here:

Support is available for loan shark victims and their families and friends. The Stop Loan Sharks team can provide the information you need to understand your options and next steps. All the information they are given is treated in the strictest confidence and the loan shark won’t know they’re being investigated.

If you think a money lender is operating illegally you can speak in confidence to the Stop Loan Sharks Hotline on tel. 0300 555 2222 or you can email reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk.

For more information please visit the  Stop Loan Sharks website.

Many residents find Credit Unions to be a great way to save, bank and borrow. Members pool their savings to provide each other with credit at a low interest rate, which is usually much cheaper than other credit providers and significantly cheaper and safer than using illegal loan sharks.

Wirral Credit Union has branches in Birkenhead and Wallasey.

The Find Your Credit Union website can also help you to find credit unions based outside of the borough that you may be eligible to join.