A WOMAN who has been scammed out of £1,500 while trying to borrow £1,000 has warned others to be wary of who they borrow money from.

Jane Hallet, 61, of Gulworthy, badly needed a loan to mend her car so she could get to medical appointments, do food shopping and to see her aged aunt.

She asked a Milton Keynes finance company for a loan and was persuaded several times to pay increasing numbers of deposits to secure the loan. Despite her protesting that she could not afford the deposits, the salesman insisted she pay the money. In the end, Jane stopped paying the company after realising she had made matters worse by increasing her debt and had no access to any of the promised funds.

In desperation she has agreed with suppliers and other services providers to give her more time to find money to settle their bills. Among them are her car mechanic, vets and animal feed suppliers who have been understanding of her situation.

Jane said: “I accept I’ll not get my money back. I have made a mistake and perhaps been too trusting or naive, but these firms are there for when you need them and I am badly in need of some finance. But they’ve misled me. They played on my desperation. My car failed its MOT and needed repairing. I depend on my car a lot for medical appointments because I have a few conditions, and to see my elderly aunt who is 81, and basic things like getting shopping. I’ve tried walking along the main road to get the bus but it’s so dangerous, while taxis cost the earth. I do get things delivered where its economical.”

She has a smallholding with rescued sheep and horses, which require feed and vets: “People have been very understanding, like my vets and my garage and landlord who’ve agreed for me to pay when I can. I’ve used up the money to pay off my borrowing from family. But it doesn’t leave me much.

“I just want to warn other people of the dangers of trusting some of these firms.”

She has received some compensation from her bank folowing her losses and hardship payments from local authorities due to help with the car and living expenses.

She is trying for a loan from another source to get her car back on the road: “It’s not just the lack of money, but the stress of dealing with a company and also the fact of owing people money. It’s making me more ill.”