A reader asked:
“I have nearly £20,000 in credit card debts due to 8 years of gambling addiction. I asked several times to lower my interest, defaulted a couple of times and also they could see gambling on my account yet they still increased my credit limits. I was taking cash advances to pay for food.
I have not gambled for 18 months now, but I am left with this horrible debt that I cannot afford to pay. I am literally paying the minimum each month just to keep them off my back and the interest they add puts me almost back where I was the month before. Aqua is the biggest problem. I have only £60 a week left after paying my bills which is left for food etc for family of four.
Is there any point telling them about the gambling or complaining about affordability? I am no longer a gambler and want to move on from the whole thing. Anything I can do I will do, to make things better for my family.”
Well done for stopping gambling!
18 months “clean” is a massive achievement.
But having this weight of debt is a huge burden in your situation. It’s a possible trigger to start gambling again in desperation.
So you are doing the right thing to look at your debt options.
The good news is that you may be able to win an affordability complaint, saying that the card lenders increased your limit to an unaffordable level. If you then win complaints against the cards, the amount you owe will be reduced as some of the interest you have paid is refunded and interest should be frozen.
How to make affordability complaints
Your cards are unaffordable now and have been for years.
The lenders should have checked that any increase in your credit limit was affordable. They knew you were only making minimum payments, sometimes even defaulting. And, in some cases, you had even asked for lower interest rates.
So they should have looked closer. If they had looked at your credit records they would have seen your escalating debts. If they had looked at the details of your account they would have seen gambling payments on the cards and the cash advances.
There is a template letter you can use to complain to each lender here: Can you get refunds from catalogues and credit cards?
At the moment credit card lenders reject most complaints, often saying you didn’t have to accept the offered credit limit increase. This doesn’t mean you have a weak case. Send it to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) as soon as that happens.
The results of these complaints are not as reliable as for, say, payday loans. But here is what one reader said about taking a complaint to FOS:
I gambled a lot on my Aqua card and they kept increasing my limits! They rejected my complaint so it was sent to the ombudsman where its been upheld from an adjudicator and aqua are to refund me interest and fees from the 2nd time they increased the limits. The adjudicator said that Aqua should not profit from my gambling problem and mentioned I had used the card over 50 times in one month for gambling and getting charged £3 each time. Aqua are terrible but the FOS definitely don’t holding gambling against you!
Get your finances into a safe position
I think it’s well worth making these complaints. Even if you only win a few, it would be really helpful in reducing your debt mountain.
But these complaints can take a long while when they go to the ombudsman – possibly over a year.
So it’s important your finances are sustainable while the complaints go through. You can’t plan to carry on scraping by on £60 a week – that is too little to manage on.
So phone StepChange and ask about your debt options. One possibility is a Debt Management Plan(DMP). In a DMP:
- you make one affordable payment a month to StepChange;
- StepChange will divide this all between your creditors, they don’t charge any fees; and
- the interest on your cards should be frozen. This isn’t guaranteed, but it normally happens.
I’m suggesting a DMP as it sounds as though you can afford to make some payments each month and DMPs are good “temporary” debt solutions. If you win any of your affordability complaints, the balance you owe will be reduced and this will speed up your DMP. So it doesn’t matter if at the start it looks as though the DMP will go on for a very long while.
Stopping gambling – practical steps.
Gambling & affordability complaints
Refunds from large loans & car finance
Gary H says
This is really interesting. I have done a lot of affordability complaints with good success rate but against payday loans and a guarantor loan. I had no idea you could do them against credit cards too?
Anna says
Hi Sara,
Could I kindly ask if you received my email regards my IVA Trust being held by Aperture? I did submit it to you last week.
Regards
AEC
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t see any previous contact from you.
Dan says
I have a bit of experience with this and can confirm that once a credit credit or bank loan is registered in default and the consumer has signs of financial problems the lender should look to stop intrest and charges there is FCA guidelines regarding this.
