me and my debt resulting from gambling hell - help

[joshmark]

Hi Mate

 

Yes i am in exact same situation as when we last spoke, however then I felt sick about it all and wanted to die.

 

Now I have come to terms with my situation and feel like I can deal with it.

 

I just want to know my best option - as it seems like i must either ruin career prospects or spend 5 yrs paying back

[joshmark]

Tawny - I am around 3 months gambling free I think ill be happiest man on earth once these debts are gone.

 

Ill shout you a message later

[Tawnyowl]

Ok Joshmark,this is good news,i did not see your two posts,i was that busy writing.I am so happy you have won the battle.

In that case there are many options.

I will be around,i must get up,can not keep away from these forums,i could dance and sing,to think what you have overcome.

I will be around later.

[joshmark]

do you think i will get to more intellegent folk if i send a letter to these companies rather than an email?

[citizenB]

Do any of these debts (aside from the betting companies) have charges or Payment Protection Insurance applied. If so, you can reclaim both of these, especially the PPI if it was mis sold.

 

When were all these accounts entered into ?

 

Do you have any assets - your own home - expensive vehicle ?

[joshmark]

Hi CitizenB

 

Thank you - I will look into the PPI

A long time ago, I have been too depressed to deal with

My only asset is my car worth about £2000 - I can put this into my Dads name if that would help?

 

I am going to write an email / letter of hardship to all companies explaining my situation, having no way to pay, seeing a counsillor for suicidal thoughts, and also the unfairness of the loans being given to me, I will then ask them to write off the debt and if they wont I will ask them how they suggest I pay it back with nothing?

 

Seems like the best starting point to me.

 

Do you think a letter would be better as an email will not be read by people who are high up?

 

Kind Regards

[Tawnyowl]

No

Will add more soon.Just putting a few things together.Could take a while.

I feel for you we have to offer repayments at what you can afford,but first a few tries at things.Thinking.

Because you are in Financial Sector,Bankruptcy a no,no.

£10k in bank loans

£3k in payday loansicon

£1k in outstanding phone contract

£2k in debt to betting companies

£500 in debt to car insuranceicon company i stopped paying and they continued to insure

£2k in overdraft fee's with various banks ( and growing )

 

OK-Still going to take a while to put down,but these are my thoughts others may advise.

 

1-Is it so,that you now have a new special bank account where you can not go overdrawn.

So many of these Bank account overdrafts,loans are with previous banks.Without looking back i am not sure.

Because you are on minimum wage,but hoping for promotion offers at the moment will be minimal

.

Are you still living at your parents.Although obviously you have to contribute..

 

You see,because at the moment you are on minimum wage,even if they took you to court they would probably receive for the time being less than what you will offer them.They will realise this when you send your budget sheet.So really would not be worth their while.They may realise the payments back will increase when your career progresses.

More yet just thinking about the gambling debts..

 

But phone,i suppose has to be from now on,pay as you go.Maybe you have one already.

 

I feel you were at the time of your gambling in a Vulnerable group.Just trying to find a letter to sent to the gambling establishments asking them to sign this off.Because of that fact.

Edited October 13, 2013 by tawnyowl

[joshmark]

ok tawny im also thinking my only asset is my car - circa £2k - should i put this in my dads name before sending letters?

 

My plan atm is to send a hardship letter and ask for them to clear debt completely and if they reject to ask how they suggest i pay when i have nothing

[Tawnyowl]

I feel personally it is time to sort things out.I can not say put it in your dads name.I would sell it,take the bus or walk to work.

You are in the Financial Sector,your future is at stake in one way.

And you are young.

You could use this money and offer full and final payments on a pro rata basis,take the chance.

See what may happen.

 

I am trying to think,maybe the best way is to write to them all,say at the time you lent me this money i was in a vulnerable group,addicted to gambling.you should have made proper affordability checks,explain your situation.Then see what they say.

I feel down the line somewhere they would realise this,by payments out of your bank at the time.And should have checked.Before lending you thousands.

So for now it is just the wording of the letter,if you decide to try this route.

 

So

1-To the payday lenders and the banks,gambling establishments-the letter.

2-Phone-pay as you go for now,though in a contract hard,but you could explain to them as well. and offer payments to clear outstanding debt..

3-If you sell the car-Offer to the Insurance company,cough, till cleared.

 

See what comes back,then proceed with other letters.

