Admitted my addiction!

Johntea

Well a week last Friday the 28th October I admitted my gambling addiction to my parents.

I had been gambling heavy for the past 2 - 3 years, here is the debt I was in when I admitted everything:

Payday loans (Name and shame time) - Please note this was copied and pasted from my notes on the 28th October so any reference to 'today' refers to that data
1monthloan : Original loan £300, due to make a £90 rollover payment today which declined, currently owe £390 plus they've already whacked on a £12 'late fee'

PaydayUK : Original loan £480, due to make a £120 rollover payment today which declined, currently owe £600 I think? All that shows up on the website is the rollover fee so I can't be 100% accurate on that.

Payday Express : Original loan £400, due to make a £100 rollover payment today which declined, currently owe £500. Think these 'try' for 7 days before getting nasty?

Speedy Dosh : Original loan £200, due to make a £62.50 rollover payment today which declined, currently owe £267.50. Got an email saying if they can't take payment a £125 fee will be stuck on after 3 days!!! So these could be fairly tricky customers to deal with?

QuickQuid : Original loan £850, due to make a £191.25 rollover payment today which declined, currently owe £1041.25

Wonga : Original loan £1085, Already on a payment plan with these. £117.76 a month with 7 mionths left = £942.08. This is fine, as it is the original loan amount plus one month interest.

Toothfairy Finance : Original loan £400, rolled over 24/10/11, currently owe £544

Txtloan : Original loan £200, owe £234

Wage Day Advance : Original £150, rolled over 26/10/11, currently owe £194.25

Mini Credit : Original £150, rolled over 07/10/11, currently owe £198

The Loan Store : Original £500, rolled over 26/10/11, currently owe £625

Mr Lender : Original £300, rolled over 26/10/11, currently owe £390

Credit Cards

Barclaycard : £2000 credit limit, about £10 off being maxed out

Capital One : £750 credit limit, about £5 off being maxed out

Overdrafts

2 HSBC £750 overdrafts. Pretty much living on these

Owed to parents

Approx £4500 - £5000

As you can see, I had no escape whatsoever really. I got close to £2000 this payday which was a lot of overtime as normally I get paid around £1500 - But guess what I gambled around 75% of that away within 48 hours of getting paid! (The remaining 25% going to pay the above interest fees etc).

Once I admitted everything to my parents they were quick to seize all forms of credit cards / debit cards etc and made it a high priority to 'bail me out' with the payday loan companies (i.e. pay them off to get them off my back and I will now pay my parents back). Also have cleared the Capital One balance and making progress on the Barclaycard. Overdraft will be worked on but certainly not causing as much damage as a PDL would be on a daily basis!

A week later and I feel much more...relaxed. Attending GA on a Friday evening and visited CAB yesterday although they obviously didn't offer too much help since my parents have worked out how I will be repaying them already (They were still very helpful though I have to say!)

I realize everyone on here won't be as lucky to have parents helping them out etc. But to any young gambling addicts out there : tell somebody! Many times I thought to myself 'I'm quitting today' but while I was lying to everybody else, all I was doing was lying to myself!

The only loan I will ever take out in the future is a mortgage. And as for payday loans? They shouldn't be allowed to lend 1p never mind £100s!

Guess I'm not looking for advice, just wanted to get this off my chest so I can read it back to myself now and again and think 'this is how fun gambling becomes!'

Oh_Dear

Good for you for sharing that. When I had been gambling 2-3 years my story was very familier to yours. Telling your folks is a big step and you deserve credit for that. I was very similar to you in that respect, however that was nearly 30 years ago. When my Dad died in earlier this year I owed him in excess of £120K due to the last thirty years of gambling. In that thirty years I have been to prison 5 times all due to gambling. I know from my own experience and through talking to other CG's (compulsive gamblers) that getting bailed out will not help your gambling.

Fixing a consequence of your gambling, will not solve the problem alone. Why are you going to GA, is it because you genuinley want to quit?

Going to ga is very commendable, if for the right reasons but it will not fix your gambling. It can help you to fix it though. I would urge you to get as much support as possible with your gambling. I would highly recommend www. gamblingtherapy.org.uk I have found it very helpful, also ga have 24hr online support and gamcare have online counselling.

There is a gambling thread on here so maybe your post will be moved.

Well done for coming clean, and taking steps to sort things out. Remember though always make your gambling recovery your number one priority, you should never underestimate the power of this addiction.

All the best.

Geordie.

purpleorchid

i would like to congratulate you on admitting your addiction, i know how hard this can be as i have suffered with addictions for most of my life, although gambing not being one of them. i know how you must feel and how frightening it can be at this stage, but keep on with it and im sure you will be out of your fix and on the right road to recovery.

good luck

Johntea

A month later and still going strong :j

November payday came and went, my parents worked out my pay and who would receive what this month etc

Did 3 weeks of Gamblers Anonymous but no longer attending at the moment as it wasn't doing anything for me (I gave it a few stabs during my addiction too but I just can't 'click' with it properly). However, using the Gamcare forums / chat which works a lot better for me as allows me to write down my thoughts in my own time

I have a £200 monthly 'my money' budget which works out around £50 a week, since I only really go out on Saturdays with my friend. Not that I'm spending the whole lot every weekend, in fact I've probably lasted the past 2 months on £200. One of my aims once debt free is to look back at this controlled budget and try my best to stick to it rather than make silly impulse purchases, then my savings account can receive some first aid .

Saving up a little bit each month towards a new iPhone too, so I have something to look forward to this time next year. I've had my current original iPhone for 4 years, so if I can get 5 years out of it then the next one lasts another 5 years I'll be happy! And saving up for it will feel a lot better than gambling money to pay for it, the amount of times I walked out of an arcade / bookies etc with a good few hundred saying 'one more gamble then I'll buy myself a new iPhone' only to lose the lot in the next door arcade / bookies was crazy!

merlot123

Johntea, well done for admitting your addiction, and for telling your parents.

It may help others if you could post who you are paying back first, and a general repayment schedule. It shows others in the same boat as you were some hope.

Thank you for coming back and letting us know how you are getting on, keep posting, it's great to hear you are getting help from your parents.

Edit: How about buying a slightly older model of an Iphone from the likes of Ebay in 12 months time, then you are not paying a premium for a brand new one. This is MSE after all!

Mike_parsonnage

Please Please go to Gamblers Anonymous and keep going . I am also an addict my choice of addiction was drink I was 23 years of age when i first walked in the doors of AA and I looked about 16. One woman sarcastically asked if my mum knew I was out so late lol. On the 27th of this month I will be 25 years sober .

I know how addiction works and over the years have seen many many people walk in and out of AA and go back drinking. Have known people who went to prison , mental homes , hospitals ,and one women who killed while drunk.

To give up any addiction the addict has to want to stop and your words " Did 3 weeks of Gamblers Anonymous but no longer attending at the moment as it wasn't doing anything for me " is a classic example of someone who is really not ready to stop. How long did you gamble for ? Yet after 3 short weeks you have decided that GA is not for you !!! KEEP GOING BACK . Otherwise your life will lead down the same path as OH-Dear.

DS4215

I don't know if you have done it yet, but you can ban yourself from most bookies. It might help if you have a wobble if you are unable to get onto the online sites or use the local shops....