12 Provident loans, my mother and me.

JadedAngel88

Yes I've had the shock of my life finding out my mother has had 12 Provident loans, 11 of them she has paid off, I dont know what amounts these are for as the pages were stapled together, but the most recent one is for £1700, which she took out in may.

Looking at this loan she is paying double the amount in interest, and where the hell she is getting the £34 a week to pay it from I dont know, I've done her budget numerous times and she doesnt have that left over every week.

The other thing is what she has done with the money, she had no outstanding debts, other than electric which she changed to a pre payment meter for, she hasnt brought any new clothes, doesnt drive or drink, the council have just completly refurbished her bungalow, I have a suspicion she is gambling, and that is where the money from these loans are going.

My uncle, her brother, is fairly well off, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he is helping her to pay these debts off, he has disabilities, and I know she is probably taking advantage, but I dont know of the address of where he lives or who his social worker is, to see if he is giving her money.

Anyway I know this is not moneysaving as such but I just needed someone else to listen, I have enough on my plate without this to worry about.

Thanks for reading and any advice or tell me to mind my own business would be great.

Tiddlywinks

How is your relationship with your mum? How did you come across the paperwork?

Can't you just make her a cuppa, sit down and say... 'hey mum, just seen that you've borrowed some money - is eveything going OK for you? I'm worried about you, can we talk about it..."

Fire_Fox

Maybe post on Debt Free Wannabe? Could you contact Gamblers Anonymous or your mother's GP?

McKneff

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

How is your relationship with your mum? How did you come across the paperwork?

Can't you just make her a cuppa, sit down and say... 'hey mum, just seen that you've borrowed some money - is eveything going OK for you? I'm worried about you, can we talk about it..."

Good advice:T

podperson

Can't you just ask her? Obviously there may be other issues but it does sound like you're jumping to a lot of conclusions at the moment. She may not have something like a gambling addiction - it can just be very easy to get stuck in a cycle once you take out one of these loans. Eg, you take out one, the repayments are high so you end up taking money from other places, like bill funds, to pay them off, you get to the end of the month with no money and end up getting out another loan.
As someone mentioned above, asking her if she needs any help or is having any problems with them would be a good start. But if she's happy to be carrying on the way she is then there's not much you can do about it.

Penny-Pincher!!

Sorry, but is it really any of your business?

[Deleted User]

My mum used to be a Provident agent and I remember we were all rather uncomfortable about it because of the extremely high interest rates and how insistent u were expected to be about repayments.