Cape Town – A Fin24 user who in sheer desperation turned to a community loan shark, opens her heart to fellow over-indebted South Africans, warning them against following her example.
The user, whose identity has been obscured in the News24Live interview, said although she knew of the pitfalls from friends who turned to loan sharks, she needed the money to bury her father.
"I borrowed about R6 000. It was not enough for the burial, but I did not want to take more because I know these people. I saw friends of mine who borrowed R5 000 and ended up having to repay R22 000.
"They gave me the paper saying R13 580. I thought I owed them that R13 580. But it was not. I paid R2 000 every month for two years. So for R6 000 I paid back R48 000."
The user says she was scared "because you do not mess with those people".
WATCH:
- Fin24.
Help us help you by taking our second annual Debt survey and you could win R3 000, or add your voice by sharing your debt experiences, debt-busting tips and insights. Have a question? Ask our experts.