Hi all. I'm new to the forum today and wanted to share my story with the possibility of gaining some valuable advice along the way please. Unfortunately, my husband and I currently have 167k worth of debt. I had debts prior to meeting him as I was a student but these were very manageable following graduation. At the start of the year my husband has been unwell and subsequently diagnosed with a lung condition. He has had a lot of time off work with only SSP payments. We have a combined income of 60k and fortunately he has been back in work for the last few months with no issue. We had savings, with which I gambled on online slots trying to win us some money back. This has then escalated into a massive gambling habit when my mum was diagnosed with a terminal illness in April and I'm ashamed to say I've blown everything - including a 10k loan we got not long ago to try and help us out of this mess. I entered into a DMP last month with Stepchange and wrote to all of my creditors to make them aware of my situation. Quite a few kindly got back thanking me for my honesty and have frozen interest/charges for the moment. I wanted to try and keep my husband out of any kind of debt solution as I feel it's my fault we are in this situation. I have now confessed all to him and he has been very understanding and supportive. We have discussed the possibility of an IVA and have worked out we can afford over 1k a month to pay into it. I have now banned myself from most gambling sites and sought help from my GP who has placed me on antidepressants. I understand I need to take action get this sorted and am committed to paying back as much as possible and never gambling again. UWe are joint homeowners two years into a 126k mortgage on fixed rate repayment. We have no secured loans and one HP agreement of £300 for one of our cars. The other is owned outright and is worth 3k. Apologies for the long post - any advice on our options would be much appreciated. Thank you for reading.
Excellent post and it is clear that you are both in this together despite the terrible chain of events. You have options and IVAs or bankruptcies should be considered and it is so much better that you are supporting each other.
I would advise that you get some independent advice from the professional sector rather than just dealing with a bank funded charity as a DMP does not seem to me to be the most appropriate course of action unless it was just to stabilise matters.
Your vehicles are unlikely to be an issue in an IVA but may be at risk in bankruptcy depending on the attitudes of the official receiver and the finance company. As for your property it depends on the actual value as to whether it would be at risk in bankruptcy but normally in an IVA it is protected.
Get some free advice and consider your options. It may depend on the split of the debts, your jobs and other factors as to what the correct advice would be as bankruptcy may be appropriate for one of you but not the other. The same could apply to an IVA so get the advice and very best of luck.
I agree -- an excellent post -- well done to both of you for owning the problem and providing mutual support --which goes a long way in a debt solution.
A DMP is a useful sticking plaster for a short while, but not really suitable long term. It does, however, give you a breathing space and helps to establish a period of no gambling, which will help matters from the creditors points of view.
I know that McCambridge Duffy have a few clients who have had a gambling problem in the past and the creditors do, on the whole, appear to be supportive.
As Michael said, it is important to chat with a few companies and see who you feel most at ease with. Also have a good wander around the forum and see what we are saying about the various firms we have and are using.
Also feel free to ask any questions you need to ... as the saying goes "there is no such thing as a silly question".
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
Excellent post and well done for the support you are giving each other.
Speak to one or two companies before making a decision. Vincent Bond (details under ask experts a question link on the left hand side of the page) will give you some free advice.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply and for your warm welcome. Our home is worth 140k at the moment. We would like to try and pay as much back as we can and understand with an IVA we could do this as well as protect our home. I am just a bit confused as to whether the payment would be enough for the IVA to be accepted and also if I’d have to wait for a certain timescale prior to my application for an insolvency route due to my gambling. The debt splits are 70k for my husband and 97k for me. I realise that these are totally excessive amounts – I had around 35k alone up until three years ago. We have been swapping onto 0% rates on different cards since and it has spiralled out of control unfortunately. I am determined to do the right thing by us and really appreciate all the comments from you guys. It is an excellent forum.
You will end up with interlocking IVA's I imagine - just one monthly payment but separate IVA's.
You will obviously have to go through a full income and expenditure but the IP company will help with that.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
The property is pretty much mortgaged to the hilt.
By the time you sold it and paid any mortgage and early penalties you might cover the solicitor and the estate agent. Nothing for creditors there so a goods thing.
If you both work then separate IVAs could be most appropriate as you can each pay back your own creditors depending on earnings and surplus income. This also means joint creditors get two bites of the cherry which is fair as they have two signatures.
As part of your debt was due to gambling the IP would be expected to monitor your bank statements for the first three months but not those of your husband. Regardless if you want to gamble you will always find a way so IPs have to trust their clients. In bankruptcy you could face an extension due to the gambling but hopefully this will not be the case.
Finally you stated that you tried to gamble your way out of trouble and the gambling was not the main cause. This to me is a big difference and in my opinion you would be much less likely to gamble again than someone doing it all their life. We have had many gamblers enter IVAs so there is no reason you would face any obstacles yourself.
Hi - the IVA is compared to the outcome in Bankruptcy and due to the significant costs in Bankruptcy an IVA is often more attractive and gives a higher dividend back to creditors.
Personally I think the best advice you can get is from someone in person - meet an IP face to face and have a proper meeting to go through your financial position and consider the best options available to you, which may well be IVAs.
So recommend you look for a local firm of IPs and arrange a meeting. Most good ones will not charge you anything for this first meeting.
