Calling Jane News Today

Between people to find out - where they can go to get the money. theyre able to access, you know, a couple of hundred quid and - theyre able to access quickly, theres no forms to fill in, - theres no complicated - questions about, you know, existing debt you have, or your credit history. l you ask for the money, - and if you need it that night youll get it that night. it is — its that easy. jane says she reached the point where she felt there was no way out. there i was for weeks, months, repe...

A week to ten days. and we will help them with food, with gas and electricity and well do all we can to provide places where you can come and be warm and spend time with us. but thats utter pressure. thats a mental pressure to live with day in, day out. within three weeks, jane says she was forced to hand over her benefits to the paramilitaries. they were there outside the post office waiting for me until i collected the money they then took the book and kept the book for the following week. the...

To paramilitary loan sharks. weve spoken to one woman still living in a loyalist estate, who we are calling jane. she was a victim of paramilitary money lenders. she agreed to speak to us anonymously. she is fearful for her safety. her words are spoken by an actor. i had no, um, close relatives, no support. a couple of close friends. uh, i was struggling. i didnt think there was any... as long as i paid the money back every week, there would be no hassle. a single mum on benefits, jane found eve...

Been to my prosecution, one of them a suspended sentence, do you see that as a success? i, um, understand the, the figures, um, are not reflective of the problem. the prosecution figures are not reflective of the problem, um, that we face here in northern ireland. it is a difficult crime to investigate. i believe that it is significantly underreported. we are trying to progress investigations. we have four other prosecutions that have been reported to the pps. in fact, recently weve undertaken a...

After months of living in fear, jane was finally able to escape her debt by selling family possessions. theres people being exploited. gonna cost more than money to fix this. its costing people their lives, their homelife, their livelihood, everything. its huge. hardship gives loan sharks an opening. fear is what lets them thrive. the cost of living crisis is already increasing desperation in many communities. hello there, today is the transition

A friend said she knew people in the community who could help with a loan. how much money are we talking about? £50. i borrowed £50. and i was supposed to pay it back £10 a week. and on one of the weeks, i didnt pay it back in time, theyjust add another £10 onto it. so the billjust kept getting bigger and bigger. at first, jane says, she had no idea the money came from loyalist pa ramilitaries. clergyman, brian anderson, runs services to help people like jane, in loyalist communities — inc...

I had no um close relatives, no support. a couple of close friends. uh, i was struggling. i didnt think there was any, as long as i paid the money back every week, there would be no hassle. a single mum on benefits, jane found even basic necessities hard to afford. a friend said she knew people in the community who could help with a loan. how much money are we talking about? fifty pound. i borrowed fifty pound. and i was supposed to pay it back ten pound a week. and on one of the weeks, i didnt ...

Didnt want to help. yeah. but the clear message from this case study is that people in that community didnt think that was an option. no, and thats part of the difficulty because you had someone there who was willing to go down that route, but then was directed towards an alternative route of resolution, which in the long run doesnt solve the problem. and i suppose im not sitting in judgment on the individual... after months of living in fear, jane was finally able to escape her debt by selling ...

In northern irelands most impoverished housing estates, loan sharks — or unlicenced money lenders — are viewed by some as providing a service — instant cash without the paperwork. ah, dont you worry, all right. i will sort you out. i will get it to you next week — promise. as the cost of living crisis deepens, community workers warn more families are now turning to paramilitary loan sharks. weve spoken to one woman still living in a loyalist estate, who we are calling jane. she was a vic...

We are trying to progress investigations. we have four other prosecutions that have been reported to the pps. um, and, um, infact, recently weve undertaken a proactive operation in, um, the mid and east antrim area, uh, including newtownabbey as well. according to jane, vulnerable women in her community are getting sucked into criminality in the run up to christmas because they are being forced to pay off loans using their own prescription drugs as well as cash. theyre paying with their medicati...