Loan Sharks
What is a
loan shark?
A ‘loan shark’ is anyone who is lending money without having a
licence from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
These unlicensed money-lenders are working illegally – they are
‘loan sharks’.
How loan
sharks work
Loan sharks all tend to work in similar ways:
- They rarely give any paperwork to the people they've loaned
money to - making it very difficult to keep track
of how much is owed
- If payments are missed, they often use threats and violence to
get more money
- They charge extremely high rates of interest and also add other
'charges' to loans whenever they want – rates of 8,000% &
117,000% have been uncovered.
- They take away people's bank cards as 'security'
People involved in illegal money-lending tend to be part of
other criminal activities, too. This can include gun and knife
crime, counterfeiting and drug-dealing.
What to do if you've
borrowed from an unlicensed money-lender
If you have borrowed money from someone who doesn't have a
licence, you haven't broken the law - they have.
You can report them in confidence, by:
- Calling 0300 555 2222, or
- Texting loan shark and the details you want to pass on to
60003, or
For more information about loan sharks visit direct.gov.uk/stoploansharks
What is a
loan shark?
A ‘loan shark’ is anyone who is lending money without having a
licence from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
These unlicensed money-lenders are working illegally – they are
‘loan sharks’.
How loan
sharks work
Loan sharks all tend to work in similar ways:
- They rarely give any paperwork to the people they've loaned
money to - making it very difficult to keep track
of how much is owed
- If payments are missed, they often use threats and violence to
get more money
- They charge extremely high rates of interest and also add other
'charges' to loans whenever they want – rates of 8,000% &
117,000% have been uncovered.
- They take away people's bank cards as 'security'
People involved in illegal money-lending tend to be part of
other criminal activities, too. This can include gun and knife
crime, counterfeiting and drug-dealing.
What to do if you've
borrowed from an unlicensed money-lender
If you have borrowed money from someone who doesn't have a
licence, you haven't broken the law - they have.
You can report them in confidence, by:
- Calling 0300 555 2222, or
- Texting loan shark and the details you want to pass on to
60003, or
For more information about loan sharks visit direct.gov.uk/stoploansharks