LEADERS of Winchester City Council are backing a Zero Tolerance Charter in an attempt to crack down on the unlawful money lenders who use violence to get their money back.

On Monday, the city council signed up with the aim to stop loan sharks from operating in the district.

MP Steve Brine said that the authority deserved praise for stepping up on the issue, with the council admitting that it wasn’t aware of the full scale of the problem, writes Aaron Shaw.

An in-house training event was also organised to raise awareness of illegal money-lending, in a bid to help officers recognise the signs and know where to go for help.

Christians Against Poverty, which runs a Winchester Debt Centre, warned that loan sharks “move the goal posts at will”, and demand unending amounts of interest.

Mr Brine, said loan sharks prey on the poorest in society.

He said: “The city council deserve praise for stepping up on this issue.

“While I doubt few are mourning the demise of Wonga, the danger is unscrupulous loan sharks move into that space and it’s the poorest in society who they prey upon.

“Anything we can do to help people with financial advice and especially warnings about illegal money lending activity, is helpful.”

The charter signing is to be attended by a number of councillors and representatives of community organisations, who will be invited to find out about the issue of illegal money lending, and what is being done to tackle it, the city council say.

Two credit unions, which are organisations that lend money to people with low interest rates, operate in the city. They are Solent Credit Union and Wessex Community bank.

A spokesperson for Christians Against Poverty, whose Winchester debt centre offers free financial help and advice to those in need, said that the guarantee offered is “your personal safety”.

They said: “Unregulated lenders – or loan sharks – can move the goal posts at will, demanding unending amounts of interest and when you should pay, and there’s no comeback.

“This means you can feel trapped into an ongoing debt situation very fast with no redress.

“There is also the threat of violence too. It won’t be sold to you like this but your guarantee in this informal arrangement is your personal safety and that’s too high a price to pay for any loan.”

Winchester City Council said that a project group had been set up to work alongside the Illegal Money Lending Team in cracking down on loan sharks in the city.