How do people find loan sharks?

chinagirl

starlite wrote:

I am wondering how you can get a loan from a loan shark, surely they do not advertise, so how do you know who they are?

Contact your local Welfare Rights. They will look at your situation, and if need be contact your debtors on your behalf to negotiate realistic payments, also attending court with you if need be. This seems to be a very personal service, who actually do fight your corner with you, rather than just giving advice on what your options are.

starlite_2

unfortunately i have no income at the moment- i am not entitled to any benefits until after the baby is born, so cannot apply for the surestart grant until then.
This is why things are so difficult.
But looking at it realistically i am sure i can delay or cut down any repayments untiil then, and we are just about surviving on oh's wage.
It's hard not to panic and just want an 'easy' way out - but I understand there is no such thiung and taking out a loan would only add to our problems.
I plan to ask family to help a little if i can agree a reduction in our outgoings.

starlite_2

and chinagirl - we have an excellent welfare rights office nearby!, they have done everything they can to help me with my benefits claim. it's an amazingly good service considering you don't have to pay them anything.

myrnahaz

starlite wrote:

thanks..good to hear of somone who can see our situation from the other side of things.
I know my family would be horrified to hear I had gone for such an awful loan, but we want to prove we can cope by ourselves, if you see what I mean. Despite all the budgeting, and dp working overtime we just cannot survive..I guess I have to lose my pride and ask them.
I have read the horror stories about provident too, they are your 'friend' and can keep topping up the money, but they all work on a commision basis!
It is just such a desperate situation I feel like doing it even though i am clued up on the whole operation.
can I ask, would you have felt obligated to help your sister even if you couldn't afford it? as I would hate to put any memeber of my family in that position?

Please don't think that you're burdening your family with this, or that you're taking the easy option. I assume your problem arose through a changed situation rather than recklessness, and you've already said that you'll be entitled to a cash sum when the baby's born, so you could ask for a 'cash advance' on that money. This way you'll be offering a pay-back date at the same time as you ask for the loan.

Everyone gets money problems at one time or another - it's only when it happens over and over again that people get ticked off - and I'm sure the person you ask will tell you a story of the time they were in exactly the same situation. I'm just glad that we found out about my sister's debt while it was still fairly manageable.

All the best for tomorrow. XX

daveboy

They do advertise - Provident Financial had a leaflet in the What's On TV magazine that came out today.

I didn't think loan sharks advertised but it appears they do!

starlite_2

Well I swallowed my pride and asked my parents - they have loaned us £700 to be rapid as and when.
This is such a relief, we can pay the rest of the mortgage and buy our pram.
I felt very bad as they are not in a position to help really, but they were very shocked at the alternatives I was considering and that i was shy about asking them for help.

thanks to everyone for making me see sense... and thank god for lovely families!
I can now start to worry about impending labour and motherhood instead of finacial things..heheehe

starlite_2

oh and re. provident, I remember a few months ago we got a leaflet from them that looked like a £50 note ..on the back it said , 'can money at your doorstep be this easy?...yes it can!'
quite shocking tactics..imagine if you are desperate and get that, it would hard to resist calling them.

myrnahaz

daveboy wrote:

They do advertise - Provident Financial had a leaflet in the What's On TV magazine that came out today.

I didn't think loan sharks advertised but it appears they do!

Provident hide behind their seemingly respectable and legitimate lending service that's regulated by whoever regulates these things, they just have exhorbitant interest charges that they justify by saying the risk is higher with their customers as they are usually people who are unable to get credit elsewhere.
The nasty bit comes when the collectors call to collect the weekly premium from the customer and asks if the customer needs any more cash or if they need a payment holiday.

I think the real loan-sharky type of loan sharks start off by selling towels and pegs door-to-door and end up ofering cash because the householder is obviously such a wonderfully trustworthy person. They're all despicable low lives whether they're legitimate or not.

starlite_2

I have to agree..there are countless articles and government enquiries into the insanity that those on low incomes ot with a bad credit history pay extortionate interest, whilst people with mioney are offered loans at 0 - 6% interest
nothing seeems to have happened though - wasn't there mention of rbs being supported by the government to offer low interest loans to those on low incomes?

Fran

starlite wrote:

Well I swallowed my pride and asked my parents - they have loaned us £700 to be rapid as and when.
This is such a relief, we can pay the rest of the mortgage and buy our pram.
I felt very bad as they are not in a position to help really, but they were very shocked at the alternatives I was considering and that i was shy about asking them for help.

thanks to everyone for making me see sense... and thank god for lovely families!
I can now start to worry about impending labour and motherhood instead of finacial things..heheehe

That's great that your parents have helped out! Did you go to CAB to sort things out?