gambling debt, will creditors/court object

[praving]

I HAD LOST THOUSANDS OF POUNDS IN GAMBLING
AM I ELIGIBLE FOR AN IVA IF I MEET THE OTHER CRITERIA.WILL CREDITORS/COURT OBJECT BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF MY SPENDING AND ACCUMILATING DEBT ????

[Oliver]

Having accumulated some or all of your debts through gambling will not necessarily stop you from being able to propose a successful IVA. Each case will be judged on it's own merits. You will need to have stopped gambling completely and it is likely that you will have to evidence this through your bank statements and creditor statements. The length of time that you will have to have been free from gambling will differ between Insolvency Practitioners and is likely to be between 1-6 months.


Best Regards
Oliver

Thomas Charles and Co Ltd.
Experts in personal debt solutions.
Read customer feedback at: www.thomascharles.com/about_us.asp

[MelanieGiles]

I have done several IVA's in my time for people with gambling debts, and generally find that so long as the proposal explains the reason for the gambling and that you confirm the steps that have been taken to wean you off the habit, then most creditors are generally OK.

Let's face it they are usually more interested in how much they are going to be repaid rather than the reasons for the debts being incurred in the first place.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.
View my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[zoe]

I am in exactly the same position.
I have been negociating with my creditors for reduced payments in the mean time. I am under the Pychiatric nurse as i attempted suicide due to me being stupid and gambling.
Unforutantely i am getting alot of pressure from one of my creditors MBNA to get my money paid, i have not got it and have offered token payments. I am getting about 4-5 calls a day as well as very rude people over the phone, who refuse all of my offers and also refuse to put details in writing or freeze interest on my account so it is getting worse. I have stopped gambling for a few weeks now and feel good about it, however all this pressure from MBNA is making me have dark thoughts again.
Oliver gave me some great advise yesterday and i am trying to get myself together to act on this,
Zoe

[Skippy]

Hi Zoe, have you spoken to a company yet regarding an IVA? I originally spoke to Thomas Charles and they were brilliant - they didn't judge me and they made things easy for me by completing the paperwork etc. My IVA was then passed to Accuma, who have been brilliant.

MBNA have had numerous mentions on the forum - they are well known for hounding people. Please, please don't let them make you have any more dark thoughts - yes, you owe them money, but your life and your future are so much more important than money. I know it's hard, but keep thinking about a gambling and debt free future - you can achieve it.

Good luck, and keep posting. No-one on here will judge you, just offer you advice and the chance to sound off - at the end of the day we are all in the same boat.

Three down, fifty seven to go until freedom!

[zoe]

Hi there
I will be speaking to Thomas Charles about this. I have been trying to get my health sorted first, i am getting there.
I need to ask, what can they do to me (legally) if they do not accept my offers. Last night a Michael Hughes at MBNA told me they were going to "send the boys round" and they would "clear my stuff" he also said that i needed to borrow money from the bank or family member to pay them?
thanks for listening
Zoe

[Skippy]

How dare MBNA speak to you like that! They cannot 'send the boys round' or 'clear your stuff'. The experts will be better able to help you with what happens next, but I did receive a few letters saying that they would be contacting my solicitors and I did receive a couple of default notices. I didn't pay any of my creditors from July last year and my IVA was approved in October. I ended up telling MBNA that if they didn't stop ringing me at work I would lose my job and then how did they expect to get any money? I also pointed out that I had no intention of speaking to them at home if they were rude to me. Surprisingly they took the hint.

Don't borrow any money to pay MBNA. If you are going to go ahead with an IVA you cannot be seen to give any creditors preferential treatment. Also, you do not need any more debts hanging over you.

One last thing, if I were you, when you are feeling stronger I would write an official letter of complaint to MBNA about that delightful individual - it has made me so angry that he has spoken to you like that.



Three down, fifty seven to go until freedom!