Edited October 13, 2013 by tawnyowl

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

There is nothing illegal about being given credit even if you are broke.

 

What may help you is to look at irresponsible lending, were proper checks made by the creditors, were you properly assessed as being credit worthy?

 

The drawback here though is were you honest in your information when applying.

 

Do Not use e-mail for this, RM recorded signed for post only, and check delivery.

A file for each debt to keep track of all correspondence, don't try to tackle all at the same time, it will be far too difficult to keep track of them.

[fkofilee]

There is nothing illegal about being given credit even if you are broke.

 

What may help you is to look at irresponsible lending, were proper checks made by the creditors, were you properly assessed as being credit worthy?

 

The drawback here though is were you honest in your information when applying.

 

Do Not use e-mail for this, RM recorded signed for post only, and check delivery.

A file for each debt to keep track of all correspondence, don't try to tackle all at the same time, it will be far too difficult to keep track of them.

 

Brig, Am i thinking a visit to Stepchange could help him...? £40k is a lot and they can help get him on the right track

 

http://www.stepchange.org/

Also check... Noodle... for your credit file... See whats being reported on and where you are at.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

A possibility yes, NDL for further advice.

 

In a situation like this Noddle no, unreliable use main stream CRA.

[renegadeimp]

One thing to add to the excellent advice already given.

 

Do NOT tell your creditors about your job. They WILL use it against you with threats of defaults/CCJ's etc. Some will mark your file the second they know any markers will cause you hardship.

[oleg]

In my experience, hardship letters rarely carry much weight except in cases of terminal illness.

If you can reduce the debt below £15K you can apply for a Debt Relief Order, which carries none of the baggage of bankruptcy and should not affect your career.

[hacksaw]

Are any of these betting companies financial spread betting by any chance? I have experience of dealing with these companies...

[sequenci]

I agree that you should avoid bankruptcy if at all possible. If the debt stems from gambling it's highly likely that you'll be asked to enter into a bankruptcy restriction undertaken (or forced into one via a court order). Contacting one oft hd debt charities is a good idea. You should calculate what you need to live on from your income (this covers housing costs, food, travelling, bills, clothing etc.) - your creditors should then be offered a pro-rata share of what's left over. You can either do this yourself or via a FREE debt management plan. Depending on your employment situation you *may* also wish to consider an Individual Voluntary Arrangement. You can find info on all optiosn via nationaldebtline.co.uk

[joshmark]

Hi Guys

 

Im an EX gambling addict ( 3 months clean, I swear! )

 

I have £20,000 in debts -

 

I earn £800 a month

My outgoings are £750 a month

 

I am currently getting something like my wage in charges and admin fees from these people chasing my debts.

 

£5k - Santander

£1k - Santander overdraft + charges every week

£5k - Nationwide

£1k - Nationwide overdraft + charges every week

£2k - Gambling company ( sportingindex )

£1k - Old car insurance I stopped paying

£800 - Phone contact I stopped paying

£2000 - Payday Loans

 

Luckily I have a bank account with SECURETRUST - if I didnt have this ( they dont let anyone take money from your account ) I would have no idea how to ask my employer to even pay my wages!?

 

I have no physical way of paying any more than £50 / month.

 

I guess in interest and charges its currently going up £500 / month ( irresponsible of me, but I was so depressed the thought of dealing with this was too huge )

 

I work in a job where if I got promoted I would need to have bankruptcy checks and would not be promoted if I had gone bankrupt.

 

It however seems my only option.

 

What can I do in my position!? - And how do I pay a bankruptcy fee when I am bankrupt!?

 

Please tell me what I could do...

 

I feel like I will be in this position or worse in 20 years time...

 

I am working hard now but see no way out from all extra charges and bills etc...

[joshmark]

Hi

 

If i was in debt £20k and i set up a repayment plan through a debt charity I have some questions.

 

1 - At the moment my wages are being paid to my Dad - all of my bank accounts are overdrawn. How would I make any repayments without a bank account?

 

2 - Do I need to prove my current wage with a pay slip?

 

3 - Do I need to prove my outgoings i.e rent etc which I pay back to my Mom in cash?

 

Thanks

[Andyorch]

Threads merged ...please do not post the same question in different forums.

