Give loan sharks your logbook, but beware…
Armed with a car logbook it’s now pretty easy to get a loan from dozens of willing lenders.
But what happens when you decide to play cat-and-mouse with the lenders past the due date?
Then you find out that the security guard on the street is not just the docile, scanner-wielding presence you have always imagined him to be.
This is because he will most probably be the one who will report you to the lending company in exchange for a fat cheque.
Every few weeks, a seemingly harmless small advertisement will feature in the local dailies offering a reward for anyone who has spotted certain vehicles with their registration and description given.
Then, it’s payday for those with a keen eye.
Albert Mwangi an officer with Spanken Limited, said the recovery arm for Meridian Acceptances that offers such loans, said once they post the ads, they recover up to 70 per cent of the vehicles in the list.
“You will usually see them scanning the papers and assume it’s for lack of something else to do, but they are looking to cash in on what most will overlook,” adds Mr Mwangi referring to the guards.
He says that use of the advertisements is more effective compared to other means such as hiring private detectives.
“The advertisement will be seen by people who know you, your family members, your friends and enemies, your co-workers, those who work in parking lots and garages — it’s very difficult to hide from it,” he says.