I put in multiple complaints to credit card and loan companies as they had all added intrest and charges after the account had defaulted and I was showing signs of financial problems they then carried on for 12 months adding intrest when I was in a debt management plan.
i won all 5 complaints with only the post office having to go to the financial ombudsman who ruled in my favour anyway.
Lloyds credit card 2k refunded
Lloyds loan 1k refunded
Post office £500 refunded
Tesco credit card £250 refunded
Barclays credit card £900 refunded
The ruling from the fos stated that the post office (bank of Ireland) should of stopped intrest and charges on the day the account defaulted on my credit file along with receiving paperwork from step change debt charity would of shown them my financial problems. they were told to refund intrest and charges + 8% intrest from the date of default this was a ombudsman decision as they rejected the adjudcators decision. I didn’t need to take the others to the fos. The refund from lloyds was paid with in two weeks of the complaint going to them ! And credit to lloyds by far the best complaint process I have dealt with.
Mandy Green says
This is absolutely correct, all interest is supposed to stop once the account defaults. If not, I would never had been able to pay off my debts. I have been in more debt than this, I would say approximately £30k about 3.5 years ago, thanks to credit card lenders who kept increasing my limit (and also my lack of discipline). It is now down to about £7k.
Once the debt you owe is no longer gathering interest and fixed payments have been set up (preferably by Direct Debit), it will be a easier to settle the debts. The lenders will not bother you as long as you are keeping up with your payments. My Experian credit score which was 149 at the time is now 939! If you do the calculations yourself, you will find that as long as interest has stopped, a monthly payment of £400 over 3.5 years (42 months) = £16,800 off your debt.
Obviously, how quickly yours goes down depends on what you can afford to pay, but the point I’m trying to make is that you CAN get back on your feet as long as you make sure you don’t miss any payments and don’t borrow any more under any circumstances. You have to be very strict with yourself. You have already made the first step by stopping the gambling (very well done!). Try not to panic.
Dan says
The general complaint i made to all the lenders was basically unfair treatment and unfair intrest and charges being added after the account had defaulted and showing signs of financial problems, ie missed payments default dmp etc you then just ask for all the intrest and charges to be refunded to you. And obviously if they are still adding intrest and charges to ask for that to stop straight away. Which if your in a dmp would of been done by the dmp provider.
With pay day loan complaints as well I’ve reduced my debt by over 13k over 12 months with only 3k left in my dmp very happy !
My 3 steps to help to be debt free
. Make affordability complaints to payday lenders and high cost loans ie avant credit etc
. Make unfair intrest complaints being added to credit cards and personal loans after default
. Use any affordable spare money to make reduced final settlement offers sometimes you can clear a old debt for as little as 20 -30%
And last thing make sure your lender can provide a consumer credit agreement if they cant the debt is legally unenforceable and you cant receive a ccj for not paying there is nothing the creditor can do to collect the debt once the default date has expired after 6 years it will fall off your credit file as well.
.... says
I also use to have a marbles account with a £2250 balance with a 39.9% APR rate.The card was more a less maxed out for a while and I struggled to meet the minimum payments.A lot of the credit they offered me I was using to pay a Guarator loan for Amigo Loans so I was trapped in a circle of persistent debt.I often asked could they reduce the APR as for some customers they do.They refused time and time again.I received a default on my credit file from another loan back in January 2018 and a CCJ in October 2018 for unpaid rent from my university,but they still refused to lower the rate of APR on my account .All they offered me is for me to make part payments but it would severely affect my credit score etc.Thankfully since I have cleared the balance now but the account is still open as they said closing the account will do me more harm then good.I have been with them for about 30 months and they have done absolutely nothing to help me out.Do I have a chance to get anything back from them?
... says
Addition info to my last comment.Also I missed quite a few payments for marbles in the last 12 months to now.Marbles kept the interest APR high and I remember they offered me a credit increase from £1500 to £2250 in August 2018 just 7 months after recieving that default from smart pig loans.I can’t exactly remember how much of the marbles balance went towards amigo loans but it was at least a few hundred pounds since amigo loans/Loan Sharks was paid out in March 2017 when I was not employed.I haven’t complained to the obussman yet about marbles but I will do shortly.Can you please help with a template letter as you did so well with providing the complaint by guarator letter template on here.My current complaint about Amigo loans is now under investigation with the financial ombudsman and they have asked Amigo loans to freeze all action against me to the account is investigated.
