DCI Alan Edwards of Telford CID

Illegal loan sharks in Shropshire are trapping people into paying them hundreds of pounds more than they borrowed by threatening them, a county detective warned today.

Money lenders working illegally across Telford are causing misery to people forced to turn to them for cash, said Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards of Telford CID.

He said the recession had seen people forced into borrowing money off illegal lenders as their debt spiralled out of control and now, months and years on, they were facing the consequences.

“There have been inquiries carried out in the Telford area into illegal money lending,” he said.

“At a time when there has been a recession, there is a lot of illegal money lending where people are coerced into these payments which makes their lives very, very difficult.

Threatening

“Illegal money lending is a crime which causes great hardship. I would urge people in this situation to turn to the police for help – there is somewhere to go.

“The coercion can be quite threatening and intimidating at times. The illegal loan can be just a few hundred pounds to start with then the interest starts to kick in and the loans can then be sold on and the situation just gets worse and people feel trapped.”

The detective said people often knew who the loan sharks were and turned to them when they could not get a loan from a bank.

Many of the victims were people from poorer communities and people who did not have a bank account.

“The money they are forced into paying back doesn’t resemble anything like the money that is first borrowed,” he added.

“Once again this is innocent people being caught up in criminality. This usually happens at desperate times such as birthdays and Christmas when they should be happy.

“These people don’t know where to turn when they are caught up in this criminality but I want them to know we can help.”

Call police on 0300 333 3000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

By Crime Correspondent Kirsty Smallman