Hi
This is my anonymous introduction to the site. I am a problem gambler/gambling addict and have been for around 15 years.
A couple of days ago I finally came to the decision that I needed to sort things out and started to contact my creditors one by one to explain my issues. That was hard to do, especially because they don't make it particularly easy to talk about over the phone.
Tonight I managed to tell my best mate about my issues. This was really hard but a tremendous relief once I'd been brave enough to do it. This is the first real prerson that I have ever told about this. Before tonight it was just betting companies and banks that knew.
Hopefully things go upwards from now on in and my debts go down.
Best of luck to those in a similar situation and I hope that this site can be a big help to me,
FR
Hi fr,
Well done for being so brave in telling someone I haven’t been able to do that just yet. Did you bet online GAMSTOP has been a lifesaver for me.
Good luck on your journey hopefully we can support each other
Cj
Hi Fraggle Rock , it’s a long road but you have made the right decision , the moment I told my friends and family I felt a great relief and can relate to this ! I had a lot of issues with loans ,have you phoned anyone for advice -Stepchange are really good and Took care of everything for me.Gamstop is another big one for me , if you register with this it will prevent access to the majority of online gambling sites And has been a massive help to me, there are loads of comments with advice and contacts , Good luck with everything
I've just been on Gamstop but couldn't answer all of their questions so I will need to wait till daytime. It was the autmated system and I've been logging into so many betting sites, online banking and credit cards sites that I couldnt workout the answers to their authentication questions anbout when I took out mortgages etc.
My issues are all online. I've never bet in a bookies but have bet really heavily on all sports for years.
I've tried to tell people a couple of times over the years but backed out.
My 1st genuine reason was that I didn't want to pass on the worry and you know that they will intsantly start to worry that you are a risk to yourself. I am not and I made that clear at the start before the big revelation.
Second biggest issue was the embarrasment factor.
When I thought it though logically, I knew that they would prefer to know.
I chose to do it via Whatsapp cos I knew I would struggle to talk and would probably be in tears despite being a big hardy looking guy (soft lad inside).
Needless to say, it was very hard to hit send, but was massive relief after telling my bad news.
It feels like it'll be easier to tell other people close to me now.
FR
I've got an appointment with payplan next week to work on the debt aspect.
FR
You’ve done brilliant mate what a great start!Just make sure Payplan don’t take a percentage of the payments , I know step change is a charity and all your payments go to the debt ,my most recent problem was with Sports betting and If you can follow up on the Gamstop thing it was the best hing I’ve ever done , sometimes it’s not as easy as talking to someone and I’m sure your friend will understand why you done it over text , I probably couldn’t even have done that but I got found out by my wife again and it was a bit easier to speak out then as I couldn’t hide it anymore! If you phone Gamcare they can maybe advise you a bit more and help with counselling ,GA etc
if you check out some of the sticky’s they have been a good help for me
DAL83 wrote:
You’ve done brilliant mate what a great start!Just make sure Payplan don’t take a percentage of the payments , I know step change is a charity and all your payments go to the debt ,my most recent problem was with Sports betting and If you can follow up on the Gamstop thing it was the best hing I’ve ever done , sometimes it’s not as easy as talking to someone and I’m sure your friend will understand why you done it over text , I probably couldn’t even have done that but I got found out by my wife again and it was a bit easier to speak out then as I couldn’t hide it anymore! If you phone Gamcare they can maybe advise you a bit more and help with counselling ,GA etc
What an amazing step to actually hit that send button.
That’s good that you are addressing the debt and putting plans in place. Made me feel like I was actually getting somewhere and looking to the future.
Try and do gamstop as soon as you can. The exclusion makes such a difference to me, I would have caved without it.
They don't make it easy to register. That's two nights in a row I've tried and failed. I then phone dthinking that I could regster over the phone and that wasn't an option either.
The very nature of being a comulsive gambler means that we are likely to have many different financial accounts and can't recall excatly when they were opened.
Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.
FG
Hi Fraggle Rock,
You can register manually - they send you a form to complete and ask for proof of address etc - I had to do that.
Use the web chat and they will send you the docs to complete.
Good luck
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