Loan sharks

A loan shark is an unlicensed moneylender who often targets families on low incomes or those who find themselves in difficult times.

Licensed moneylenders are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and must follow the FCA's codes of practice.

Loan sharks are not licensed and operate outside the law. If you borrow from them, it's likely you'll:

get a loan on very bad terms pay a huge rate of interest be harassed if you get behind with your repayments be pressured into borrowing more from them to repay one debt with another