[zoe]

That wasn't the worst of it really, he refused to put me through to a manager, refused to put anything in writing to me and also said that i borrowed their money with no intention of paying it back. I am worried that they will oppose IVA.

I can't believe everyone is being so nice to me on here!
ZOE

[Skippy]

I would definitely put something in writing to MBNA, no-one should be allowed to talk to you like that.

MBNA were my third biggest creditor and despite creating a fuss they didn't even bother voting at my creditor's meeting.

Regarding borrowing 'their money', this goes back to my old moan - perhaps the companies shouldn't be so keen on lending it to us in the first place! I had a £25k loan over seven years with Natwest, and several credit cards up to the limits, and yet Egg were happy to lend me another £16k. I was honest about what I owed when I filled the forms out.

I would speak to Thomas Charles as soon as you feel up to it - this will take a weight off your mind. You will be able to forward any correspondence to them, rather than having to deal with it yourself.

We're all nice on here! We've all been there and done it, so we can understand what you are going through.

Three down, fifty seven to go until freedom!

[zoe]

How Much did you owe Skippy and what are your IVA terms (if you dont't mind me asking?)
Zoe

[jamesfalla]

Zoe

There has been some good advice here already and a past gambling problem certainly should not stop you proposing an IVA.

In my experiance MBNA seem to be the worst in terms of harassing their non paying clients. If you are working up to do an IVA but need more time to get things straight, there are two strategies I suggest.

One would be making a token payment to MBNA. Perhaps offer then £10-£20 per month. This may or may not get them off your back. Alternatively I suggest that when MBNA next call you tell them straight that you have taken advice and decided to declare bankruptcy and they will be hearing from the court. They can never do any worse to you than that and it might put them on the back foot alittle

James Falla

Expert in IVA, Bankruptcy and informal Debt Management solutions, with extensive experience of solving personal debt problems over the past 10 years. I am regularly featured on BBC News, Finance Programs and Radio.

Visit my blog at: http://jamesfalla.blogs.iva.co.uk

[zoe]

That sounds great advice.
I am no good at these things i just end up crying and then they feel that they can intimidate me!
I have already paid them 2 lots of £100 this month and offered £25.00 per month, they have been so rude to me.
I have spoken to Egg also who were the exact opposite, they even arranged lower payments than i had offered as they said i need to be able to live!!!
I will be approaching for an IVA within the next month.
Zoe

[Skippy]

I owed around £65k Zoe. I hope you don't mind me asking but how much do you owe?

I pay £459 per month, which is a return of 27p in the pound for the creditors - they would have received 2p in the pound if I had declared myself bankrupt. I have no assets, so there is no equity release at the end - are you a homeowner?

I found Egg to be very helpful - like you say they are the opposite of MBNA. Is there anyone who can answer the phone for you? My boyfriend offered, but if I had a bad day at work I quite enjoyed telling MBNA where to go - my little bit of therapy!

Three down, fifty seven to go until freedom!

[zoe]

Hi there
I owe £52000 and have about £4000 joint equity with my husband.
He has offered to answer the phone for me, we are also putting a non withheld block on so someone can only get through if they arn't withheld. My Husband is getting really angry about it because it is really really upsetting me and he doesn't want me doing anything stupid again.
i am worried as i have all the horrible creditors, IE northern Rock and MBNA however they would not get anything if i was made Bankrupt. THe other point is i cannot go bankrupt or will loose my job i work in Lical Government Finance so they would get nothing if i went bankrupt!
Zoe X

[Skippy]

Hi Zoe, I would say let your husband answer the phone, and the block is a very good idea.

I know it's easier said than done, but try not to worry about things. Speak to Thomas Charles when you can and concentrate on getting yourself well. You are the most important person, not your creditors, and your health is the main thing here. It sounds as if you have a supportive husband, which will be a big help. My boyfriend was great, and I couldn't have done it without him.

Three down, fifty seven to go until freedom!