Bottom of the Pit

bj13b

Hi all,

I have been a reader on this forum for some time without actually posting but now I am in need of some advice please.

I am a gambling addict, I have received counselling for this several times in the past 15 years and I have been successful in the past in controlling this addiction. However over the past 4 years I have been on a slow downward spiral with the addiction taking control of me again, but I have now found the strength to face my problem and get some help to get me back on track again.

My current debt level is really out of control and I owe £70,000 on 8 credit cards and another £2,000 on an overdraft. I have also recently had to change my job for my health and now earn around £15k a year less than in my previous job. So whilst I was able to manage credit card payments previously I now earn significantly less and do not have enough to cover minimum payments on the card as well as living costs of rent, food and fuel etc. After minimum payments I now actually have only £400 a month to live on. I am currently looking for more employment to help with this.

I want to pay back my debts in full and I have not missed any payments on my cards as of yet but I think that this will start to happen soon. Please can you provide me with advice on how I can approach the card providers about this situation.

Many Thanks

MovingForwards

You have took a different job, with paycut, for health reasons, therefore in your shoes I would be very cautious about taking on a second job.

If you feel comfortable putting up a statement of affairs we can point you in the right direction.

sourcrates

Agreed, statement of affairs first, 70k a lot, but not insurmountable, could be a bankruptcy candidate, but let’s see the SOA first, link is available from the stickies.

WhenIam64

Another question for you to get an answer to, is why you were given that amount to credit in the first place. There may have been irresponsible lending by some creditors, but that will be based on what was said to the lender and what they actually checked before lending.

As mentioned above, a Statement of Accounts, would give an idea of which solution is best for you.