Supporting Partner Agencies

The England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) investigates and prosecutes illegal lenders. We are actively trying to contact people who are have borrowed from loan sharks to let them know there is help available. We also work to prevent those who have financial difficulties from borrowing cash from a loan shark in the first place.

We want to work with partner agencies to gather intelligence that will enable us to stop loan sharks. Our key partners include housing associations, the police, Citizens Advice, debt advice services, as well as credit unions and anyone who works with vulnerable people.

Our full offer to partners can be found here Our Offer to Partners

We recently enlisted the help of partners to find out how clients are contacting them and how and when support is offered. Here is our summary of the findings with some best practice ideas – Helping us to help your clients

Training

To help you identify people that might be in the grasp of a loan shark, and effectively refer them to us, we offer bespoke training on what a loan shark is and how to spot a borrower. We also offer follow-up sessions that look at aspects of our work in greater detail. To book this free training please contact Catherine.wohlers@birmingham.gov.uk

Borrower Support 

If you are working with someone who has borrowed from a loan shark we will come to meet them. They can remain anonymous if they prefer, and no pressure will be put on them to give details they don’t want to. By meeting us face to face we find we can reassure people and gain their trust, making them more likely to engage and access our support.

You can complete our online reporting form to share information about the loan shark with our team or call our 24-hour helpline on 0300 555 2222.

We can also deliver the following with partner agencies, completely free of charge:

• Presentations for service users and residents to raise awareness of illegal lending
• Publicity materials
• Social media campaigns
• ‘Loan shark proofing’ policies and procedures
• Proceeds of Crime Grants to help fund projects that stop loan sharks
• Partnership recognition award programme
• Financial education resources for schools

We can also develop bespoke projects and campaigns with you and will work with you to increase financial inclusion.

For more information on how Stop Loan Sharks can work with you to develop and deliver a range of resources, completely free of charge, please email Catherine.wohlers@birmingham.gov.uk

Encouraging Clients To Report Illegal Lending

We need information to successfully investigate and prosecute loan sharks. We understand that people who borrow from illegal lenders may be struggling with repayments, scared of threats and violence. It is why partner agencies, who are already in a position of trust, can gain the information we need to start investigating the loan shark.

How To Report A Loan Shark On Behalf Of A Client

If you have come across someone that you feel may be borrowing money from a loan shark you can report the lender to Stop Loan Sharks on their behalf.

You can complete our online reporting form to share information about the loan shark with our team or call us on 0300 555 2222. We understand that you are a person that they trust and we can arrange to meet with you and the borrower to provide support and reassurance.