UK Debt

[Guest Skint]

I owe UK credit card and have just recently been granted Australian residency. I have been struggling to keep up the payments. Does anybody know if i can be chased for the debt over here?

[Guest ABCDiamond]

I owe UK credit card and have just recently been granted Australian residency. I have been struggling to keep up the payments. Does anybody know if i can be chased for the debt over here?

Some of the UK banks are linked with Australian ones, so it could be quite easy, in theory.

[Guest MattandSarah]

We've been wondering the same thing. Sounds awful, but to leave behind a large loan would mean we had more money when we get to OZ. I have asked a few people here what the likelyhood of them catching up with us would be and have received different responses.

 

I think it depends on the amount, the bank etc. I was told by an ex assistant bank manager that they would not chase you there, but a friend said a catalogue caught up with her on her year out!!!!

 

Our decision is to pay off as much as we can before we go and then, from the sale of the house, offer them a settlement figure much less than we owe.

 

Nice to know if you have been give an sure fire advice though?

[Guest choobs]

We've been wondering the same thing. Sounds awful, but to leave behind a large loan would mean we had more money when we get to OZ. I have asked a few people here what the likelyhood of them catching up with us would be and have received different responses.

 

I think it depends on the amount, the bank etc. I was told by an ex assistant bank manager that they would not chase you there, but a friend said a catalogue caught up with her on her year out!!!!

 

Our decision is to pay off as much as we can before we go and then, from the sale of the house, offer them a settlement figure much less than we owe.

 

Nice to know if you have been give an sure fire advice though?

 

Morally, it's pretty straightforward - you should leave with a clean slate - you never know, you might want to come back at some point ;-)

 

The downside, of course, is it's going to use 50% of our Oz money to clear our debts :-/

 

There's also the poor sods who move into your house after you getting deluged with letters, visits to the house, etc.

 

Choobs

[Guest MattandSarah]

You're right of course and i am sure that is what we will do. I haven't ever missed a payment of any kind, so the worry of leaving it all here would kill any enthusiasm I have to start a new life. I would also be waiting for it to go wrong. Things have a way of catching up with you....! in one word KARMA.

[Guest choobs]

You're right of course and i am sure that is what we will do. I haven't ever missed a payment of any kind, so the worry of leaving it all here would kill any enthusiasm I have to start a new life. I would also be waiting for it to go wrong. Things have a way of catching up with you....! in one word KARMA.

 

I agree completely...... but it's going to be really heartbreaking though

 

Choobs

[Guest kazzy01]

Why is this even a question? Of course you pay the debts, otherwise you could get arrested when you try and return to the UK!!!!

[calNgary]

after reading theses posts ,i must agree with kazzy you should really pay your debts off .luckily i havnt any money owning (only mortgage) as i wont / dont have a credit card ,my partner has one for bookig on-line etc but if i havnt got it i cant spend it,BUT and im being honest if i had debts and i KNEW i could get away with it ,id be on that plane with the dosh in my pocket,this is only my OPINION before anyone bombards the posting.i suppose we are lucky but i can understand people in debt considering this but as the other posts say ,,REMEMBER YOU MAY ONE DAY RETURN AND THE BIG WIGS WILL BE WAITING,,,,its england!!!

cal x

[Guest adriang]

Interesting, I was only talking about this with my other half last night.

 

I know somebody who got caught out on this.

 

They literally walked into the building society handed them the keys, and told them, sorry, we're moving to Australia. (this was in the late 90's with the negative equity issues). So this was probably more that the average credit card debt, and the quantity could have had something to do with the amount of chasing carried out.

 

Both their parents were hastled to give details on where they were which was not a nice experience. Although they did no get chased in Australia, they split up, and one returned to the UK after 3 years, and within a couple of months of setting up a new home, they had a letter for the outstanding bill.

 

Now, the world is a smaller place thanks to the internet and so on. I'd expect that doing a runner will come back and haunt you.

[Guest ABCDiamond]

Our decision is to pay off as much as we can before we go and then, from the sale of the house, offer them a settlement figure much less than we owe.

That I think is the best plan, if you can't afford to repay in full.

 

One advantage in that, is that even if they say no, they may just freeze the debt, (ie: No more interest gets added), and you pay what you can when you can, in the future. This keeps your record relatively clean in case you do return.

 

I have heard of this happening on one occasion.

[Guest wfourie]

My husband and I both work for the 2 largest credit card providers in the UK. Not going to say which but he is number 1 and I am number 2. Have asked the question discreetly at work!!! People now think I am going to do a runner. We do not have credit cards apart from using them to BT and then offset against the mortgage fantastic deal if you put in the effort and completely legal if you have offset mortgages.

