Loan sharks
A loan shark is someone lending money without a licence from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
Unlicensed money lenders or ‘Loan Sharks’ are operating illegally.
You should be aware they:
- Rarely give any paperwork, making it difficult to track repayments
- Often use threatening behaviour
- Charge extremely high rates of interest
- Take away people's bank cards as 'security'
- Are often involved in other criminal activity
If you have concerns then you can check if a lender has a licence using the Consumer Credit Register search on the OFT’s website.
If a lender isn't listed as having a current licence, don't borrow money from them.
What to do if you have borrowed from a loan shark
You are under no legal obligation to repay the debt from a loan shark. You should contact your local Trading Standards office immediately on 020 7364 6886.
