Chasing Losses Left me Broke.

slippy85

Lastnight I reached the end of my rope and all because of my chasing the money whilst gambling. I’ve now blocked all my accounts and will be seeking professional help. I was paid on Friday (1.5k) and over the course of the weekend I gambled a lot of it away and now have £450 left. All of my direct debits are due out over the next few days but I am not in the position to pay them. What do I do? I’m kind of all over the place so my thinking is very clouded. I think those who gamble call it a ‘brown-out’. Now these direct debits all relate to paying off debts accrued by gambling. Roughly I have the following debts:
Credit Card x 4 = £11,200 (Monthly payments = £400)
Payday Loans x = £4,200 (Monthly payments = £520)

So along with my gambling I’ve been getting more debt to pay the existing debt. Constantly juggling money. I would scrape by every month but it would leave me worried, anxious and very stressed. I'd have about £200 to live off after my other commitments. With my latest stupidity I’ve just ruined any chance of making my payments this month. I know it is my fault but can you offer any help how I can get out of this immediate problem and the problem longer-term too?

Many thanks.

itsallabitmuch

Post up an SoA (http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php) - remember to hit 'format for MSE', and then you can copy and paste it into here.

Be completely honest on it, and the lovely people here will be able to give you some advice.

You may want to contact one of the free debt management charities - I personally use Step Change.

slippy85

Thank you. Any advice for the short-term issue of not being able to make my payments?

Stevie_Palimo

slippy85 wrote: »

Thank you. Any advice for the short-term issue of not being able to make my payments?

Contact all the lenders in question and be straight about your situation, You will be assisted more for being upfront about the problem as opposed to buying your head in the sand.

Well done for admitting that you have a problem to, It will take time to sort out but admission and then looking at solutions will help you recover.

slippy85

I'll crack on with that at lunchtime. The high-interest payday loans have crippled me but I guess I was in a desperate need of a fix. Shameful.

enthusiasticsaver

Write to your creditors saying you can't pay them this month and ask them to freeze interest.

On your income I would have thought you could service the debt if you post an soa this would confirm this. A DMP via stepchange could be a viable option but this will ruin your credit rating if it is not already trashed.

Gambling is a common reason for getting into debt but you won't get anywhere unless you stop completely. Get help to do this.

slippy85

I am going to ring them tonight and explain my problem. Ill speak to stepchange too. My credit rating is okay but after this debt I've racked up i don't think i will ever want credit again.

angelpye

Hi and well done for plucking up the courage to ask for help. I second the advice to do a SOA and this will also help when you call step change. Good luck - there will be a way forward.

National_Debtline

Hi

In the short term you can send your creditors this ‘hold action’ letter to explain that you can’t afford your payments and you need time to seek advice.

www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Hold-action-on-your-account-%28sole-name%29.aspx

If you don't have enough money in your account to make your debt payments you can cancel the directs debts. With pay day loans the creditors can often just try to take the money from your account even if you cancel the direct debit, as you often agree to a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA). You can cancel the CPA which will get you more in control of your money.

There is a Pay Day Loan factsheet here which explains this in more detail and also links to sample letters to send your bank and the creditors to tell them you have cancelled the CPA.

www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/41%20EW%20Payday%20loans/Default.aspx

Gamcare are a good organisation to contact for help tackling your gambling issue.

www.gamcare.org.uk

James
@natdebtline

slippy85

I have actually cancelled my bank card and got a new one reissued. This will stop them collecting the payment but i guess i will have to speak to the creditors to let them know that i have done this?

National_Debtline

slippy85 wrote: »

I have actually cancelled my bank card and got a new one reissued. This will stop them collecting the payment but i guess i will have to speak to the creditors to let them know that i have done this?

Yes, contact the creditors to let them know why you’ve cancelled the payment. i.e. you’re having some financial difficulties and need some time to seek advice.

You can telephone them, but I think it’s also worth sending the letter I linked to above to make sure it’s on record, and the right people see it.

James
@natdebtline