Carolina Tiger

I have two strudent loans and a huge graduate study loan in the UK that I am struggling to pay each month with the exchange rate. Add to this, that my wife is about to run out of unemployment benefits.

Is it possible to declare bankruptcy in the UK whilst working as a resident in the US that doesn't screw up my credit rating here?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly received.

Poppy girl

Pan down the page to the bottom nearly

http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/...faqs.php#faq11

I have been living abroad but have large debts in the UK. How will this affect my credit rating in the UK and should I file for Bankruptcy?Any debts that you have in the UK will remain on your credit reference file for six years after the last activity on the account (this could be a repayment). Bankruptcy orders will also be on your file for six years or even longer. Once discharged from bankruptcy you should not have a problem obtaining credit after the six-year period although you may be restricted in the number of mortgage lenders who will consider you. If any transaction have taken place from your current address it is possible that your creditors may try to trace you there.

Should you wish to apply for bankruptcy in the UK then you will have to do this in person at an English or Welsh County Court. This is only possible for the first three years’ in which you reside abroad.

Carolina Tiger

Thanks Poppy.

That's not really pertinent to my situation. I have lived in the US for six years and have been making payments on my outsanding loans during all of this time but with my wife's imminent loss of any income this will be impossible.

I'm not really worried about my credit rating in the UK but my US credit worthiness is somethignt hat I have nurtured since my arrival and wouldn't want to lose all six years hard work.

meauxna

Bankruptcy in the US does not discharge student loans.. have you made sure it will in the UK? Can you not temporarily modify the loan due to changed circumstances? Deferred payment schedule or something?

Poppy girl

I would suggest that you email the folk on the web-site I gave you for more advice...as far as credit rating in the US to my knowledge and I stand corrected but it will not affect it here

The link will show you how if need be to go about declaring Bankruptcy in the UK.

Carolina Tiger

I have a student loan from 95 and one from 98 which are under different regulations of the SLC so I have to pay them if I earn over a certain amount. If they were both pre-1998 I would only have to pay one as they would be bracketed together and the same if they were after 1998. Unfortunately they are either side so I get slammed twice.

However with the graduate study loan through HSBC and the two student loans it means that, although I earn a good wage each month I have to send around $1000 to the UK to pay the nearly 650 pounds of debt. The dollar amount obviously varies each month dependent on exchange rates but with my wife's unemployment running out it will cripple us financially.

Carolina Tiger

Thanks again Poppy.

I will have to contact them and see if they can suggest anything to help us through this time. As it is I ended up in a huge disagreement with HSBC over a loan protection plan that they sold me, even though they knew I was leaving the country that wasn't valid out side the UK. I got the money I paid on the plan back but it was a huge mess trying to sort it from the US.

The restructured teh loan over 8 years but the amount is still huge and with my income now over the Student loan threshold it means that I have to send more money to the UK each month.

Poppy girl

These guys can set up a payment plan for you http://justclearmydebts.com/

There is a online form to fill in.

Bluegrass Lass

Not that I'm advocating it, but what do you think would happen if you just didn't make the loan payments anymore? The UK does not share credit history info with the US.

As a USC, I have no idea how UK student loans work, but I would imagine they offer deferments, or forbearances to temporarily stop payments or an income-based repayment plan if you have a loss of income.

Carolina Tiger

I have been defering payment but have gone over the minimum required income so now have to pay it off. I had moved to PA from NC and forgot to contact them with my new adress and they hassled my octogenerian mother. Very aggressively. I told her to kust give them my address, but I wasn't very happy about it especially as I have given them my original US address when I first emigrated and had filled out my deferment form annually.

Rete

Just a thought but since your wife is not working (and it must be quite a while as her benefits are about to expire), why not pack it in and return to the UK where you can get employment as respects your higher education rather than stay in a lower paying position here in the US?

NatashaB

You need to determine whether the student loans will be wiped out by bankruptcy - ones taken out within the last few years will not be. I believe you would have to either come back to the UK or have a nominee attend the county court for you to declare yourself bankrupt from abroad - and if you have an income you would still be liable to make payments to the Official Receiver for 3 years. So bankruptcy does not let you off paying altogether. You also need to have lived in the jurisdiction you declare bankruptcy in, for 6 months prior. So that would be tough as you are no longer in the UK.

I have never heard of anyone being pursued across countries for debts but it could happen I guess, since some UK banks have a presence here. Can you set up a reduced payment plan with them? I would be inclined to send them a letter detailing your incomings and outgoings (since your wife is unemployed, make sure you include the whole cost of paying bills etc, not just your half), with the remainder allocated to debt repayments and divided proportionately by the total amount you owe, as a proposed payment to each. Your student loan payment should be based on your income and if your wife is unemployed it may affect the amount you pay. Have you contacted them with your current salary information? Make sure you have them take into account the cost of transferring money back and forth.

www.moneysavingexpert.com has a useful board for handling debt. It is a UK site but should still be useful since you're approaching UK creditors.

Carolina Tiger

My wife is an academic were the recession has hit very hard and I work in healthcare were the UK has been hit hard so moving back is not really an option plus we would still have the debts to pay in the UK but be earning a damn sight less doing the same job if we could find them.

As it was it cost us a fair amount to move in the first place, selling most of our stuff in England and then starting afresh in the US. I really don't want to do that again.

Carolina Tiger

Thanks Natasha.

I have been defering payments but as I have said in some of my other replys my income is over the minium threshold even taking into consideration the exchange rates.

It's the bank loan that is the killer to be fair. If it was just the student loans I could probably survive. Taht payment alone has stopped us buying a house and leaves us still renting shabby apartments. If we had a house we would be declaring bankruptcy in the US as well. :-(

Carolina Tiger

Rete she has been out of work for almost two years. The 99week extention is almost up sadly.