Andy says
There should be something like this for gambling companies they should check your income ect , they shouldn’t be allowed to just rinse people of everything they have 😡
Iain123 says
There is. Gambling companion are now legally obliged to inquire about your income. If they don’t, and you get into trouble, report them to the Gambling Commission and they’ll get fined and you may get a refund.
Andy says
How do I go about this then lain I’ve spent over 100,000 on gambling in the last 7-8 years through loans and my own wages and now I’m in a dmp and struggling to make ends meet
I’ve got 14 complaints going through with payday loans and they all equal to about 250 loans , all through gambling it’s embarrassing to say but that’s what an addiction does but I’ve been clear for over 6 months now I just hope I can get some interest back and hopefully pay off debt and start a new slate and start a new life with my family :(
Chris says
Gambling companies are not legally obliged to inquire about your income.Perhaps they should be but it is not a legal requirement. The Gambling Commission are VERY unlikely to require a company to initiate a refund. I speak as a gambler. I have to accept that I must take responsibility for the losses I have incurred. There is much more to do to protect vulnerable gamblers and the GC is a great body to lobby with any suggestions you have.
Ross says
The best thing the Gambling Commission ever did was to introduce the Gamstop service. I gambled heavily, online, for years and fell in to the payday loan trap, as a result. I signed up for Gamstop in January of this year and have been gambling free ever since. It’s had a startling effect on my finances and I am no longer searching the net to find money, I actually HAVE money. I would recommend that anyone, who is affected by an addiction to online gambling, takes the first step by barring yourself from it.
Andy says
I did try gamstop , and blocked me from going on gambling sites but then I was signing into WiFi and I could access the sites again through app store there’s always ways round everything but I just got all my wages into my Mrs account and closed my bank down just to get out of it but I’m finally clean now and myself have a little money 😂 glad you’ve got out of it too mate 👍
Matthew says
Dan, thanks so much for your in-depth post. I am in a similar situation not too dissimilar to yours. Catastrophic health issues, tried to borrow my way out of the mess using credit cards. Was offered increases and through desperation (no alternative), borrowed off cc. maxing out.
I’m on DMP, can’t get a job, developed a severe drinking problem through desperation (now under control). I reference this because there may be people experiencing similar journey and feel “less than” or judged by external agents. I’d like to remind people that however you got into the debt, your health and wellness are the most important priority. People will judge, be a critic or believe they could have managed the situation far better. The debt isn’t a reflection of your worth, despite the pressure of feeling otherwise.
I’m just recovering from health issues and as stated previously have a DMP, but I would like to reduce it if possible. Otherwise bankruptcy is the only option and this would both affect employment (occupation is classified as sensitive category) and renting, as this DOES impede housing options.
Please can I urge others who have positive experiences, strategies or helpful perspective to continue posting because it can be the difference between hope and giving up!
Thanks again Dan.
Blessings to all X
PH says
Matthew,
Please don’t take this the wrong way, as I only want to help (I’m kind of wanting to pay it forward).
Are you ok? I read your post and was immediately worried about you. If you would like to talk to someone who has been through a lot of what it sounds like you are going through, I’m happy to offer my services as an ear to listen.
Much love, and blessings on you too.
Pete
Matthew says
Thanks Pete, I’m ok thanks for your concern! The hope – giving up, was more a generic comment/experience of addiction and Hoplessness. Re talking, it is very kind but there really isn’t much to discuss except accepting and taking action.
My very best wishes to you though.
