Trying to take control of everything and getting pushed back

newjam

Hi,

Im quite new to this and i wanted to ask some questions.

I will start from the beginning.

A few years ago started to gamble out of boredom more than anything as you have guested this quickly got our of control (please do not feel sorry for me i know its all my fault).

Well to cut a long story short i got into a lot of debt from payday loans and 1 loan from provident. All of these are now with Debt collection agencies and i myself am in a debt mangment plan and i owe around £8000 in total. I have recently been going through my debts and noticed that alot of them are stupid amounts due to interest.

for example
Mini credit:I borrowed £300 and now i owe them a staggering £1900. Is this legal???

I have around 14 loans in total. Now my mind is straight and i have quit my addiction i am left wondering why these companies borrowed me money when they could obviously see i was borrowing from everyone and not paying it back. Surely they should realise there is something wrong. ( I am not blaming them i know i was in the wrong)

I want to pay my debts off and am willing to pay but i think its unfair that i should pay this large amount of interest.

Is there anything i can say if i write to them to try and drop this much closer to the original amount?

I have been a gambling addict now for 3 years and have not played anything since January this year

I feel so wrong asking them to reduce the payment but i just want to get my life back on track.

I was thing about sending an email or letter but i am so bad with words i would have no idea what to say.

Please can you try to advise me.

xx

asparagus1968

[ I have around 14 loans in total. Now my mind is straight and i have quit my addiction i am left wondering why these companies borrowed me money when they could obviously see i was borrowing from everyone and not paying it back. Surely they should realise there is something wrong. ( I am not blaming them i know i was in the wrong)]


hi, these companies make money by lending cash at extortionate rates of interest. They must have informed you of these rates before you entered a contract with them?
I know there is now "responsible lending" but there is also being responsible for your own actions....if you are not blaming them,why ask the question?


anyhow,moving on, have you spoken to a FREE debt charity such as Stepchange or National Debtline or Christian Against Poverty?


they can really be a massive help


well done on quitting the gambling, that's great.


good luck ,keep posting.

asparagus1968

just had a quick read of your other posts.


don't worry about contacting a charity again, they will still want to help.


Few people get things perfectly right all the time!


did you ever do a Statement of Affairs? here is the link:


http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php


when you have a budget set out in front of you, you will see that all your money will have a "location" ie. house costs/ food/ car expenses/debt repayments etc etc, so you will see there isn't any for "spending because the money is there" (what you said in your other post) so that might help you a lot.

BillJones

newjam wrote: »

Mini credit:I borrowed £300 and now i owe them a staggering £1900. Is this legal???...

...I want to pay my debts off and am willing to pay but i think its unfair that i should pay this large amount of interest.

On your first point, yes it is legal. If you thought that the terms were not fair, or illegal, you should have walked away.

On your second point, you seem to contradict yourself. Do you want to pay what you owe, or do you not? You need to choose, as that choice will affect what you do next.

Monkeyballs

Hi Op,

I've been in the same position as you.

Yes it's currently legal and while it's expensive... It's fair.

At any point did you get in touch with any of the creditors to explain that you are in financial difficulties and ask for help to repay which they refused or fail to direct you to a debt charity? And do you have proof of asking and a reply?

If you do then you could try writing a complaint supplying evidence to the original creditor as that would constitute irresponsible lending... I'm sure I'll get comments on this LOL

If not and you've just borrowed by lying and running away then the best you could do is write to try asking for a reduction (I don't believe there is a template for this and it's not likely to work) or, save a bit each month and aim to make F&F offers at a later stage of your DMP.

MB