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FacebookUnlicensed money lender caught
Archived news: published on Wednesday 04 Jul 2012 by Fife Council
A Fife car dealer pled guilty to illegally lending money to clients.
Walter Lindsay Hardie, trading as KK Factors, of Backmarch Road, Rosyth and 22 Duncan Crescent, Dunfermline, was fined £1000 at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on Friday 29th June for running an illegal credit business.
In a joint investigation, trading standards officers from Fife Council, Fife Police and the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit raided Hardie’s premises following complaints from his customers. Officers found evidence of money lending by Hardie without being licensed to do so. Customers did not have clear basic information about how much they owed and how much interest they were being charged.
The credit agreements which were arranged whilst the business was unlicensed cannot be enforced by the lender.
Geoff Bates, Service Manager, Enterprise Planning and Protective Services commented, “The credit industry is tightly regulated and the law requires businesses who lend money to be licensed by the Office of Fair Trading. Lenders must make their terms and documentation clear for customers to understand their rights and responsibilities. In this case that information was not available.”
For further information on your consumer rights visit www.fifedirect.org.uk/tradingstandards or contact Protective Services via their partners Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06.
For more information contact
Citizens Advice consumer helplineTel: 08454 04 05 06
