Damien was finding it very difficult to cope with his debts. Every time he got a letter reminding him of his overdue payments, he threw it away. Finally, in his local pub one evening, he met someone who worked for a loan company, and was persuaded to take out a huge loan to pay off all his creditors at once.
The interest rate was 25 per cent, to be paid off, with the loan, after three months. He thought he’d be able to win some money to repay the debt, but it never happened. Then he started to get threats against himself and his family.
Offering loans is not illegal, but making threats of violence is. Damien went to the West Midlands Police, who have a special division to investigate problems of this kind. They cautioned the loan sharks against using threats of violence, and helped to arrange a repayment plan over a longer period of time.