There's nothing like an economic slump to tempt the loan sharks into shallower waters. The worse the economy becomes, the richer the pickings for the lenders.
It is often the vulnerable and the desperate who end up with short-term loans with interest rates running into the thousands of per cent.
Some borrowers are driven by competitive consumerism, but others need to pay off debts accrued when times were better, when work was more available or before a relationship break-up (single mothers are a mainstay of this form of exploitation).
Many of this target group do not have bank accounts. That there are 1.5m adults without them in the UK suggests endless possibilities for rip-off lenders.
Yet it is a myth that only illegal loan sharks demand the sort of interest rates that resemble an international telephone number.
There are plenty of lenders that operate within the law. One, Wonga, faced controversy at the start of the year when London mayor Boris Johnson appointed it as sponsor of free travel in the capital on new year's eve. Wonga's interest rates can be as high as 2,700% - and it is among the good guys. Yes, really.
However, their days of plenty could be numbered.
This week the House of Commons votes on whether to support the introduction of capping on the charges that legal loan sharks demand for their credit.
The move has all-party support, including Dudley South Conservative MP Chris Kelly, who said: "It isn't a party political issue - it's about doing what is right."
Let us hope the government does what is right and there will be at least some ministers at the vote in the Commons tomorrow, if only to emphasise how seriously the coalition takes the issue.
Picture: Rex Features
