A recent report on guardian.co.uk has revealed that the number of people in the UK seeking debt help from illegal loan sharks has risen by 22% - to over 200,000 people. The research was conducted by the Financial Inclusion Centre.
Over half of the illegal loans by loan sharks are taken out over the Christmas period. The research found that more than 100,000 of the poorest families in the UK will struggle to pay back a combined debt of £82m to illegal loan sharks.
The total amount borrowed by people with debt problems from loan sharks is £29m, but the high interest rates - an average of 825% - mean that they will end up paying nearly 3 times that.
It is often people at the end of their tether, with poor credit ratings that use illegal loan sharks. They often already have a large amount of unsecured debt and are trying to make repayments towards it. If you have found yourself in this situation, then call MRA Debt Help, where one of our debt counsellors can find a cheaper, easier (and legal!) way of managing your debts.
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