PayPlan wins IMLT award

PayPlan has become the first national debt advice provider to be awarded Partner Plus accreditation from the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) as it became the 100th organisation to officially join the team in its fight against loan sharks.

The Partner Plus award is given to an organisation that supports the work of the IMLT, also known as Stop Loan Sharks, and goes above and beyond to raise awareness and help identify those who may have borrowed from an illegal lender.

Emma Gibbons, Vulnerability Lead at PayPlan, which offers fee debt advice, said “PayPlan have been working in partnership with the Illegal Money Lending Team and the Stop Loan Sharks campaign for over two years now and we are delighted to have enhanced our partnership with achieving the Partner Plus accreditation.

“This means that more clients will have an increased awareness of the help and support available when using a loan shark through our recent initiatives, and ultimately, more people will get the assistance they need to break this awful cycle of spiralling unlawful debt. We are especially delighted to be the 100th official partner. It’s a real milestone which means there is a network of organisations all working together across England to stop loan sharks.”

The IMLT is a national organisation, hosted by Birmingham City Council, that was set up in 2004 to investigate and prosecute loan sharks and support borrowers. Over the past two decades it has supported over 32,000 people and successfully prosecuted 427 loan sharks, seeing custodial sentences totalling more than 609 years handed out by the courts. Over £91.6 million of illegal debt has been written off.

Dave Benbow, Head of the IMLT, said “We know it can be a difficult step for people to report an illegal lender. It can take up months and even years for people to take that first step and contact us. However, they may well seek help for debt advice elsewhere in the meantime.

“That is where organisations like PayPlan come in. As an official partner, PayPlan staff have been trained in how to spot the signs that someone may have been targeted by an illegal lender and they can make sure these people get the help and support they need from us. We are hugely grateful for the work they do in being our eyes and ears on the frontline.

“To have reached 100 partners is a fantastic milestone for us. It’s wonderful that so many organisations out there are willing to go out of their way to help us in our work. We will continue to grow that network throughout 2025 and together we can help rid our communities of the scourge of illegal lenders.”