Hi Everyone
I am hoping you can help with some advice. After a lot of perseverance and having started counselling recently, I have been able to convince my husband to close his bank accounts.
He has been a engaging with the counselling, but is still struggling and gambling at times. He seems to be getting into cycles and gambling for days on end.
I am pleased he has agreed to close the accounts. I am worried though if he will try to find another way to gamble that could result in debts or if he might try to use my bank. I think you can block gambling transactions, but I am not sure if this works for all sites. He also uses PayPal and I am worried he might still try and use this, even with my details.
Would be grateful if anyone had any advice on this and if you’ve done anything to protect your own finances that has worked.
Thanks
Hi Violet,
There are a couple of things that can be done.
First of all, get your husband to sign up to gamstop - that will prevent playing on all UKGC registered casinos (and the national lottery) online.
One thing I do now to protect my money is invest in premium bonds (they are backed by the treasury so there is no risk) - the reason I do this is that deposits are instant but it takes a few days to get money out of there when I make a withdrawal. This means that I dont have access to more money than I realistically need at any one time.
Does your partner have access to your paypal details? If so turn on two factor authentication so no transactions can be processed without you receiving a text message to confirm you are happy with the spend.
Hi Andy
Thank for your reply. He did sign up to Gam stop but was able to find a way around this.
He doesn’t know my paypal details but I am worried that he might try and set up a new PayPal with my card.
Thanks
Hi @Violet21
I’m not that familiar with paypal but my suggestion is if your partner knows your bank acct details, keep a very small amount of money there and no overdraft capacity. Most banks also have mobile notifications (mine are hsbc and monzo) now so you will get a message if there’s a transaction. And of course keep the gambling block on your bank account/s on. For the rest of your money keep it in a savings account where there is no instant withdrawal.
For peace of mind, you can just close that particular bank account if you think that partner will try to use it. It’s very use to switch bank account these days. When my partner switched to Monzo, it’s super easy, they even helped him inform his employer, very straightforward.
Good luck
P
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