Tackling debt through gambling advice.

Hi,

The best advice I can give you is to be honest about your gambling addiction and ring a debt charity called step change, Google them, they will help you with your debts and hopefully get the interest stopped, arrange payment plans, ?

You need to stop all credit cards and any access to loans etc

 Hi

My advice would to be to transfer your credit card balance to another credit card where 0% on monthly payments for 24 months + 

That way you won't get the interest added each month.

                                  Jamie  .

Hello Philallen1984,

There are lots of free sources of impartial and professional debt advice:

StepChange 0800 138 1111

https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/gambling-debt.aspx

Money Helper 0800 138 7777

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/money-troubles/dealing-with-debt/tackling-problem-gambling-and-debt

PayPlan 0800 280 2816

https://www.payplan.com/gamcare/

Or you could try the National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 or Citizens Advice.

https://www.gamcare.org.uk/self-help/money-management/

If you'd like to talk with us about your recovery from problem gambling please call us on 0808 8020 133.

Take care,

Adam.

Hello, I have a similar situation to you so i think i can answer this one. 

first thing i did was open a new account with my bank, notified my employer so that the funds would go into the new account , as apposed to the one in debt. ( this bit would only apply to you if you ran your bank account in debt )  its also a good way to start again and help clear you head so that you can take control again. It helped alot.

2 ring your credit card company and loan company, notify them that you have a gambling addiction, and at present you need to lower the payments to something you can afford. because at the moment you are struggling. there understanding , and will work along side you to come up with a plan thats more affordable to you.

3 friends and family, talk to them, its scary very scary and may make you feel sick , but if you tell them they can help support you. Ask them for help and show them your making a plan to try and get back on your feet. 

4- any gambling sites, ring them , tell them your out of control with the gambling and they will put a freeze on your account. 

5 whoever has the internet in their name, get them to put child lock on, itll stop you from accessing the gambling sites. If its in your name and your the only one , ring up your internet provider and ask them if there is a way to use the childlock their end so you cant then access any gambling sites. 

6 - your here so that's really good start, also look for other ways to entertain yourself. leave your phone at home, go out for a walk your looking for anything you can do in place of gambling.

If at all you really are struggling after all that, these guys , ring them - your doctor also , ring them if its effecting your sleep, you have anxiety , headaches, loss of control of emotions etc you need to ring someone so they can help -therapy etc 1to1 support . 

lets get your life back ^^ 

@jamie198538 unfortunately my options don’t allow me to do that. Iv already looked into it. I guess it’s because the available credit to me that’s been used is fairly high 

@shaz66613 thanks so much. Really helpful. 

my credit card and loan are with my main bank so I need to speak to them. I don’t want to do anything that is going to damage my credit rating even more and I’m hoping I can get back on track quicker than I would where I’m reducing payments against original agreements. I’m just at a loss / crossroads I guess. 

i don’t want to take out a debt management plan or even an Iva as that will completely obliterate my financial future to the point of no return and Iv done extremely well to build that up over the last few years. I was so proud of myself when I was in that situation and Iv destroyed it in a few months ?

To be honest taking a debt management plan was the best thing I ever did. I thought to myself if I have that in place regardless of getting any defaults registered against me I knew that I would also be pretty safe as long as I paid into my plan. If I have more money some months I’ll pay in extra to clear them quicker. 

I firstly tried moving to 0% cards and moving money around to better interest rates but as my gambling was still Very much in full swing I just ended up maxing out again and got it got to the point where I couldn’t repay anything at all. I would have gotten defaults in the end anyway, but taking my DMP meant I got the defaults sooner than later and now I’m 4 years in I only have another 2 years before they are wiped from my credit file, and my score has already increased massively 

it isn’t for everyone and an IVA or bankruptcy was not a route I wanted to take, but the DMP with payplan has been amazing. They also know all about my addiction and are really lovely people to deal with 

That’s great I’m glad to hear you managed to find something that helped and worked. I will look into it more.

just one question how was your credit rating at the start and throughout the dmp? Also did you lose your main bank account etc? 

Hi, 

A DMP is a great option speaking from past experiences - Stepchange is who I went with. They are so friendly and helpful. Just explain your situation to them. 

Good luck with it all.

Hi, reading through this it seems you want a magic wand, but unfortunately there isn't one. As others have said, contact your credit cards and tell them, they will be sympathetic and give you some breathing space by stopping interest for a short period. You say you don't want a DMP but it may be your only route out of this and if your payments still cover your minimum payments I don't think they will default but you will have the benefit of no more interest being added to your debt.

I am on a DMP with Stepchange who are amazing and it certainly takes a weight of me knowing I am protected so long as I pay them all (I have 4 credit cards) each month. Unfortunately I couldn't cover the minimum payments so they have all defaulted but it's the price I have had to pay to dig myself out of the very deep hole I was in.

My credit score has got worse but in all honesty it was already shot due to the amount of credit I had but in the long run it will improve. I still have my main bank account and a credit card with them which I make sure is paid off in full each month.

Good luck

Just to add, have you stopped gambling and taken all the steps to block you trying. 

One thing I will say it be smart.

I was in approx 23k worth of debt over a loan,  overdraft and 2 credit cards. I was also looking for a magic wand. 

I ‘found one’ with a loan that would consolidate all of my debts into a single payment that was lower than all the combined and thought I’d hit the jackpot.  Unfortunately it didn’t work out like that as I wasn’t ready to stop.  Fast forward a few months and the balance of the cards was increasing again and i was struggling to make all payments.  Ended up £50k in debt. 

that was 3 years ago with a shot credit report and a huge debt.  Fast forward to now and I’m gamble free for a few years and debt free.  Do not make my mistake unless you are ready to stop.  Also it was still my little secret as I was bailed out.  It was hard but my wife finding out everything was the best thing that ever happened.  

there is no short term fix and if your credit score suffers so be it, it can recover.  I am proof of this as mine is now in the top 10%.  

Be realistic,  be honest and it will get better.  Don’t dig yourself into a deeper hole by thinking you can solve it alone 

Good luck 

Posted by: @fighter_1

One thing I will say it be smart.

 

I was in approx 23k worth of debt over a loan,  overdraft and 2 credit cards. I was also looking for a magic wand. 

I ‘found one’ with a loan that would consolidate all of my debts into a single payment that was lower than all the combined and thought I’d hit the jackpot.  Unfortunately it didn’t work out like that as I wasn’t ready to stop.  Fast forward a few months and the balance of the cards was increasing again and i was struggling to make all payments.  Ended up £50k in debt. 

that was 3 years ago with a shot credit report and a huge debt.  Fast forward to now and I’m gamble free for a few years and debt free.  Do not make my mistake unless you are ready to stop.  Also it was still my little secret as I was bailed out.  It was hard but my wife finding out everything was the best thing that ever happened.  

there is no short term fix and if your credit score suffers so be it, it can recover.  I am proof of this as mine is now in the top 10%.  

Be realistic,  be honest and it will get better.  Don’t dig yourself into a deeper hole by thinking you can solve it alone 

Good luck 

Great post. Solid advice.