Dodgy debt-management firms and loan finders who prey on Britain's poorest families are the focus of the latest consumer super-complaint, lodged this week with the Office of Fair Trading by Citizens Advice. The charity says tens of thousands of borrowers who struggle to get credit at traditional lenders are being conned out of money by unscrupulous loan-finder and debt-management firms. Worse, the number will increase as the recession hits harder.

The scammers text out of the blue offering to help find a loan or offering debt help. Customers are then charged a hefty fee for loan or debt advice, which often fails to materialise, and cannot get their money back. In many cases victims are persuaded to part with bank account details only to find cash is withdrawn from their account without their consent.

And their troubles don't stop there. In many cases their details are circulated among other scam companies, which bombard them with more texts and cold calls offering loans, debt-management or claims- management services. In many cases reported by Citizens Advice Bureaux, people were subjected to additional rounds of upfront fee charging, but still received little or no......Read more HERE from the Independent