florida12

Hi guys,

I am curious. How did you deal with your current debt?
ie) Credit cards, student loans, loans in general etc...before you left the UK?
Did you come up with a payment plan that you can reasonably pay, from the USA... especially if you do not have a job out there in the USA for quite some time yet, so how do you even afford to pay monthly on an arrangement plan, if any?

its always good to clear your debt of course, or even come up with an arrangement with the debtors, but how if.. you have moved to the USA, jobless for the short term?

Thanks guys

zzrmark

I suppose that would depend upon whether you are currently servicing those debts and just how morally obligated you feel towards continuing to do so once you hit the US.
Someone else can tell you about the enforceability of students loans, however credit card and loan defaults have little enough enforceability in the UK as it is, let alone once you cross the pond.
The US credit system is not tied to the UK one so defaults wouldn't show up on a US search.

Credit cards when you first hit US shores may come in handy though...

florida12

Yes. I was thinking of keeping ONE credit card for if I need it out there, once moved.

Well, I for one, will not be able to even afford a repayment plan sum as, need all the money that I am currently slowly saving to live off, once out there, let alone pay for Uk debt.

That's good to know. I thought UK credit system was attached to USA ones via banking firms. ie) NatWest, Santander etc.

zzrmark

Enforcement in the UK is hard enough for creditors to chase. Loans and credit cards are statute limited for 6 years - meaning that they cannot legally chase you for a debt after 6 years (starting from the last payment/correspondence that they received from you.).
Just note that should you decide to dump your debts in the UK consider the address to which they are registered - parents or friends could get a little upset if the debt collectors come knocking at their door.

Again - I have no experience of student debt. If from a private company they will have the same limitations that I mentioned earlier, I have no idea of the implications, if any, if they are HMRC loans.

florida12

Thank you for your detailed info. I am actually leaving my council home. I live alone so no family or friends be harassed by debt collectors. I was worried about the implication of not even being able to afford the minimum payment or even a payment plan while out of work in the USA and how it will affect my new life out there. I don't want debt... ruining new beginnings in another country. Thank you.

Awesome Welles

Any other commitments or obligations you are planning on simply walking away from and leaving someone else to pick up the tab for?

florida12

All bills, financial obligations are only in my name.. no-one else included

username.exe

Disturbingly cavalier attitude.
Pay your debts. In future don't borrow what you cannot afford to reasonably service.

sir_eccles

While I agree that paying debts is the correct thing to do, your second statement is unnecessary. It can be quite easy to be borrowing within your means and then your circumstances change.

florida12

Thank you. I am paying comfortably within my means, but then i shall be jobless once i relocate for my life with my USCBF. So i was merely asking advice on what others did...
Thank you for your constructive & understanding comment. Sir_eccles.

NatashaB

I'm sure that if you stop paying they will make a payment arrangement for you to pay what you can afford. It will screw up your UK credit rating though and probably incur fees and charges. Sending money back to the UK to make those payments costs a fair bit (I use xoom.com and they charge a $5 fee for the transfer and the exchange rate isn't the best) - I would advise you to throw as much money as possible at them now to get them paid down. You never know when you may want to move back to the UK and wish you'd kept a clean credit rating.

Before you leave it might be worth applying for a 0% interest card and transferring the balance onto that. You probably won't get approved for any more UK cards once you no longer have a UK address.

florida12

I was thinking of paying via wire transfer, but hadn't realised the charges for doing that.. thanks for the heads up. In the meantime, I am trying to pay most of it now before I move... but wont be much as I got 4 months left to use my visa in which removals costs etc is coming at the forefront and I have like most, other necessary bills on top. Thank you.

NatashaB

Wire transfers will be pricey. Xoom.com doesn't have the greatest exchange rate but it only charges a $5 fee, which works out best for the small amounts i transfer to pay the minimum payments on my card.

florida12

Great to hear from someone such as yourself experiencing this situation. Thank you. All daunting this.. Want to do the right thing, but to be having your independence and job sacrificed, and starting life again with someone you love, who happens to live in another country its so difficult to keep these important commitments, running smoothly as it has been at home in the UK.
I may just ask for repayment plan and take it from there as, I couldn't possibly afford the amount I am currently paying on no income, once out there.
I am trying to find options before I move on this matter.
Thanks again

Welshgator

I can see you are giving up your job to come to the USA but out of curiosity why do you see your independence having to be sacrificed in the move? Is it because you are going to be wholly reliant on your bf initially? Do you have a skill set that would enable you to find work in the long term so that you feel independent? If things don't work out well with your boyfriend you should probably have a plan to be able to support yourself.