Loan sharks are lurking in plain sight, and they’re not who we expect. They may even be a sweet nan next door.
Loan sharks are rarely the stereotypical thugs we see in soap operas, Ryan Evans from Stop Loan Sharks Wales tells Quids in!. They are often charismatic and know how to gain our trust which is how they worm their way in. And their victims are growing in number.
Hiding in plain sight
Around 7% of people in the UK say they, or someone they live with, have touched shoulders with a loan shark. These lenders can be distant friends, colleagues, old schoolmates or even family members. And they don’t just offer help in tough times – they charge very high interest rates.
Worse still, they are not authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), making their loans illegal. They keep things off the books, avoiding paperwork to keep things hidden. At first, this may seem convenient, but over time, they bleed borrowers dry.
They use extreme tactics, such as seizing possessions or demanding favours, and often resort to threats, intimidation, or violence when payments aren’t met.
Growing victim pool
Ryan, who works to make sure loan sharks are put behind bars, explained during the Quids in! Webinar on Empowering Consumers that there has been a complete change in the type of people Stop Loan Sharks see coming forward.
“Prior to the pandemic,” he says, “most of our victims would be people on the lowest of incomes, on benefits, needing to borrow for emergency reasons. What we’re finding now is that that has changed. The majority of our victims now are in work, and some of those people are on more than reasonable wages as well.”
Why the shift? Well, Ryan says the cost-of-living crisis and rising bills mean more people struggle to pay rent and turn to illegal lenders. Anyone in need of some extra cash can fall victim to these predators.
Not just thugs
Ryan warns against stereotypes that loan sharks are mostly men. “In Wales, there’s about a 50/50 split. We had an 80-year-old woman, Tabitha, described as Britain’s longest-running loan shark. She operated for 20 years without complaints. It’s very rare we see that thug.”
He has seen all sorts of loan shark situations: landlords lending to vulnerable tenants, waiters lending to colleagues, even religious leaders lending to parishioners. Yet, many victims don’t report them. In fact, most cases prosecuted by Stop Loan Sharks Wales were brought to them by frontline workers.
Fight back
Fear often prevents people from reporting. Some worry about retaliation, others feel loyal to the lender. Some even fear legal consequences or social services’ involvement.
If we suspect we’re in a dangerous situation with a money lender, we can report it at Stop Loan Sharks. If we’re unsure, we can speak to someone we trust—whether it’s a frontline worker, debt advisor, housing officer, or staff at social services, local authorities, or community centres.
Help is available, and no one should face loan sharks alone.
Image: BearFotos / Shutterstock
