Best debt help?

I had 10 payday loans at my worst point, call them and explain that you have a gambling problem and cant afford to pay on the due date. For me 8/10 companies agreed to freeze any interest and break the payment up into 3 over the course of 3 months.

Also by doing in, as a responsible lender they will be unable to lend to you again, which is good 🙂

In terms of the credit cards, you will have to agree a sum you can afford to pay each month with them, however this will only become clear once you have phoned your payday loans and made arrangements with them. Write down all of your incomings and outgoings on payday and youll see how much you can afford to pay off on your credit cards,

All the best,

Scambling

Hi Lucky0,

Debt is a massive problem for me on my journey to stay gamble free. It can be tempting to 'win' our way out of it - big mistake - everytime I tried it ended up making a bad situation worse. The worst thing to do is bury your head in the sand with debt. It never goes away and the charges can be insane. So respect to you for facing up to it all and coming here to get advice.

Scambling is spot on with his advice. But I would add from my own personal experience, Never, I repeat NEVER speak to PayDay Lenders on the phone. Keep EVERYTHING in writing.

They lie. They will say anything on the phone to get their pound of flesh, so unless you record the call you have no evidence.

With everything in writing you have a paper trail and evidence of what's been agreed. You will have a CPA on your bank account for PayDay Loans (Continuous Payment Authority). This means they can swoop in and clean out your account anytime they want. So first off, contact them in writing, explain your financial difficulties, and ask to be put on a repayment plan whilst they freeze all interest and extra charges.

Next, phone up your bank and tell them to cancel all CPA's. They will tell you they can't. THEY ARE WRONG. You are legally allowed to, and they must do as you ask.

The PayDay lenders will then send you an I&E form. (Income & Expenditure), which you will need to complete honestly and send back to them.

Remember - CC debt and PDLoans are classed legally as non-priority debts. Always make sure you have paid your rent, Council Tax, Utility bills (Priority debts) and leave yourself enough for living costs (food, clothes, travel costs) etc, before you start tackling other debts.

PayDay Lenders are true s**m and rely on you not knowing your rights to bully you. They will make loads of threats, but ultimately, can't do much. You are within your rights to offer them £1 a month if they get uppity. All their 'charges' after you have said you are in financial difficulty and want a repayment plan are legally unenforceable which is why they never take people to court in this situation, but rely on you getting scared enough just to pay them first.

Finally, and most importantly, NEVER PAY ANYONE to reduce or manage your debts. They add to the problem. You can sort it all yourself with FREE advice from CAB (Citizen's Advice Bureau) or Step Change, or National Debtline. (Google them).

£3,500 is a 'relatively' small amount of debt, and if you can afford to pay £150 a month, you will soon be debt-free. Don't spoil it by gambling anymore, however tempted you feel.

Best wishes,

Molehole

(PS - I'm not a professional debt advisor, so get professional advice. What I've written is from personal experience and what worked for me. OK?)