Illegal loan sharks are forcing families into a pit of financial despair in the countdown to Christmas writes Donal McMahon.
The unlicensed money lenders, many of whom are suspected of acting as a front for paramilitary linked organisations, are charging massive levels of interest on the money they give out to desperate families.
The interest is actually calculated on a daily rate and can add many hundreds, and in some cases thousands of pounds, to the initial loan over a period of just a few months.
But despite the fact that they know they are being ripped off by the cash dealers the individuals sucked into the spiral of dept feel that they have no alternative but to hand over the cash.
Ann Irvine
For they don’t the implicit threat is that they will have to pay the physical consequences.
And when the debt is close to being cleared the loan shark tactic is to offer an extension to the original loan in order to re-start the cycle of financial dependency all over again.
Downpatrick Credit Union Manager, Ann Irvine has described the loan shark levels of interest as “abominable”.
“At the Credit Union we have witnessed people who have been unfortunately sucked into the grasp of loan sharks.
“In my experience they prey on their victims with only greed as the motive. They exploit the pressures placed on families and individuals at this time of year.
“These illegal extortionists operate like a pack of wolves. They wait for the moment when their target is at its most vulnerable.
“When large sums of money are needed in a short space of time they are able to put the squeeze on their clients.”
She added: “In a sick attempt to create the illusion of friendship, the loan shark offers easily accessible cash without the need to fill in forms or declarations.
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“They make use of this lack of checks and balances because they know that in many cases that sort of legal scrutiny is the reason behind their services are called upon in the first place.
“There are many people, for a variety of reasons that find they have fallen outside the normal financial net.
“We have found in the Credit Union that financial hardship can create a level of social embarrassment which prevents people from seeking professional help based on solid legal principles,” she said.
But Ann Irvine pointed out that there was an alternative community based network of support and information, including the Credit Union that if used properly could make the loan shark redundant.
The organisations involved perform a service for the residents of Down District which not only acts as a safety net but can help people back into financial security.
Network co-ordinator and Simon Community Manager Edmund McCullough said the Christmas retail drive did not help the situation.
“At Christmas people often find themselves propelled into a spending spree. Cutting cost does not seem an option.
“Loan Sharks thrive in such a situation. Financial hardship bites into people. But they have to accept the reality that cash from the loan shark is not a quick fix.
And Mr McCullough warned that in order to prevent the establishment of a loan shark culture taking a grip, individuals have to be aware of the threat they pose.
“At the Simon Community we become a source for emergency accommodation which unfortunately can sometimes be a result of the loan sharks’ heavy handed ways.
“They are, in the main, extreme cases. But nonetheless the callous and immoral vacuum that loan shark’s operate in takes no prisoners.
“These people have no scruples and they have no conscience. Signing up for an illegal loan shark deal solves nothing in the long run,” Mr McCullough added.
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