‘I didn’t know who to go to’: the desperate people trapped by loan sharks and illegal lenders on social media

theguardian.com:

Michelle, 48, a single mother of three, was stressed, vulnerable and broke. She had recently moved to a new area in Tyne and Wear after escaping an abusive relationship, and when her working hours were cut back at the beginning of the pandemic, money became tight. “It was soul-destroying,” she says. Desperate, and in need of cash for her son’s birthday, she was delighted when another mother at her child’s school offered to lend her £50. The woman said she knew what it was like to need a little extra and that she could pay her back next month.

That £50 turned into thousands changing hands, in cash, over several months, with no records kept. “She made it her business to know exactly what days money went in my bank,” says Michelle (whose name has been changed). Forced to pay “double bubble” interest, (the amount of the original loan, plus the same again on top), Michelle soon found the debt spiralling out of control and loan sharks pursuing her.

“I got to the point of wanting to end everything,” says Michelle. “I was suicidal and didn’t know who to go to.” The loan shark resorted to intimidation: she was sent threatening messages; people threw things at her house, left unwanted items on her doorstep and smashed the windows at night. Michelle eventually fled with her children, leaving all her possessions behind, and was placed in temporary accommodation just before Christmas last year. After seeking help from England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT), she has since been able to turn her life around. Her circumstances are far from unusual: two-thirds of the victims IMLT helped last year thought they were borrowing from a friend.

Michelle is one of about 9 million people who have borrowed more than usual amounts since the start