Blessings
Dan says
Hi Matthew no problem when your in a financial mess like I was I did tons of research into my rights etc you could be classed as a vulnerable consumer and your creditors would be expected to be sympathetic to your health situation and would be expected to do things like freezing all collection activity for 3 to 6 months to give you time to sort your health problems out. Again FCA guidelines if they did refuse put a complaint in and take them to the financial ombudsman service.
I take it your making token payments on your DMP if so just keep paying the £1 a month to each creditor this is fine but isn’t a long term solution, If you can do all three things on my list plus ask them all for a consumer credit agreement and ask your creditors to freeze collection activity for a period of time due to health reasons and see where this takes you. Maybe talk to your DMP provider as well and national debtline.
Good luck
Matthew says
Hi Chris, yes, I think I would qualify and will be writing letters next week to see how I can challenge some aspects.
I accept that debt/addiction is about personal responsibility. But we are all fully aware of the psychogical techniques/ use of hypnotic marketing and targeting of vulnerable groups. I think anything that levels the playing field, helps people in despair or prevents a more serious action by someone, can only be a positive.
This is why such legislation exists.
Financial pressure is an extremely intense stressor. I hope in the future that gambling will be regulated like smoking, particularly in football. I’d encourage you to post the information/experience you have Chris wherever you can as it quite literally could be life-changing/saving.
Thanks Sara for your excellent website/work.
Also, agree Step Change are awesome and a necessity in handling the first step of the financial mess.
Best wishes.
Arthur says
I would side with Sara in saying “go straight to Stepchange”. They will not put you down or make you feel stupid and the night following your initial contact with them, you will sleep more soundly than you have since your debts began to pile up. They somehow take the pressure off, even before they have bgun to sort out your affairs. Good luck and best wishes.
James2020 says
I have a similar situation. I had a gambling issue and used my Barclaycard extensively. From 2010 I started off with a credit limit of £2300 and it ended up on 16k limit by 2016. I was only on 22k a year at the time. From 2013 onwards virtually all transactions made on t he card were gambling. I’ve just recently contacted the ceo and his executive complaints team are looking into it. Not sure what to expect. Any advice from Sara would be great
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Keep on it – you have what sounds like a strong complaint. If Barclaycard don’t make you a reasonable offer take the case to the ombudsman, don’t give up.
david says
I’ve been saying to my friends for a few years now that sooner or later there will come a ruling where gambling companies and banks will be held jointly responsible for multiple transactions and those that get people into debt.
I registered with GamStop about 18 months ago now (hard at first but more than worth it) and had a few issues where I tried to get money back when the GamStop facility should have blocked me or when multiple transactiosn going out of my bank prior to direct debits going out on a month to month basis should have been identified by my bank. I got nowhere obviously, but I can see this being the next “PPI”.
Allan Kane says
As a long term gambler online I have been through most of which has been discussed here. I’ve now got about 30 k to pay back. I took out a 2nd charge mortgage home loan through 1st stop home loans 2 yrs ago and its huge interest payments are meaning we will repay something like 30 k for 10k borrowed. Can I complain to them about this loan ref gambling etc or the FO ? Not much on here about 1st Stop home loans so was wondering if they can be claimed against.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1st stop home loans: I have not seen anyone try an affordbility complaint for a recent secured loan. You would have to show that the loan was not affordable, not that the interest rate is absurdly high. Did they ask for bank statements before lending? If yes, did those bank statements show gambling?
david87 says
Hi Sara,
Thanks for setting up this excellent website for people with debt problems.
I also have debts approx 19k from 4 credit cards that have slowly increased over the years, however last year I gambled around 5k during a 6 month period, as a consequence my cards are maxed out, declined further credit and the 0% offers are gone completely.
I have sought advice through national debtline as I meet the criteria for a DRO
but have conflicting advice from their agents, one of their agent mentioned that gambling debts can lead to an extension of the DRO restriction period, up to 15 years and the insolvency service can look at your conduct over the last 5 years, however another agent was not sure the insolvency service are going to investigate any further as the gambling was done over a short period of time and that in his experience its was rare for the insolvency service to take any further action. What do you think they will do in this situation?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I take the practical approach that if a DRO is the best debt solution for you, does it really matter if the IS extends the DRO restriction period? And what other o[ptions do you have?
david87 says
Hi Sara,
I don’t have much option but would like to know are they really going to look into my conduct over 5 years due to gambling .for a few months.
