How on earth..............

radley1974

Hello All
Firstly let me intruduce myself........I am Carol, 35 have one child, live in my "partners" house and am unemployed.
I got into debt around 4 years ago, when companies were sending me credit cards willy nilly........and yes I was unemployed.
I was given a laptop as a mothers day present when my son was one, this has turned out to be the curse of my life...........infact I am under so much pressure with guilt, I cannot even look at pictures of my son when he was a baby - as this reminds me of life before "my debts".
Anyway......I was new to the internet, (4 years ago), and I was looking into getting the freebies that were being offered to me by registering with these different sites, a few quid or sweeties were the rewards. The best rewards were given when joining casinos etc. So, I joined a casino................duh duh duh, bet you can guess whats coming next..............I made a small deposit, felt sick but thought of the reward I would receive, so found a slot game, within 5 presses, I had won over a thousand pounds..............I couldn't believe it. To cut a very long story short, I gambled more, lost more, got more cards and totally maxed them all.
I have continued to gamble up to yesterday, I lost my last penny, this is the "rock bottom" point I was waiting for, I have a dmp with cccs but have not paid it for 3 months as I gamble my housekeeping money. My only option I think is to go br, but am unsure how it will have a knock on effect to my partner. I have even concidered protitution to get me out of this mess. I owe money to my friends and family, my partner has given me money to pay off my debts but I have gambled it away. I am tempted to just leave and go it alone, but my child needs a mum......can anyone offer some advise, regards Carol

kerrypn

Carol

Come and post on the bankruptcy board, there are lots of people who can help with this, please dont resort to drastic measures.

You also need to take professional advice from either CAB, debtline or CCCS on whether bankruptcy is best for you but here is a good starting point.

Kerry

katsu

I'm sure some of the knowledgeable people will be along soon, but I didn't want to read and run. Well done for posting and facing the situation. Are you getting help to stop gambling?

I'm sure with help you can change your situation. It is never worth leaving your child and partner.

Good luck.

mrcow

Carol - no one sends you credit cards "willy nilly". You apply for the card. You fill in your details. You send off the form. You sign the form. You agree to the terms and conditions. You then get the card. You activate the card. And then you use it.

This isn't someone else's fault here.

The advice is to start looking at what you have done. And then start looking at what you need to do to get yourself out of this mess.

How much do you owe? Who do you owe it to? And what are your incomings?

Complete an SOA and you'll get advice on where to go from here. Stick with it. You will get advice and support here.

GeorgeUK

Have a read of this thread - there are a few of us gamblers here.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1090463

The first thing i had to do was figure out why i gambled and deal with that before i could tackle the actual gambling addiction. I think something like gamblock would be good for you to get so you couldn't use the laptop for gambling. Possibly also go to gamblers annonimous - i haven't but there are a few on that thread that it has helped.

It might be worth posting up a statement of affairs so we can see if there are any savings you can make in your expenditure that you can put towards repaying the debts.
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

QueenBeruthiel

Join Gamblers' Anonymous.

radley1974

Hi again Guys
Thanks for the replies, yep that SOA thing will be done on Monday, but I cant see anyway apart from BR.

My income is very small and the dmp was going to take 15 years to complete!
I cant live like this anymore, thanks and regards

confused76

GeorgeUK wrote: »

Have a read of this thread - there are a few of us gamblers here.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1090463

The first thing i had to do was figure out why i gambled and deal with that before i could tackle the actual gambling addiction. I think something like gamblock would be good for you to get so you couldn't use the laptop for gambling. Possibly also go to gamblers annonimous - i haven't but there are a few on that thread that it has helped.

It might be worth posting up a statement of affairs so we can see if there are any savings you can make in your expenditure that you can put towards repaying the debts.
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

hi there
i hope you do as George suggests as there is help out there for you. a member of my family used to gamble and goes to gamblers annon which has helped him so much
please don't resort to drastic measures, there is a way out of this
good luck x

kerrypn

as i say carol post on the bankruptcy board and there are lots of people who will help you

PNPSUKNET

QueenBeruthiel wrote: »

Join Gamblers' Anonymous.

Think this is the best advice, to start and think bankrupcy or dro is the best option

jennyo

radley1974 wrote: »

Hi again Guys
Thanks for the replies, yep that SOA thing will be done on Monday, but I cant see anyway apart from BR.

My income is very small and the dmp was going to take 15 years to complete!
I cant live like this anymore, thanks and regards

there can be light at the end of the tunnel, I know things seem very bleak for you at the moment.

You have your little boy, and he thinks you are wonderful no matter what else is going on.
Gambling is an addiction, get some help as has been suggested above.
You can get your life back on track, the only way is up.