Fears loan sharks could spread misery in Hartlepool as pandemic bites

There are fears loan sharks will take advantage of those left struggling by the pandemic

Hartlepool Borough Council bosses are aiming to crackdown on scams and rogue traders in Hartlepool after 126 complaints in 2019/20, with the majority impacting vulnerable and elderly residents.

Tackling rogue traders and scams and cons are ‘high priority’ issues, in terms of resources, over the coming year as part of their trading standards service plan.

Councillors on the neighbourhood services committee warned loan sharks are another major issue which impacts residents in the town.

Cllr Sue Little said: “People are going to be going more to loan sharks.

“When the furlough scheme and everything is finishing, people are losing their jobs, and Christmas is coming.”

Cllr Helen Howson noted loan sharks can take many different forms, and she would like to see a future report on the number of prosecutions for loan sharks.

Cllr Marjorie James added: “It is something that’s very prevalent in Hartlepool because we are such a deprived community as a whole.”

Council officers noted while loan sharks are listed as a ‘low priority’ in terms of resources being used in their trading standards plan, this is because the majority of the work in tackling the issue comes from the national Illegal Money Lending Team.

However they stressed they will get involved in specific cases, and continue to do so, when asked by the national team.

Cllr James also raised concerns about telephone scams, noting they can be convincing and from familiar organisations, such as banks, and she herself has had calls from 5.30am to 11.45pm.

She said: “I’ve had as many as 12 between 8am and 12 noon because they just target, once they’ve got a phone number they just keep going, it’s just absolutely ridiculous.

“What people also don’t seem to realise is they sound very plausible, and normally it is a company that maybe you do have contact with, or a bank that you have a contact with.

“I absolutely guarantee that there are huge numbers in Hartlepool of our elderly and vulnerable that fall for these scams periodically and it just doesn’t seem to stop.”

Cllr John Tennant, chair of the committee, echoed the concerns, noting people are arguably more susceptible now then they have been in the past.

Council officers noted call blockers can be supplied to elderly and vulnerable residents who are frequently subject to phone scams.

They added there is also a national hub where all scams are reported to, and the council will issue warnings when they know of certain scams which are circulating.

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