Illegal money lenders or loan sharks as they are more commonly known are criminals and they will lend money to almost anyone at extortionately high interest rates (100% a week is the norm) and will use a variety of tactics such as intimidation, harassment, threats and violence to ensure that the borrower continues to pay with no end date to the loan.

In the period 2016 – 2021, Devon was the nations “hotspot” for loan shark activity and Torbay in particular had numerous arrests made and several prosecutions.

Anyone who owes a loan shark money needs specialist help and support which only the Stop Loan Shark Team can provide and they can be contacted (anonymously if needs be) either by calling their 24/7/365 Helpline on 0300 555 2222 or via their Live Chat facility on their website www.stoploansharks.co.uk
And most importantly, anyone who has taken a loan from a loan shark has NOT committed any offence at all.