Peter says
Hi Sara,
If I put in a irresponsible lending complaint to the original creditor (although the debt has been sold on to DCA and received the ‘letter before claim’ letter) will the DCA put the account on hold from going to court while the affordability claim is dealt with?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes they should do. You need to tell the DCA that you are disputing the debt with the original creditor and provide evidence that you have put in a complaint. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/letter-before-claim-ccj/ which looks at what you can put on the Reply Form with the Letter Before Claim
Matt says
Hi
I took out a Barclaycard with a limit of £1500. Within 23 months it had gone up to £11k.
I gambled all that money and paid minimum payments each month.
Is this worth pursuing?
I didn’t have any other debts at the time.
Many thanks
Chris says
Hi
Not sure if this has been covered in this thread or elsewhere so apologies if it is has.
I have had trouble with gambling for many years, various credit cards, loans, payday loans etc.
Have just come out the other side, finances largely under control. The biggest debt I have remaining is a 3.5k Barclaycard balance, slightly over credit limit and in default since mid2019.
I previously made a complaint to them for irresponsible lending as I was frequently at the upper end of my credit limit and they increased it to 3.5k, and I had phoned them telling them I had a problem with gambling and requested they block any transactions. They did initially but then stopped, enabling me to build up debt again.
They rejected my complaint but credited my account as a goodwill gesture. I didn’t take it further at the time but wondering if the planned ban on credit cards for online gambling may have any bearing, and what my best option is at this stage.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago was your complaint? How large was the credit to your account?
Chris says
It was around a year ago, if I recall correctly it was around £400, which brought me back under the credit limit.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry but it may be difficult to do anything now. You had 6 months to take the previous complaint to the ombudsman, so that has passed. And if you put in a new complaint, Barclaycard may simply say they have already resonded to it.
Lee says
I have received my final response from Vanquis, they have not upheld any part of my complaint!
I have responded to dispute it, does anybody have any experience of this too? Will Vanquis reconsider?
I am shocked in the final response they stated they could see a new default when they applied the increase but thought this to be ok because my level of debt was supposedly reducing.
They also state that because at the time when I took out the credit card it was over 6 years old they cannot look into this aspect of my complaint, surely they can access this information still? Would the FOS be able to? The account was opened jan 2013, credit limit increased from £500 too £1500 in July 14.
My account was mostly used for gambling and I did not speak to anybody from Vanquis to apply or receive the increase in credit, although they say I received an email advising of the increase.
I have now requested SAR and past statements ready to take to the FOS. ( I know should have done this before )
In your experience will they reconsider my complaint after I have disputed it? Is this a good case for the Ombudsman? Do I wait for the response or start complaint now?
Please could you also point me into the direction of past Loans2go complaints, this may be my next one!
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
surely they can access this information still?
They are choosing not to.
Would the FOS be able to?
FOS rules say they can only go back 6 years UNLESS you are complaining within three years of having found out you could. So they will look at some “older” complaints.
The account was opened jan 2013, credit limit increased from £500 too £1500 in July 14.
In that case the majority of your case will be within the 6 year time limit if you send the case to FOS now, before July 2020. Under 6 year cases will go much faster at FOS. It may well be worth you telling FOS that you are complaining about the credit limit lincrease, that you aren’t asking for a refund before July 2014, but you would like FOS to take your pattern of spending before july 2014 into account as Vanquis should have seen your gambling and not increased your credit limit.
I have now requested SAR and past statements ready to take to the FOS.
because of the time limit issue it is very important you get the complaint into FOS before July. Some firms are being slow sending out SARs. I suggest you send FOS your complaint now, you can always add more information and your bank statements later
In your experience will they reconsider my complaint after I have disputed it?
no. Send the case to FOS now.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Loans2Go has a page all of its own as these loans are so dreadful! https://debtcamel.co.uk/worst-loan-in-britain/
Stephen says
So I’ve recently just paid off a number of Payday loans due my gambling addiction, I’ve now signed up to GamStop and I’m so far 6 months clean.
