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Adverse credit leads to loan shark threat

Published: 17/11/2009

Britons are facing a severe threat from loan sharks who use violent and intimidating tactics against borrowers, an investigation has shown.

The BBC's Panorama programme said that around 200,000 people are using the unregulated lenders - with many being forced to pay excessively high interest rates and increasing their adverse credit problems over the long run.

According to the investigation, the Office of Fair Trading is also neglecting to make criminal record checks for applicants for Consumer Credit Licences.

This means that some loan sharks can successfully become a regulated lender without their previous illegal activities coming to light.

However, the authorities have been pursuing a crackdown recently and have secured around 100 prosecutions over the past five years.

Speaking to the broadcaster, Tony Quigley of the Illegal Money Lending Team said: "There [are] no two ways about it, [being a loan shark offers] big money and people with criminal lifestyles are moving into it, because it's big money.

"Previously it was risk free, it isn't risk free anymore, we are identifying them and we are removing them."

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