6. Do you owe money to a loan shark? A loan shark is someone who lends money, but doesn’t have a legal licence to do so. They often use threats to make people pay and usually there isn’t a written agreement. If you are worried about an illegal money lender, there are specialist teams that can help. Contact the Illegal Money Lending Team on 0300 555 2222 if you live in England, or the Wales Illegal Money Lending Unit on 0300 123 3311 if you live in Wales.  If you answered ‘no’ to questions 1 to 6, this guide is for you. Why use this guide? National Debtline is a free debt-advice charity with many years of experience in helping people to deal with their debts and take control of their finances. • In 2018, more than 100,000 people used our guide; and • 88% of people who followed our advice said they felt less likely to find themselves in a similar situation again. As well as this guide, we also produce detailed fact sheets on many areas of debt advice. We have not included our fact sheets with this guide, but we will tell you when one is available to read. To get a copy, go to www.nationaldebtline.org. Click on Fact sheets and choose the title you want. We will also tell you when there is a sample letter to use. To get a copy, go to www.nationaldebtline.org. Click on Sample letters and choose the letter you want. To help you contact your creditors, we have also included copies of the most commonly used sample letters in this guide. Carlton, 26, from Burnley said: “I have anxiety and was worried about speaking to people I owed money to, so I used your letters. They really helped to make my creditors know what was happening. It was a relief to deal with my situation.” Everyone’s circumstances are different and there may be times when you need some extra help. In this guide, we will recommend you contact us for advice if we think this could be the case. Page 3