IVA

[rollercoaster]

Am currently in process of proposing IVA and have been entirely truthful about situation.however am losing sleep about 'reckless debt' scenario as it can be argued that debt is result of gambling, then using cards to meet living expense. any one got any experience of this scenario? [:(]

[size5]

If you have been entirely honest and upfront then you can do no more. I think that it will help your cause no end if you can demonstrate that you either have, or are willing to, seek professional help and advice from someone like Gamblers Anonymous.

Good luck.

[rollercoaster]

have got help and stopped gambling completely, didn't realize how out of hand it was until credit had ran out. A little concerned that if IVA is not accepted what happens in BR proceedings. willing to pay, Income order, but does it get more serious than that?

[Skippy]

If your IVA is rejected (and I don't think for one moment that it will be) and you go BR there is a chance that you could end up with a Bankruptcy Restriction Undertaking (BRU). This would mean that you would be subject to the restrictions of BR (no credit over £500, can't do certain jobs or hold certain positions etc) for up to 15 years. However, BRU's of that length of time are extremely rare and only for the most serious cases. I can only think of one 15 year BRU and the guy swindled millions from HMRC!

Put your faith in your IP - they wouldn't be putting the IVA forward if they didn't think that it would succeed. Do you have a date for your creditors' meeting yet?

[rollercoaster]

no date as yet but proposal is being sent to me this weekend. have approx £54k debt and offering £528 monthly pay, have checked with my job and they are supportive, even giving paid time off when needed. just worried that gambling debt is criminal?
have been reading this site for ages, dont know why i didnt post sooner

[iva experts]

Hi rollercoaster,

I wouldn't worry too much about your previous gambling problem, It would help your I.P if you have been clean for 3 months or more and could provide clean bank statements showing no more gambling activity.

[Skippy]

Nope, gambling debts aren't criminal. The only debts that you can go to prison for are council tax or court debts.

I'm glad your company is being supportive, it makes such a difference. My boss was great through my IVA and BR and to be honest that's part of the reason I'm still here.

Make sure you're happy with your proposal and you feel that the payments are manageable. If you have any questions please ask and we'll try to help. Please keep posting - everyone on here is very supportive and a lot of us have been in the same situation that you are in now.

[size5]

In reality, you have run up consumer debt. The fact that you have spent it gambling is very unfortunate, but in itself not a criminal offence.
My opinion is that it does you great credit to admit to the problem and take positive steps to try and alleviate it.

[MelanieGiles]

I have dealt with many clients with gambling debts in the past, and never had any of them rejected. Your IP will want to be assured that you have broken the habit, but creditors are unlikely to be too concerned if you are now making best efforts to repay them.

[rollercoaster]

thank you so much for your words of advice and support. will check income and expenditure very closely when i receive written proposal and keep my fingers crossed. were going to go BR instead but hopefully all will be successful for an IVA as don't want the upset of BR on kids (one autistic)and loss of home would be unsettling, although may be inevitable. live and learn. valuable lesson to learn but glad i've learned it sooner rather than later.

[Oliver]

Well done for facing up to your debts and attempting to enter into a legitimate debt solution.

We have had many clients whom have gambled, and gambling can be fairly common with people in debt (many try to gamble their way out of their debt problems). This in itself will not necessarily go against you and as long as you can show that you have overcome your problem then I would be confident of this not having a detrimental affect on your proposal.

All the best with everything.