According to recent reports teenagers in the Gloucestershire area many be going online to gain access to illegal loans. Police authorities in the area have said that they have been approached by four families so far whose teenage children had one online and taken out loans illegally through unregulated lenders.
One police official from the area, Sgt John Skilling, said that fourteen and fifteen year olds in the area had been visiting sites that were not even regulated and putting in details that then enabled them to take out loans for several hundred pounds.
It appears that the parents of the teens that have been taking out these loans have not even been aware of what was happening until they started receiving letters from the unregulated lenders demanding the money back. Sgt Skilling said that the sites could be very tempting for young adults hence their growing popularity amongst the teens.
Skilling added that these children could see how easy it was to get their hands on some cash, and because the companies that they were using were not regulated they were exploiting these youngsters. He said that awareness needed to be raised amongst parents with regards to the temptation of these sites and the ease with which teens were getting cash.
Skilling said: “Children see how easy it is to get money. If they went to a regulated, reputable company they would be asked for references and bank details, but there are sites out there which enable you to get unsecured loans. It’s exploitation of young people.”
Tags: illegal, online, credit, loansHe added: “It could be as simple as ‘do you want to play this game online? Text 1234 to 1234’. Then, in small print, ‘Texts will cost £5’. Parents need to be aware of how tempting these can be to young people and how easy it is for them to get hold of money. Once it’s in place, someone has to pay the loan.”