Crackdown on illegal loan sharks who make East Yorkshire families suffer

“OK 3 times the base rate is a bit low but banks are charging 12%, anyway lets have a maximum level of interest set by law.
On the other hand we could maybe learn from Muslims where (I belive - but could be wrong) under sharia law interest is forbidden... ideally the entire human race should treat each other as equals and with respect, but in topday's rotten lousy society the only thing people are interested in is grabbing as much money as they can and stuff everyone else. It's dog eat dog.”

“@ArthurHunt. I understand what you are saying but cannot agree with one of your statements. You say that no-one should be allowed to offer a loan at more than 3 times the Bank of england Base Rate. This rate has stood at a record 0.5% since March 2009. By your reckoning, no-one should be allowed to charge more than 1.5% for a loan. If this was the case, no-one would be offering loans, as you can get a better rate of interest by investing your money in a fixed-rate ISA. Lenders do have other costs to cover when setting their interest rates, and I think most would see a 1.5% interest rate on a loan as unworkable.”

“Having been through the Financial mangle more times than I care to admit (yes I've had CCJs in the past) all through being stupid, getting in with a boozy crowd, bringing up 3 kids on one income and generally being taken a mug by family members, I've had loans upon loans but I've always managed to avoid loan sharks. Kustard2011 is absolutely correct.. cut your cloth accordingly.

There is one simple answer that no one will like - no one and I mean no-one, should be allowed to lend money at an interest rate more than 3 times the Bank of England base rate. That would sort it all out - loan sharks - 'finance companies' and all the other leeches who do nothing for a job, add no value at all to the economy all they do is milk people dry. Have a legal maximum interest rate - end of story. Put these nasty people out of business and make then get a 'real' job!”

“Kustard2011 is right if you only need to borrow money for christmas and therefore go to these people the answer should be cut back on christmas presents ect its not suppose to be about money and spending its suppose to be about love. But often people get into debt with the loansharks to cover basics like food and bills like electric it can be hard and once in its hard to get out again”

“I used a Shopacheck loan many years ago to buy Christmas presents for my kids and it took me ages to pay it off. Their interest rates are 29.9%APR, way more than a bank, more like legalized loan sharks. However, no matter how hard up I was, I would never use a loan shark, I'm quite attached to my legs thank you!!”

“Amazingly two years ago when I was on the bare minimum of benefits I somehow managed to not borrow any money from a loan shark.
But then again living within my means and having an iota of common sense prevented me and my family from been a "victim"”

“If you need a loan from a 'Loan Shark' just for Christmas... then there is something wrong. Do all those seeking loans at the time of festivities not have financial difficulties through out the year??.
YES I have suffered financial hardship in the past but I did not compound the issue at Christmas by taking out a load so that the kids and the rest of the family could keep a false front. Times are hard.... but cut your cloth.
This comment, I am sure, will attract a multitude of red arrows.... but there you are. Reality is often a hard pill to swallow.”

“Provident/Greenwoods and Shopacheck need looking at too. They're all a disgrace!”

“What about the legal loan sharks like Wonga? Are they any better?”