Loan shark charged 2500% interest on £500 loan
Robert Reynolds, a loan shark from the North East of England, today escaped jail despite being found guilty of charging interest rates of up to 2500% on a customer who lent just £500. The husband and wife in question borrowed just £500 from Reynolds and were forced to pay back nearly £90,000 over a seven-year period.
Due to missed payments the interest rate charged on the loan peaked at 2500% and payments of nearly £2000 a month were being collected by Robert Reynolds. The lady in question ended up suffering two strokes and a brain haemorrhage as she fought to bring up her four children and pay off the staggering debt accumulated through the loan shark.
The court heard that Mr and Mrs Wilson were not able to pay their bills, nearly lost their home, nearly divorced and ultimately survived for years on food leftovers. When Mr Wilson received a £4000 compensation payout for a motorbike accident the ruthless loan shark immediately took £3000 from that payment to cover the ongoing debt.
Despite the UK authorities "clamping down" on loan sharks, Robert Reynolds received a 51 week jail sentence which was suspended for two years after the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the potential charge of blackmail in favour of a lesser charge of harassment.
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