To name a few payday lenders, Uncle Buck, Satsuma, Likely Loans and Everyday Loans.
At the height of my addiction I was struggling to pay the likes of my credit cards and various other bills due to this addiction and lending more!
These were all back to back and Everyday loans even tried to offer me more money when I applied for a loan, they knew the level of debt I was in and still continued to lend to me.
Luckily for myself I was gifted an amount from my parents to clear the majority of these but, had it not been for them I would of been in a never ending cycle!
Looking back at my bank statements there was a large number of gambling transactions but I was still given loans etc.
Just wondering what I can do? I was struggling, living alone and ended up in over £20,000 worth of debt.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well done, 6 months clean is great.
You can look at making complaints to the lenders that they gave you loans that were unaffordable. If you win the complaint you will get a refund of the interest you paid.
Uncle Buck has gone into administration but Satsuma, Likely Loans and Everyday Loans are still going – this page https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/ has a template letter you can adapt for your complaints. Basically you are saying you were given large loans even though your credit record showed a LOT of debt and the lenders never properly checked your could afford them, or they would have seen the gambling on your bank statements.
Everyday Loans may have asked to see your bank statements – if you showed them one with gambling on it they should never have loaned you money.
david d says
Hello all, can I ask, if I registered with Gamstop on 25.5.2018 for a period of 5 years self exclusion but have recently traced Gambling transactions via my current account beyond this date to the tune of just over £1.2k, mostly in july and august 2018, shouldn’t this have been blocked? they were all uk online casino sites.
I’m wondering if I have any cause to complain to directly to the companies in question. I did not attempt to defraud or change my account details to bypass their prevention etc. perhaps they weren’t registered with Gamstop, would that have been the case perhaps?
many thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry but you would need to ask about that on a specialist forum about gambling.
Joel says
I have debts related to gambling. I had gambling on credit cards which I haven’t raised a complaint for yet. I’m currently in a DMP which these debts are included.
I am fortunate that I have been gifted a large amount of money which I plan to use to clear my debts as soon as possible and then hopefully get on the property ladder.
However my dilemma is now whether I wait to complain and hold off for the outcome of these complaints first. I had planned to approach each creditor to get a discounted settlement figure if paid off in a lump payment, with an aim of saving some money. However I don’t know where I would stand on raising complaint afterwards if I got a discounted settlement figure?
Any advice on this would be appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If you get a discounted settlement, any refund will come to you in cash.
If you don’t settle it, a lot of the refund is likely to be clearing the outstanding balance, so you would get less in cash and indeed may still owe a reduced balance which you would have to settle at that point.
It’s hard to guess which would be financially better.
Can I ask when you defaulted on these cards? Have they been sold to debt collectors?
Joel says
Thanks, I think it probably makes sense to get settled as important things is to be debt free but will try to raise a complaint afterwards.
Defaulted over a year ago. The debts were sold on to debt collectors
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is definitely worth complaining after settlement as one of the big advanatages for you would be to get the defaults deleted from your credit records.
Joel says
That definitely makes sense, Thankyou
Assuming you can’t get CCJs deleted from records if compliant is upheld though?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes you can :)
Tjames says
My situation is similar to many mentioned above. Maybe the only difference being that I recently received a letter from Barclaycard informing me that they had made a mistake and given me a credit limit of £10,000 when it should only have been £5,700.
Over the years I have used up to the £10k limit to gamble online, having to borrow from family to pay some back and take out other loans and credit cards to reduce interest payments.
Feels like they were lending to me irresponsibly as much as I was with my actions to use it. They could see I was using it predominantly to gamble with and now by their own admission should only have made half of the amount available to me.
