Gambling Addiction & Recovery Support Group

Start with attending GA meetings. They can hook you up with a Financial Pressure Relief meeting to help you with a budget for paying back your bills. They even have lawyers that will give you advice for free, but not represent you for free. It is a good place to start.

Hi Jo, I too buried myself in debt and did not know where to turn but bankruptcy was always one thing I always thought of as some thing "other people" do, not me. I was on line (over a year ago) just looking for what I dont know, thought the answer to my problems was there. Then I came across a company that (for a considerable fee) will negotiate with your creditors, for them to accept a smaller amount then you actually owe. I filled out the application on line they called me back the next day. When the guy was done explaining how their system worked, I thought, I would be a fool not to try this. They took 180 dollars out of my check acct for three months, then were to take 85 dollars for the next 33 months. At the end of the 3 years they were to have a setlement offer from the creditor. My payments to the creditor at the time I entered the program was 215 a month, so this program was costing me 85, I was to save the remaining 130 a month to put towards the eventual settlement. A year into this thing I was getting sued, I had to have $15,000 in 30 days. Impossible, so I was preety much had no choice to go the bankruptcy route. After i got sued I looked at better business Bureau about the relief agency I was dealing with, there were 100s of complaints filed against them, they do not do any thing like what they promise. When I called them (because I was still thinking I could avoid bankruptcy) they said they would help me with the law suit only if i paid them $1,000.00 immediately. I asked why dont they continue to take the 85 monthly for the 3 years like we had agreed to, they said that was not an option. Where i messed up, I didnt research them before hand, and all this was done on line, I had no thing in writting. I filed in April and it wont be final until at least August. One thing I didnt realize when I filed bankruptcy is that I was only treating the symtoms and not the disease. In other words after filing I continued to gamble and I am in a pinch now because of it. I am 6 days now no gambling and just have to do it this time. I want so bad to go to the casino and win back the 1500 I spent sinse I filed for bankruptcy but I know I cant, I will only loose more. But the main point I am trying to make to you is in response to your question "are there any sites on the internet that can help with debt", be very carefull who you deal with on line they often are not what they say and do consider the bankruptcy route, it is a very humiliateing feeling to have to do that but some times it really is the only answer. Good luck to you , Ken

Call 1800GAMBLER talk to a counselor. Find out if there are and free or lost cost programs available to you. I found a counseling program where I pay ten dollars per visit.

like kennyp said, these debt settlement agencies can be very sketchy. they do not help, as they hold any funds you send in escrow. your creditors do not get paid on time or until they make a settlement offer...which is more than likely not going to happen. thus your credit goes in the hole because you miss payments. i just finished dealing with ruther and associates. they were to take $260 out of my account each month. i paid for 3 months before i had to stop because it just wasn't in my budget to do so anymore. i cancelled and they told me the money i had saved with them was put towards legal fees and there was nothing to send back to me. they quickly let my creditors know i quit the program, so they are calling me again nonstop. they do not help. bankruptcy does not have the stigma that it used to be. i have two friends who had to go through it and 2years later, their credit scores were back up because they were able to take steps to rebuild it after the discharge. it is something i am looking into now. i also look at it as a seven year reminder of what i have done and should never do again, which is throw my money away at a casino. my advice to you, is go to the ftc website http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pub... and read on how to choose a good credit advice company. many will help you set up a budget and some will help with payments.