 

Andy

[rennuz]

Firstly write to them all and tell them you can only afford £x amount to pay them back each month. Set the letter out in the same way you have this post but add a column of how much you can afford to pay each company per month. Ask them to freeze interest on all account and stop adding charges tell them Once they have done this you will then start your new payment scheme. Also suggest that within 6 to 12 mths you may well be able to offer a lump sum, although there is not point in paying a lump sum if they decide to add a default to your account (ideally this stops them adding a default but some may just add a default anyway so thats what may happen)

 

I had probably 5 times your debt and all lenders were good accept Barclays, they added a default straight away so I just then told them I could only afford £1 per month and have paid that for last 3 yrs. Other lenders I paid off with a lump sum of between 20 and 30% of total debt, amounts range from £4500 to £30,000 so big amounts. I also could not go bankrupt as I would have implications on my job, the default gave me grief about 2 yrs ago with a work situation but I got out of it in the end so wasnt a huge problem.

 

Either way you need to understand the rules of this lending and paying back game so you can play the game to your advantage. I dont say this in a get one over on them kind of way, I say it because the lenders know the rules and will chase as much as they can but you need to take control because it doesnt need to get you down.

 

Think about it how long would it take you to earn £17k? a year or so? If you can write off half of that with some good research and letter writing it may prove a good investment of time. Look at my old threads to see how I did it for some more research. Good luck

[joshmark]

Thanks so much Rennuz

 

Questions

 

1 - I dont understand how you would pay Barclays - £1 per month? Do they collect this from your bank - would you not be worried they would take more? Or do you pay direct and have to check that they actually knocked it off your debt?

 

2 - So I would write to Santander and for example offer £5 / month - I offer this as a split of £1/ month to my overdrawn account and £4/ month towards my loan arrears? Or just offer £5 / month in general?

 

thank you

[renegadeimp]

Simple answer to the bank account problem,

 

open up a brand new basic account with a different bank.

 

No overdrafts are allowed on basic accounts so you cant spend what you dont have.

 

Once you have worked out your I&E and spoken to the charity,

i would set up the standing order as advised by them,

but send a letter of appropriation to the bank to ensure that your debt payments AND your essential outgoings are secured and can never be touched.

 

Also,

please PLEASE check the validity of your debts, and once you have ensured that they are actually valid and fully enforceable in court,

only then allow the DMP to start paying the companies.

 

Regarding the DMP, make sure you use a good free one such as stepchange.

 

Please do not use a paid one, as the initial fee they charge and the monthly one after could go towards your debts and make you debt free much sooner.

 

 

So in order:

 

• New basic bank account with no overdraft facility, no chequebook etc. Just a plan cash card and facility to use DD's and SO's.
   
  
• Go through your debts with a fine toothed comb and check they legality. If you are unsure how to do this, post a full list of your debts with as much detail as possible and we can walk you through it.
   
  
• Contact the DMP with the info on the valid and enforceable debts, and ask them to take on yoru debt and start negotiations with your creditors.
  

Then sit back and wait, maintain regular payments and after a while, hopefully you will be debt free.

[dx100uk]

cannot express the importance of the red bit enough!!

 

dx

[joshmark]

Hi Both

 

 

thanks for the brilliant advice

 

I personally believe barely any of my debts are legal

 

I will post info asap and hopefully you can advise me further

 

Im on lunch atm so dont have time but very keen to hear what you both think your doing me a big favour thanks

[joshmark]

Hi

 

I have debts currently as follows:

 

£5k - Santander bank loan -

 

Reasons it may not be valid:

 

I already had outstanding £8k loans

They were in charge of current account which showed my payments to wonga, peachy, etc. etc.

They were in charge of current account which showed payments to gambling companies

Current account also showed consistant missed bills and charges

When approved my credit rating was very bad I have no idea how it got approved - I couldnt even get a payday loan.

 

£5k nationwide loan

 

Similar reasons to Santander, along with the fact I applied online and was told I was being sent documents in the post to sign and return, and to attatch proof of my earnings to ( i lied and said i earnt more than i did )

However this never happened and the money just appeared in my account the next day

 

£800 peachy loan and other payday loans

 

I dont know why this would be invalid really

 

My other debts are CURRENT ACCOUNT overdrafts + charges with both Nationwide + Santander

 

And phone contracts i stopped paying etc. etc.

 

DO you think any of these are invalid or shall I attempt to contact stephchange about them all?

 

thanks