Any advice on what I might me able to do? I thought maybe at least be able to claw some of the interest back, however I have balance transferred it as much as possible over the last few years and basically just moved the debt around.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/barclaycard-letter-credit-limit-too-high/ which looks at what to say to Barclaydacr. In your case you can be quite specific. I think you should ask for interest to be refunded on your account from the point at which your balance went over £5700. If they refuse, send in a formal affordability complaint with their letter as evidence and take the case to the Finacial Ombudsman if that complaint is rejected.
If you were taking other sorts of credit out while you were gambling – payday loans, guarantor loans, bad credit loans, look at making an affordability complaint about them to.
TIM says
Has anyone tried getting refunds of credit card debts where the card was used for gambling? If so has anyone had success? I have a lot of CC debt much of which is from gambling, judge me if you wish but I believe gambling is an illness, a mental illness, for some people as all reasoning is lost when caught up in gambling. I believe that CC companies should never have been allowed to let customers use CC’s for gambling and as such should be held accountable. …..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The cases that have been won are usually where the lender increased the credit limit. So the argument is not that they should have banned gambling but they should not have given more credit which was likely to be Unaffordable because they should have known there was gambling.
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-catalogue-credit-card/ if this happened to you.
Trisha says
Hi
I’ve got a some debt and keep gambling thinking I’m going to win money and pay off those debts. The thing is I have about £9000 worth of debt from credit card personal loans overdraft and catalogue. I am only just paying them every month but spending the rest of my money on gambling sites hoping to win money to pay the debts faster which isn’t happening and I’m ending up with no money. Would a debt agency help me if I stop my gambling?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s hard for you or a debt agency to tell what your true financial position will be when you stop gambling.
Can I suggest you try to stop for two months?
If you manage this and at the end of that two months you are still struggling to afford the debt repayments then you need proper debt advice on your options – a debt management plan where interest and charges are stopped may work well for you.
But if your debts are dropping now you aren’t gambling you may fell you can get through this without a DMP, which would hurt your credit record. Read up about snowballing https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/guide-to-snowballing/ which is the fastest way to clear debts and get a great credit record.
Marie says
Hi,
Thanks for your posts! They’ve been extremely helpful. Does anyone know if I’m likely to have any luck with an affordability complaint to Barclays?
I was gambling heavily and consistently increased my overdraft until it was £2450. I couldn’t get out of the overdraft so took out a loan with Halifax for £5000. Costing £467 a month. I was gambling up to 1000’s of pounds a week from my current account (with halifax) so I feel that this should have been noticed when granting me the large overdraft / loan.
Eventually I called them and they agreed to convert the overdraft to an 8% loan which I am currently slowly paying off,
Do I have a leg to stand on?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
when Barclays increased your overdraft could they see gambling transaction going through this account?
Jenn says
Hi,
About 3 years ago I had a gambling problem and kept increasing my overdraft with Lloyd’s to £2000 and used all of this on gambling transactions. I also had a lot of pay day and personal loans at the time which I put in affordability complaints for an won.
My query is at the same time, I took out 3 credit cards, all one month after another, With limits of £2000 and used this for gambling transactions. The cards were Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Halifax which I believe are all part of Lloyd’s banking group. Does this sound like a good case to complain about that I should not have been given these credit cards given my level of debt at the time? And should they have been aware as overdraft and the 3 credit cards were all through Lloyd’s banking group? And would I have to submit 3 separate complaints for the credit cards please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Were gambling transaction visible on your bank statement at the time the overdaft was being increased? if they were, you can also complain about that.
I think giving you any credit card if your credit record showed a lot of recent payday loans should have been considered carefully. And the 2nd & 3rd cards should also have considered why you needed another card so soon.
I suggest you put in the complaints separately but in each of them make reference to the other ones.
Jenn says
Thank you for the reply. Yes there were alot of gambling transactions visible when I was applying for increase in overdraft and have put a complaint in, was rejected and now with the FOS.
I will send in each complaint separately, thank you. Is there a list of email addresses to complain to for credit cards please?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no list of emails, sorry.