Stop “legal” loan sharks – vote tomorrow

Right now, loan shark companies are legally allowed to charge interest rates of 2,500% or higher. With nowhere else to turn, the poorest in society are forced to pay the most. People’s lives are ruined and families are torn apart, trapped in a spiral of unpayable debt. Tomorrow we’ve got a chance to make the government tackle these dodgy short-term credit companies.

MPs vote tomorrow evening on a plan to clamp down on the loan sharks, by capping the amount they can charge. We have 36 hours to persuade them to vote the right way. It’s really easy to email your MP using the website. Please get in touch with your MP now and tell them to back a clampdown on legal loan sharks.

If you don’t have access to an overdraft or savings, then a short-term ‘payday’ loan might be your only option to cover unexpected costs. But once you’ve taken the loan, it becomes harder and harder to pay the interest. Money is getting tighter for many families. That means unless the government acts, more and more vulnerable people will be forced to use dodgy credit companies.

The government has already admitted that these “legal” loan sharks are a problem. But so far they’ve failed to stop loan sharks charging outrageous interest rates to those who desperately need money to buy food and support their families. If we persuade enough MPs to vote tomorrow, the government would have to move beyond words and take real steps to protect the victims of “legal” loan sharking.

We know that when 38 Degrees members work together, we can persuade MPs to do the right thing. Just last week, thousands of 38 Degrees members persuaded MPs to back a ban on circus animal cruelty. We emailed our MPs, and it worked! So let’s seize our chance today and push MPs to get tough on loan sharks.

It’s easy to e-mail your MP using the 38 Degrees website, and it will only take 2 minutes. Get started here.