Diary of a broken gambler

Amiga

Sorry to hear you are in the same boat as I was. Glad I was a little help though, that was one of the reasons of the thread, as I was sure there were others like me.

Best of luck Mandrake, stopping betting is hard but you can do it. And facing up to your debt is just as tough. I am glad you took the advice and wish you all the very best. You will get a BRO ( well I am pretty sure) but it's a small price to pay to get your life back.


All the best to you and thanks again to everyone else.

mandrake75 wrote: »

Just thought i'd pop a quick reply on this thread as i've turned to it a lot over the past few months. It is also for the benefit of others to read who may be in such a situation so please excuse the length.

My situation was similar. 60k of debt with the majority of it due to gambling, the rest being made up of living costs after i had gambled my living money.
My addiction got worse and worse over the years (after just starting as a few quid in the fruit machine or on the football coupon ending up in my pay going ito cursed video roulette machines) as i used it to blank out the loneliness of my life and also to always get that extra bit of money, or get that big win to see me out for the rest of the month. It never came. If i got a medium sized win it would always go back the same way. Life was awful.
In 2008 after getting internet access i found out there's debt charities who can help - so i contacted CCCS who were hepful and put my head right for a while.
They put me on a debt management plan, and despite me working two jobs and paying the maximum i could stand, two of my three creditors would not stop interest.

I kept this up until the start of this year when i couldn't take any more - i told a friend (the only person i'd told as i'd kept it from my parents for years) and this friend let me lodge in his spare room, while i went to Gamblers Annon about the addiction, and to CAB about the debt. From that day in March i have not gambled once, I cancelled my huge CCCS payment and as of 11.15am this morning I have cleared my debts via bankruptcy.

I am not happy at clearing it in this way personally, but it was for me the only way. I do feel guilt and always will. But the whole situation was killing me of that i'm certain. When my housemate returned from a year of travelling he just couldn't understand what had happened to the old me.

So thank you, Amiga, for this thread and for all you other contributors, you have made SO much difference. I am expecting a BRO/BRU but i will accept it glady and who knows in a week or two i will start to smile again.

Amiga

As of midnight I was a discharged bankrupt! Just wanted to say thanks to everyone. I couldn't possibly list names as I would miss someone one and I don't want to do that.

Hopefully this thread has helped others half as much as it helped me get through the year.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

philnicandamy

superb news amiga!!!!

you were a true inspiration to recent and future visitors.....its been a true true pleasure to get to know you

confused76

Amiga wrote: »

As of midnight I was a discharged bankrupt! Just wanted to say thanks to everyone. I couldn't possibly list names as I would miss someone one and I don't want to do that.

Hopefully this thread has helped others half as much as it helped me get through the year.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Amiga that's brilliant news....:j

your thread is so very open and honest and i'm sure it helps newbies who are frightened and confused

you're a lovely man, i hope you stick around xxx

IF

Hello Amiga, I'm so pleased for you. I know how helpful and important your thread is, thank you lol x
I hope you stay with us too.

Love
If...x

Amiga

Thank you!

I wanted this thread to be for the people who got themselves in this mess. I read so much about people who due to just pure bad luck, went BR, and they got some great advice, that I wanted to start something for the people like me. Folk who gambled away large sums of money

I will stick around and if anyone needs a link to a great website who helped me kick gambling please feel free to pm me here.

It's been a hellish year, but it was the only way forward for me. I have learnt so much about myself the past 12 months, and do feel like a better person for coming out the other side.

Amiga

However, I do have a question. Do I not get a letter from the OR saying I am discharged or anything? How do I tell people when I go to clean up my credit file in the future?

IF

you don’t usually get confirmation of discharge with AD, if you can print off several copies from the insolvency service site, this will help with credit file clean up later.

Click on blue link below:-

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/eiir/

Most creditors will accept this. Bear in mind your name will stay online for 3 months after your AD date and then disappear. You can contact your OR and ask for confirmation in writing they will do this for free. Or you can pay £60 for the official certificate from the court ( in some cases depending if you are on benefits you can have this for free as well).

If...x

Amiga

You are a star IF :j

That answered my question perfectly. Thank you.

Miche*

Amiga have you had AD? I'm sure you went BR on the same day as me? last week?