Do you know someone who's swimming with sharks?

Archived press release

Date Published: 01/11/11

Money

Advice on hand to keep loan sharks at bay.

Loan sharks are as dangerous and predatory as their name suggests. They lend money illegally, operating without the licence issued by the Office of Fair Trading to ‘fit and proper’ money lenders.

Victims pay huge rates of interest and often face violence if they cannot repay. Research shows that six per cent of households in deprived areas may be victims of loan shark activity. One victim said: “From a debt of a few hundred pounds I paid back £7,000, leaving me £5 a week to live on. I couldn’t pay my bills or eat properly and I became ill…”

The Buckinghamshire Children and Young People’s Trust has organised an information event and there is no booking, and no charge. A member of the Illegal Money Lending Team will speak about:
• How loan sharks operate
• How they affect individuals and communities
• How they can be stopped and how victims can be helped.

The event is on Tuesday 15 November at The Oculus, Aylesbury Vale District Council, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, from 3pm to 4.30pm and repeated from 6pm to 7.30pm. A similar event will be held in High Wycombe on Thursday 1 December.

For more information, please contact Pam Curtis, Child Poverty Programme Manager, Children and Young People’s Service, Buckinghamshire County Council, on 01296 382955 or email pcurtis@buckscc.gov.uk

You can view the Buckinghamshire Child Poverty Strategy 2011-14 by clicking on the link below.