Search the internet for “loans for young people” and you may come across a site called, plainly enough, loans for young people.
Its tempting offers should ring warning bells. It says it provides secured and unsecured loans to 18-30 year olds with a job. Bad credit history is no barrier. There is a promise of no “time-consuming formalities or credit checks”. Acceptance is 100%, apparently. The site is written in non-idiomatic English. This, for instance, is not very reassuring:
Many people think that there is no expense of the young people and it is only the family man and others who need to spend money in several situations. It is actually totally wrong and just like a married man or a father to children; the young people too have their particular expenses though the reasons may be different.
There is none of the small print that legitimate credit companies are obliged to include on their websites. No company name or registration number, no consumer credit license number, no statement about typical APRs or the perils of not keeping up with repayments. There is just a meaningless and contradictory statement about not being a direct lender or a broker.
So who are they, and why are they allowed to tout for young, probably desperate, customers online? The domain name was registered by a non-UK individual called Rajat Kumar at an address in New Delhi, India.
A similar site offers loans for 18 year olds. Almost identical in approach and content, this domain was registered by Pawan Kumar, also with an address in New Delhi.
Can this be stopped? Do the UK licensing authorities have any powers to close down such sites? There are well-advertised ways to report illegal lenders or loan sharks. But who should this be reported to?
I will try to find out. Meanwhile, it is a good reminder to spread the word among young people that borrowing money from anyone but a registered, licensed lender is almost certain to lead to serious trouble.
