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Council cracks down on loan sharks
Kensington and Chelsea Council has joined a specialist team to crack down on loan sharks operating across the capital.
It has teamed up with councils in Tower Hamlets, Westminster, the City of London, Hackney and Islington and the England Illegal Money Lending Team to help bring illegal lenders to justice.
Together they will investigate loan sharks and related activity, making sure that offenders are prosecuted through the courts.
Before Kensington and Chelsea joined, the team had already secured more than 190 prosecutions, leading to 117 years' worth of prison sentences, written off nearly £40m of illegal debt and helped more than 16,000 victims.
Councillor Fiona Buxton, head of environmental health which is responsible for trading standards, said: "Loan sharks are the scourge of our society, targeting the vulnerable and trapping them into a cycle of debt and misery.
"With the financial pressure of Christmas, many more individuals and families may be tempted to borrow money that is impossible for them to ever pay back.
"This specialist team is sending out a strong message to those unscrupulous individuals that London authorities will not let them operate in their communities."
To report a loan shark, call the 24 hour confidential hotline on 0300 555 222, text 'loan shark' and your message to 60003, or email reportaloanshark@stoploansharks.gov.uk.
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Does that include Natwest Bank?
This is exactly why we need a credit union foe Kensington and Chelsea.
With no affordable borrowing alternative - its no surprise that the 24,500 poorest households in borough turn to illegal loan sharks and legal subprime lenders (such as home credit, payday loans, money shops, pawn brokers and the like).
Find out more and support our development - www.kccu.co.uk
Time to do something about this, and why not also look into the online loan sharks offering payday loans with text message application?
/Ron