PayPlan has become the first national debt advice provider to be awarded Partner Plus accreditation from the England Illegal Money Lending Team as it became the 100th organisation to officially join the team in its fight against loan sharks.
The Partner Plus award is given to an organisation that supports the work of the IMLT, also known as Stop Loan Sharks, and goes above and beyond to raise awareness and help identify those who may have borrowed from an illegal lender.
Emma Gibbons, Vulnerability Lead at PayPlan, which offers fee debt advice, said: “PayPlan have been working in partnership with the Illegal Money Lending Team and the Stop Loan Sharks campaign for over two years now and we are delighted to have enhanced our partnership with achieving the Partner Plus accreditation.
“This means that more clients will have an increased awareness of the help and support available when using a loan shark through our recent initiatives, and ultimately, more people will get the assistance they need to break this awful cycle of spiralling unlawful debt.
“We are especially delighted to be the 100th official partner. It’s a real milestone which means there is a network of organisations all working together across England to stop loan sharks.”
The IMLT is a national organisation, hosted by Birmingham City Council, that was set up in 2004 to investigate and prosecute loan sharks and support borrowers. Over the past two decades it has supported over 32,000 people and successfully prosecuted 427 loan sharks, seeing custodial sentences totalling more than 609 years handed out by the courts. Over £91.6 million of illegal debt has been written off.
Dave Benbow, head of the IMLT, said: “We know it can be a difficult step for people to report an illegal lender. It can take up months and even years for people to take that first step and contact us. However, they may well seek help for debt advice elsewhere in the meantime.
“That is where organisations like PayPlan come in. As an official partner, PayPlan staff have been trained in how to spot the signs that someone may have been targeted by an illegal lender and they can make sure these people get the help and support they need from us. We are hugely grateful for the work they do in being our eyes and ears on the frontline.
“To have reached 100 partners is a fantastic milestone for us. It’s wonderful that so many organisations out there are willing to go out of their way to help us in our work. We will continue to grow that network throughout 2025 and together we can help rid our communities of the scourge of illegal lenders.”
PayPlan has been supporting clients with debt for 33 years, and in the last 10 years has supported 1,030,832 clients with free debt advice.
Examples of where the organisations have worked together include:
- PayPlan spoke to a client with multiple vulnerabilities including both physical and mental health needs. Whilst seeking debt advice, they advised that they owed a substantial amount to some friends. As per PayPlan policy, the adviser utilised the FRIEND framework to open up a conversation resulting in the client advising that he met some individuals in a gambling environment. Consent was gained to share the client’s details with IMLT and they were contacted by a LIAISE officer. The individuals had withheld the client’s bank card and used it to take large payments.
- A client had multiple conversations with PayPlan over a period of time. The adviser spent time building rapport and an understanding of the client’s situation. The client was initially reluctant to engage with IMLT. PayPlan adviser revisited the debt on subsequent sessions and by explaining the role and work of IMLT at a pace to suit the client, gained consent for IMLT to contact the individual.
- A client was in a state of panic; she had informed her EAP at work of the situation, they referred her to Unison, Unison referred her to PayPlan and PayPlan signposted her to IMLT. The victim contacted our out of hours hotline where she was offered support and safeguarding.
- A client borrowed money from a fellow national who she communicated with using social media. PayPlan gained consent to share her details with IMLT.
Emma added: “We do sometimes come across people who have borrowed from illegal lenders. If a lender is not authorised, they don’t have to follow the rules that are there to protect borrowers, particularly if they get into difficulties making repayments.
“We can offer people help to get out of debt, but if they are in this situation they may need more specialist help from the Stop Loan Sharks team. They can help the individual and ultimately remove these illegal lenders from communities.”
A loan shark is someone who lends money and charges interest without having the correct authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. They may charge high interest rates and can use threats, intimidation and even violence if people struggle to pay.
Anyone who has been affected by illegal money lending can call the Stop Loan Sharks 24/7 confidential helpline on 0300 555 2222 or access support online at www.stoploansharks.co.uk. Live Chat is available on the website from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
To find out more about the free training offered by Stop Loan Sharks or becoming a partner, visit www.stoploansharks.co.uk/partner-recognition-programme/
To find out more about the help PayPlan can offer, visit www.payplan.com or call 0800 316 1833.
