Special unit set to crack down on loan sharks in Merseyside

Aug 30 2007 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

A SPECIAL unit to crack down on loan sharks across Merseyside is to be launched by the end of the year.

The unit will offer help to those being pursued by illegal door-step lenders and bring prosecutions against those responsible.

Council officials last night said intelligence on the scale of the problem was “sparse”.

But it is generally accepted big cities with large pockets of deprivation have significant loan shark operations.

Liverpool was chosen to pilot the scheme after the successful introduction of a similar unit in Birmingham.

Set up in 2004, the Birmingham unit has helped 1,300 victims, seen £2m of illegal debt written off, executed more than 50 warrants, and taken 27 people to court. Officials from Birmingham will now help run a unit covering Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds and Bradford.

Alan Auty, Liverpool trading standards manager, said: “Loan sharks are nasty evil people with baseball bats and worse. We have never had resources to tackle it properly as it needs a dedicated unit.”

Getting a grip on the problem “relied on intelligence and people coming to us when they are at their lowest ebb and saying ‘Help, I can’t take it any more’.”

“It is not going to be a team dedicated to Merseyside, but a team that is dedicated to tackling loan sharks and Merseyside will be one of the areas it covers,” he added.

He said that dealing with loan sharks by trading standards was particularly challenging because of the sharks’ links to organised crime.

Mr Auty said it was hoped Liverpool council’s executive board would rubber-stamp the decision to run the new unit, and it could be launched about a month later.

The two-year pilot project has been funded with £1.2m from the Treasury and the unit will be shared with Sheffield and Leeds.

The service is expected to be limited to areas that are covered by the 0151 telephone area code, which will exclude St Helens.

The hotline number will be available 24 hours a day. Mr Auty said people will be offered different help depending on their circumstances.

“If they are in any trouble, they will get picked up and taken off to a hotel to get them out of the way.

“They will then be interviewed and we will get all the information they can give us.”

He said an evaluation would then be made about whether to move in and arrest the loan shark or gather more evidence.

“The debt is not legal and cannot be enforced, the individual never has to pay the money back.”

He said credit unions are also going to be set up to make sure those who used door-step lenders have an alternative. Low income families, who often turn to loan sharks, will also be given assistance in setting up bank accounts.

davidbartlett