Team aims to track down Knowsley loan sharks

Mar 25 2008 by Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

A TEAM dedicated to tracking down and prosecuting illegal money lenders has started work in Knowsley.

Officers from Knowsley Council’s Environmental Health and Consumer Protection Service are working in partnership with Birmingham City Council’s pioneering illegal money lending team to bring the borough’s loan sharks to justice.

They will also be working closely with victims – to help them access legal, affordable credit and the support of debt advisors.

The team will be using intensive surveillance techniques to gather evidence and bring the loan sharks before the courts. They will be responsible for gathering evidence about loan shark activities, raiding premises to seize evidence, carrying out arrests and then using the Proceeds of Crime Act to confiscate their assets.

A telephone and email hotline has also been set up for people to “Shop A Shark”. Cllr Ken Keith, Knowsley’s cabinet member for corporate and customer services, said: “Illegal money lenders prey on the most vulnerable members of society – people on low incomes or poor credit ratings, without access to bank accounts. They are a blight on the communities in which they operate.

“This new initiative should send out a clear message to all the loan sharks in Knowsley that we are coming for you.”

The illegal money lending team was set up in Birmingham in 2004 and has already seen £2m of illegal debt written off as well as placing 27 money lenders before the courts.

IF YOU are the victim of a loan shark, or know there is one in your area, call the hotline 0151 282 1122 24 hours a day, where you can talk to someone anonymously or email stoploansharks@knowsley.gov.uk.

richarddown