he number of payday lenders subjected to property searches by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) soared in the first five months of 2012, according to a law firm.Pinsent Masons has revealed that the OFT visited the premises of 68 payday lender firms from January to May this year, up from just one during the whole of 2011 as part of a crackdown on the controversial alternative lending sector. Ian Roberts, a partner at Pinsent Masons, said that the regulator was taking a “proactive approach” towards businesses that offer payday loans, with property searches one of the most intrusive forms of action it can take.....Read more here: OFT cracks down on payday lenders with property searches