A campaign to encourage people to report loan sharks operating in their local communities has been launched in Dundee.
Authorities revealed that some people are paying back loans at interest rates of 60 million per cent or more with the threat of violence if they don’t.
Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Angela Wilson, of Tayside Police, said: “People who lend money without a licence are breaking the law and are often unscrupulous individuals.
“Loan sharks rarely give the borrower much in the way of paperwork to confirm the arrangements and they are often known to take illegal action to collect the money they have lent, which can include violence or taking away credit cards, savings books or valuables.
“In extreme cases non-payers have been forced into prostitution and drug dealing to pay the debts.”
Estimates suggest that there are more than 200 active loan sharks in Scotland. However, last year only 34 calls were made by members of the public to report loan shark activities.
To make it easier to pass on information, Cosla’s Stop Loan Sharks campaign has a phone number, text and website to help people in Scotland make a report in confidence.
Welcoming the campaign, Scotland’s finance secretary John Swinney said: “Loan sharks blight lives and communities and this campaign makes it clear that their activities have no place in Scotland.”
Scottish councils are working in partnership with other agencies, including the police, so that intelligence from the campaign is shared across Scotland to disrupt and close down networks.
Ken Guild, leader of Dundee City Council, said: “We are not only dealing with the problems of today, but addressing the issues of tomorrow by seeking to prevent the next generation falling prey to loan sharks.”
West End Labour and Co-operative Party councillor Richard McCready said there should be no tolerance of loan sharks.
He said: “These difficult financial times are pushing people into the hands of loan sharks, both legal and illegal.
“There should be no place for loan sharks in our society and I think that there is a need for more support of alternatives such as credit unions.”