Bank loans and gambling

Curious 1

I’m looking for advice on bank loans allowed to me while in active gambling addiction. It was very clear from my bank account that there was a gambling addiction but my bank never made any contact with me to address the issue ever. They also allowed me to top up my loans 16 times without any question of the high volume of gambling transactions on my account. Do they have a duty to support vulnerable customers in addiction?? I’m in recovery now following time in rehab but I feel that there are very few protections for people like me against spiralling out of control without any attempts by my bank to try mitigate the problem or discuss it with me.

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058288362/bank-loans-and-gambling

Are you looking for a loan or looking for help with your debts?

brokenbad

Surprised that the gambling transactions on your bank statement are not "red flags" to the loan approver as part of due diligence during the application process.....sounds like negligence on their part.

Generally for any bank or credit union loans - transactions of this type are frowned upon when they review your transaction history (usually 3-6 months of statements)

In recent years, legislation was put in place to stop people using credit cards to fund online betting and lottery accounts.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120361373#Comment_120361373

Gambling transactions of themselves are not a red flag nor an issue, if they were half the banks clients would not qualify for a loan. It's just an urban myth, so long as your ability to pay the loan back it won't be a problem as OP has clearly demonstrated. I spend over three decades in banking and I can't recall a single instance where gambling was singled out for special treatment. On top of this it is almost certainly the case that the OP gave a false reason for obtaining the loans and of course we don't know the size of the loans.

walterking

Seems you had a reasonable repayment record, so no real reason to refuse the loans.

The issue with betting withdrawals is usually with mortgages and people who are looking for the maximum loan.

The bank is not responsible for analysing somebody’s gambling spend no more than the pub is for monitoring an alcoholic’s intake, so long as non-standout behaviour is maintained, in the bank’s case that would amount to satisfactorily repaying the loans. As it stands, you can spend what you like on anything legal, adults are treated as being personally responsible for their behaviours and spending, notwithstanding that addiction is personally a very difficult issue for those affected.

flanna01

I guess your own money is your own...?

How you spend it is down to you.

If you met all your previous loan payments on time, does that not suggest you were responsible at the time?

However, I totally agree that there should be a safety net here somewhere... Gambling has become a huge addiction in this country.

At least when you're drunk you fall down and stop drinking - No such breaks when gambling.

I hope you get the help you need, and be rid of this scourge opon society.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120364567#Comment_120364567

Pretty much this and furthermore I doubt that society would be accepting of the idea of having a bank employee, bookmaker or a barman deciding who is or is not an addict or whether they can spend their money the way they want to or not. If the third party was aware of the addiction and actively worked to benefit from it that would be a different thing.

callaway92

It sounds like you may be trying to gear something up here to take some frustration out on your bank. I wouldn't. It's not fair on them - Like an above poster said. You were taking out top-ups, and probably keeping up with payments, so why should the bank care what you were doing with the money? They would've just been happy payments were kept up; nothing else about it really.

Trigger Happy

You cant be holding the bank responsible for how you spent your money. Its good that you are in recovery now but part of that has to be owning your debts.

squidgainz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120362898#Comment_120362898

Clearly haven't worked in mortgages.

thehairygrape

Huge sympathy to you on this addiction. Hope you can find a way out of it.

No, banks have no responsibility in this area. They are businesses, there to make profit, and have zero social responsibility. That mightn’t be right but it’s what it is.

Again, hope it works out for you. Best of luck.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120366519#Comment_120366519

Oh I have and in risk management and underwriting of mortgages.

squidgainz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120366720#Comment_120366720

And you dont think the gambling transactions affects someone's ability to get a mortgage? I have worked in underwriting and brokering . It does. It is not a myth. Maybe you were working at a higher level in these areas and not at a customer level but I can assure you that if there's repetitive/multiple of transactions going to a gambling account they wont give you a mortgage. Bank of Irelands website says as much.

squidgainz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058288362/bank-loans-and-gambling

Well done to you on the recovery , keep at it. Unfortunately they don't have a duty of care in this regard. They could also claim you lied as the reasons to the top ups. Although banks allow very general reasons these days anyway such as "lifestyle".

amdublin

Would you want your bank to contact you every time you use your debit card in an off licence to check if you are an alcoholic based on your spending?

I am glad you are in recovery and wish you the best. I think you need to focus on yourself versus anyone else at the moment

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120366725#Comment_120366725

Well we'll just have to agree to disagree then, because that has not been my experience. On top of which we are not actually discussing mortgages.

wonski

Ulster Bank refused a mortgage due to relatively small debit card transaction to poker website.

Had to wait 6 months to clear it and reapply (not my case by close friend who it happened too).

The banks are less strict with regular loans normally, but for mortgage applications they normally don't want to see any "suspicious" transactions ;)

Perhaps for accounts with large balances available at all times and excellent repayment records there are less restrictions that I don't know, but would definitely avoid if planning to apply for a mortgage.

OP - well done and wish you good recovery progress!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120362898#Comment_120362898

Correct and right. Gambling transactions in themselves will not raise a red flag for any loan or mortgage application, however what will raise a red flag is regular gambling transactions..

Henry Ford III

If a mortgage approval is marginal and regular online gambling might be the difference a lender will probably decline.

squidgainz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120366519#Comment_120366519

How the **** is this a warning?

squidgainz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120366918#Comment_120366918

That is not what he meant.

squidgainz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120362898#Comment_120362898

Just to warn people , this is wrong , If there is multiple/regular bets a month and the person still meets repayment capacity , they WILL not get a mortgage and WILL be singled out for special treatment

Oscar Madison

Why is it always someone elses fault for your failings?

I grew up as a child with these issues in my family & I have little time

or sympathy for those with these addictions! The effects gambling had

on my family was immense! Grow a pair & deal with it!

TuamJ

I was refused a credit card based on my Cheltenham bets being on my account. I was applying for a BoI card, I do not bank with them. I had to speak to a customer service agent who was so useless I thought I was in a comedy sketch tbh

I had heard nothing for weeks so he asked me to hang on while he checked and then blurted out that it was the gambling debts in March. Should he have said that I wonder? Probably not! Same fella also insisted I must have a second account somewhere as my bank statements didn't show 'everyday use' Really? He says ''I don't see any social life here'' lol

I re-applied once the bets were off my last 3 months statements and got it!

Now my own bank is much more generous with offering loans, credit cards etc Once I am getting paid into the account and making all my repayments on time they'll give me a 10k loan on the app in minutes. They'll give topups no issue. They'll up the cc limit with the click of a button.

The bookies themselves are def getting more strict. I had to give Paddy a payslip and utility bill to place my bets online this week. 'Source of funds' they called it so if I had statements showing more out than in and a big loan payments I'd assume they would not have let me bet. That I don't have an issue with - seems wise. But getting calls from AIB asking me if I'm sure I want to place a bet is a level of interference in my life that I am not okay with. Seems like major overreach to protect the 1% with a problem who would likely holler bloody murder if they got such a call in the depths of their addiction anyway.

Jim2007

At this point the OP has not returned and as the treat is heading off topic, I'm closing it.