Going bankrupt soon - scared!

jdavid1982

Hi All,

Please don't judge me, I know I am a bad person but i am trying to make things right and stop this horrible gambling addiction that has crippled me over the years. I have debts that are nearly 50k a lot of which are down to gambling. I have a partner and 2 young children and things need to change as it affecting my mood and mental state quite badly which is in turn affecting them. I have serious depression and have had thoughts of ending my life many times due to the shame of it all.

Steps I have taken so far.. I have contacted Gamcare and told them I have a problem, they have given me good advice and said told me to self exclude myself from all gambling sites which I have done and I am still in contact with them for further advice. I am now unable to gamble and havent done for some time now. I have been looking on these forums which has been very helpful due to all of the advice on here and I don't think I have any other option other than to go bankrupt. I have a decent job where I take home £1800 a month but due to all of my debt repayments, rent and other bills etc I am paying back more than this a month so my debt is only getting bigger. I have no assets, do not own a house or car etc. It cannot go on any longer and soon it will be time to take the plunge and go bankrupt and suffer the consequenses that come with this.

This has taken me a lot to even write all this as I have bottled things up for years but if anybody has any advice for me that or may have been in a similar position it will be much appreciated.

I know I will end up having to pay an IPA after bankruptcy and debts written off but I would like to keep this to a minimum if possible so any advice on the SOA figures would also be appreciated. Also do you think I will get a BRO due to alot of the debts being incurred down to gambling? I will explain to the OR that I have sought help and am very guilty about my past actions.

Many thanks

James

Flyright

If a significant amount of your debts are due to gambling then a BRO is a distinct possibility.

fatbelly

If you post your soa on this thread we can have a look at it

Ogden

Hi Hun

Didn’t want to read and run.

Does your partner know about it all?

It sounds like you’ve taken some really good, important steps so well done. The hardest bit now may very well be to stop beating yourself up and to accept and forgive what has happened.

Stick around here and keep on talking. It helps

System

Having been through it many years ago whilst you may be scared now, as soon as that judge stamps the order and you realise that you're no longer liable for all the debt you were in it feels like the weight of the world has been lifted from your shoulders.

Your responsibility from that point forward is to learn from the mistakes you made and vow never to repeat them and use the get out of jail free card that bankruptcy has offered you to put yourself in a situation where it will never happen again.

jdavid1982

Thankyou for your replies. I will put my SOA on here once I have completed it in hope that someone can advise if ok or not.

Ogden - My partner knew I used to gamble but thought I had stopped, I am just too embarrassed to admit how bad it has got. Thanks for your kind words though. I will stick around on here, I think it will help me.

Tarambor - Believe me I will learn from my mistakes, I now realise there is only 1 winner in that game, it has taken me an awful long time to realise this and I would love to help other people thorough my experiences to not get in the horrible situation I have found myself in.

I will keep you all posted on my progress, I appreciate your replies, thankyou.

4f02

Mate if it helps im going through exactly the same...but around £23k of debt im contemplating BR now and will watch your story unfold as its all the same as me.no one judges you ok....if you cant pay you cant pay.

jdavid1982

Hi all,

I know I have not been on here for a while since my last post (mostly down to illness due to all the stress and worry of my imminent bankruptcy which I am very ashamed and embarrased about submitting) but please see below my SOA which I have now completed to the best of my ability and as accurately as I can. Please can you give me any suggestions, ie. things I may have missed or should not have put on there and suggestions on amounts, etc ..
Obviously I would like to try to avoid an IPA after BR and am hoping when they look at my SOA they also will think it should be avoided also but please let me know your views on this.

I am aiming to submit my BR the end of next week so any suggestions on the below SOA beforehand will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

James

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1 (not in my name, partners name only worth £1500 ish)

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 1750
Partners monthly income after tax....... 550
Benefits................................ 137.6
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2437.6

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 750
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 147
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 50
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 44
Telephone (land line)................... 19
Mobile phone............................ 65
TV Licence.............................. 9.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 600
Clothing................................ 140
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 14
Car Insurance........................... 40
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 20
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 20
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 20
Work Exp................................ 40
School Uniform.......................... 20
Total monthly expenses.................. 2448.5


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Santander CC...................2200......100.......0
Natwest CC.....................8450......500.......0
Tesco Loan.....................15000.....309.......0
Overdraft......................4000......0.........0
MBNA CC........................15000.....500.......0
Total unsecured debts..........44650.....1409......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,437.6
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,448.5
Available for debt repayments........... -10.9
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,409
Amount short for making debt repayments. -1,419.9

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -44,650
Net Assets.............................. -44,650

MovingForwards

Food bill is too high for 2 adults 2 little people.

Clothes /mobile / hair/holiday also need to come down a bit.

Hardest part is working out how much is owed, it will get a little easier

fatbelly

A few things seem on the high side but I would run with that. You clearly need to go bankrupt and that soa gives you a fighting chance of avoiding an IPA.

Check your TV licence d/d - I think it's £12.68 now.

chickpeaz

I put £200 for car fuel/parking/toll charges and that was accepted. I'd suggest taking off the £50 holiday as when I had my interview last week they didn't include the £30 a month I'd put for that, even when I explained that it was to take my step daughter away on her only holiday of the year (I suppose they might if you argued it but in my case it was showing a negative amount anyway, so I didn't bother). I put £480 for groceries but that was just for two adults so not sure what they'd allow for a family of 4. And yes increase the amount for TV licence, the OR said it's £13.