When Brian Flynn took out a £1,500 loan to buy his friend’s car four years ago, he had no idea it would one day cost him his family home. The loan, which ballooned to £65,000 as a result of interest charges and insolvency fees, left him in council accommodation and with no house to one day pass on to his children. Mr Flynn, a building maintenance surveyor for a housing association in Manchester, took out a £1,500 loan in July 2020 with a lender called Everyday Loans. But after paying the first instalment, Mr Flynn lost his job and had to sign up for Universal Credit. He says he rang up the loan provider to ask for an alternative payment plan, as he could no longer afford the instalments – but claims they declined to help. He had two lodgers in his home generating £800 in monthly income, but the majority of this was going towards his mortgage. Mr Flynn, who turns 62 next month, said: “I tried to live off my lodgers and Universal Credit during the pandemic. Then I’d planned to take an early retirement. I gave up on the loan because they were asking for so much...