No place for Loan Sharks - Support Credit Unions

As a  Labour and Co-operative Party councillor I think that there should be no tolerance of loan sharks, both legal and illegal, and Dundee City Council and others should be promoting credit unions.  I think that everyone should take a close look at the report issued by the Office of Fair Trading on Payday Lending.

I have been saying for some time that there is no place for loan sharks in Dundee.  I have called on the council to take action against illegal loan sharks.  These difficult financial times are pushing people into the hands of loan sharks both legal and illegal.  I am pleased that the police and organisations like Stop Loan Sharks.  At a recent briefing from Stop Loan Sharks I heard about legal loan sharks charging an APR of 719,000%.  I am also concerned about the expansion of what I call legal loan sharks, who charge APR such as 4000%.  It is important that we offer alternatives and I believe that credit unions are that alternative.

In November I got the council to agree to bring forward an action plan to promote credit unions.  I am writing to the City Council's Chief Executive to ask about when we can expect to see that action plan.  On Wednesday the Office of Fair Trading issued a report about Payday Lending and highlighted the many many problems associated with this phenomenon.  I am very concerned that this industry preys on the misery of others.  Credit Unions on the other hand are owned by their members and offer an ethical means of accessing credit.

There should be no place for loan sharks in our society and I think that there is a need for more support of alternatives such as credit unions.

My Labour and Co-operative Party colleagues Stella Creasy MP and Kezia Dugdale MSP are doing a great job with their Sharkstoppers and Debtbusters campaigns, please take the time to have a look at these campaigns.