 

Basically they may go after family if they cannot track you down it all depends on the amount owing! Yes they may freeze the interest but all charges will be added to the loan and they mount up considerably

 

I would say pay it or your will be black listed for 6 years and what IF you ever had to come back who knows what is round the corner did you honestly know 6 years ago you would be thinking of moving to Aus.

 

Just my view

Bec

[Guest ABCDiamond]

I would say pay it or your will be black listed for 6 years and what IF you ever had to come back who knows what is round the corner did you honestly know 6 years ago you would be thinking of moving to Aus.

 

Just my view

Bec

When you say Blacklisted for 6 years, can the company refuse to deal with you again at anytime in the future ?

 

Here in Australia, they can chase you for 6 years, but the individual company, or group of companies, can refuse to grant you credit again at anytime in the future.

 

I use to know people, who haven't paid their Telstra mobile phone contracts, but even after 6 years, they still cant get a Telstra telephone connection again. (Some of them might say that a good result though )

[Guest wfourie]

Sorry when I say blacklisted the offical term is County Court Judgements. This is when a company take you to court for the money (you do not have to be present!) The court issue a CCJ and this is registered at the credit agencies and stays on file for 6 years. Banks etc look very badly upon CCJ's When credit providers do a credit search at Experian or Equifax and it will be listed on there that you defaulted or CCJ's with another company. It all depends upon that credit provider if they then offer you credit. Not to say that there arn't companies who loan people with bad credit history but the interest rates are sky high!

 

Been there myself when I was a lot lot younger and 6 years can be along time! So I speak from experience.

[Guest BrerRabbit]

Why is this even a question? Of course you pay the debts, otherwise you could get arrested when you try and return to the UK!!!!

 

:roll: Just to set the record straight on this one (i'm a lawyer) you can not be arrested for this - it's not an arrestable offence to have a civil debt!

No worries of the police turning up unannounced!

 

On the debt front though - I would think it's best to pay as much off as you can so it doesn't spoil your new life down under. We're going to pay as much as we can and continue to pay the rest monthly as usual until it's settled. Might get bored with this after a while though!

[Guest poeblo]

Hi

I read through the thread with great interest. Its seems to be a common theme that people in debt are there because they got themselves there, this is sometimes not true. People can end up in debt for many reasons.

 

We applied over 4 years ago for a residence visa for Australia , we got this early 2003 just a month after my dad dying. This sent me into a phase in my life of which I never want to return. We decided to stay in the UK to look after my mum , I gave up a good job to be self employed and earn more money for the family. Without going on about it, I was naive and took advice from shady companies about investment. I am finding it hard to prove this and have ended up with a debt of £450000, as a result I turned to drink and became very depressed as I had NEVER gone backwards in my life or owed money to anyone.

Thankfully I got to rock bottom and knew if I didn’t do something where would my kids end up?

 

I am lucky, I have a good husband and a doctor who listens, I have been to see a counsellor and you know what? I have applied for an IPP in which an independent company negotiates low payments on my behalf and we are going to Australia in July this year, I AM taking most of my money with me and after 3 years of being away from the UK your debts are written off ( subject to the amount) . The banks earn far too much to chase me for 450000; it’s a lot to me but to them, not very much. They actually make forecasts for what they think they may lose in unpaid loans, and budget for it.

 

So I have learnt my lesson but its not going to ruin my life either.

There is more to life than money worry and stress....I can now sleep at night without wine or sleeping pills and have started to laugh again.

I am looking forward to a new life in Australia with my family and enjoy watching my kids grow up.

 

There is always a way out, your credit rating starts from scratch when you get to Australia , so make the most of a fresh start and don’t feel guilty about money.

[Nicky]

I used to work in debt recovery and although what most people are saying about debt write off can be true it is not always the case. Many companies make their money by buying debt off banks and financial institutions and then chasing it themselves, these companies have a lot more to gain by chasing debt overseas and will often sell the debt on again to an overseas company.

It doesn't happen all of the time and all that I would say is if you are planning to leave debt behind then have a plan in place, in case you do get a letter in your new home.

Nicky

[Guest kazzy01]

I must just say that when I was in NZ last year, I got caught speeding and was told by the policeman that if I didn't pay the fine and tried to get back into the country I would be arrested at Customs/Passport Control.

[Guest ABCDiamond]

I must just say that when I was in NZ last year, I got caught speeding and was told by the policeman that if I didn't pay the fine and tried to get back into the country I would be arrested at Customs/Passport Control.

The reason for being arrested for that is that a crime was commited, and you would be arrested for the crime, as an alternative to your refusal to pay the fiscal penalty.

 

A civil debt is not normally classed as a crime, ad therefore rarely subject to prison time these days.