Credit Card debt
 

Hi ppl. firstly I know a lot of ppl will look down on me for this, but what I am about to say is how desperate things have got :-(

I, wife, and 3 children will be leaving for Oz in approx 3 months. I have roughly £10k of Credit Card debt that I am considering not clearing :-( I have the money to pay this, but funds to move are so far behind, and the extra £10k will makes things that bit smoother.

I have been told by a friend (not the most reliable source I must ad) that If I was to simply pay the Min payment upto the time I leave, then dissapear into the thin air, I will not ever get any comebacks. As I say this source really isn't the most reliable, and I will need to get bank accounts etc when we arrive in Oz, so really don't want to mess things up by being 'Internationally blacklisted' if there is such a thing. The Credit Cards are registered at my home address, which is awaiting completion of sale. I don't know if this has any relevance at all.

Internationally Blacklisted ?? Is there anything like this do you know ??

I am not proud of having these thoughts, and smack my hand! but you can hopefully see my angle, and my predicament.

I've tried to be honest here, and hope someone can tell me what they know on this kind of thing. If it turns out this is too risky, then I will stick to plan A and just try to finds the funds we are missing, but would YOU be tempted ??

Thanks anyone who can halp on any of this :-)

Dodgy Mike ;-)

Debt in the UK doesn't mean debt in Australia. If it's an international outfit like Amex or Diner's Club you owe dosh to, that may be a different tale naturally but a Visa or Mastercard issued by a UK bank doesn't equate with a Visa or Mastercard issued by an Australian bank.

In saying so, these things do have a tendency to coem around and get you when you least expect it.

Hi Ulujain. Yeah they are both with Visa & Mastercard funny enough. I really hate to have to post this question on my first post, must look like a right dodgy dealer, and I am not. It's just a very tempting position to be in, but at the same time do NOT want to mess anything when we arrive in Oz.

Thanks for your reply, I'll see what any others think before making any definate desicions.

Oh and one other thing possibly relivant here. Approx £4k of this debt is to a bank, not a credit card company.

Change anything ??

Thanks

Mike

Re: Credit Card debt
 

Hi Mike,

As a quick starter I did a search on the forum (top right hand corner) to see what folks said before.

Thread 1
Thread 2
Thread 3

You may want to grab your tin hat whilst reading and waiting for further replies.

WOW! ...lol, cheers young_lad, I better get running now!

I didn't realise you can search for posts :-( I feel a right telling off coming on :-(

Time for sleep which is handy, I'll face the music after

Mike

Re: Credit Card debt
 

Such a debt is likey to get recorded to a credit reference agency and these have the ability to search globally..... Much better to move to Oz and then write to them offering them lower repayments for a number of months/ years until you get back on your feet....

Most companies would prefer to get something rather than nothing.....

Jon

Has anyone actually haggled over their debt with the credit card company, ie I am emigrating to australia within the next 2 weeks, but want to settle my debt but can't make the full payment, is there a compromise we can strike, Gotta be worth a go, put the ball into their hands ;) , would be interesting

We paid all our debts off before we came, credit cards, car finance etc .. we could ill afford to and worked out after all application costs, paying estate agent, solicitors, finance, cards, plane tickets, motel stay etc we were 25 GBP's down but our conscience is clean and what if you didnt like your new life and wanted to go back to the uk!

That last point is VERY Important. If anyone was able to get away from UK debt, but then went back to the UK later, they could well have Major problems, especially with compounded interest.

The extra 10K will NOT make things smoother. It is tempting but if the money is not yours honestly, then keeping it will not bring you a happy life. You have to repay your debt - it's your responsibility. What goes around comes around - if you don't face up to your responsibility now, it will come to haunt you and you will repay it 10 times over - it's the law of nature, whether you believe in God or not.

Hope you have the strength to do the right thing.

Yes thats right....We are returning and paid ALL our credit cards bills off before we came.

Mike, maybe you should put off coming to Oz until your debts are clear? Save hard and pay them all off?
:)

They sell the debts onto debt collecting agencies as a few grand here and there are not worth much to the big companies but may to the little guys who may sniff you out. I have heard that they go to some lengths like questioning neighbours etc but again this is not reliable info.

I wouldn't be able to rest with fear of being caught.

Re: Credit Card debt
 

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Mate,

I can understand the temptation to walk away from your debts!

However, this is how it works:

1). For each month you fail to make the minimum re-payment you go into a defaulter group like this:- M-1 for the first month, M-2 for the second etc. The credit card company will write to you & eventually call you at work, home etc.

(Although you would be in Oz by then of course, but everyone at your old work place will know what is going on and so will the people who purchased your old house!).

2). Once you reach M-3, they will hand the debt over to a collection agency. This all depends upon the amount, anything over 3,000 Quid is considered worthwhile to chase you for!

3). The collection agency, together with the bank will quickly discover you have gone to Australia, (it's easy.....honestly! The people who bought your house and your old work mates will tell them about it probably).

4). They could either pass the collection responsibility to a local Australian collection agency, or even seek re-payment through local courts.

Either way, your credit rating will be shot to shite in the UK, it might even affect your chances of obtaining an Australian mortgage.

I doubt if Mastercard or Visa will ever give you a credit card again, because they WILL cross check you especially as you just told them you come from the UK remember?

Far better, maybe to make an agreement with the creditors to suspend interest, continue making the minmum payment until such time as you have a new job in Australia and then resume normal re-payments to clear the liability.

And as someone quite correctly pointed out, you would have serious problems should either want to or have to return to the UK.

Don't do it!

Cheers & good luck!

Re: Credit Card debt
 

hi mike,

there is no such thing as internationally blacklisted. credit reference agencies keep your details on record for 6 years after such time data is cleared.

i know this as i work for barclaycard. ultimately, your debt will be sold to an outside agency(this could take months & months depending on which credit card company you are with). if you fail to pay them, they will probably issue a county court judgement. but if they are unable to locate you this probably wont happen.

i couldn't do what you are suggesting but the bottom line is you could get away with this if you stay in oz for around 6 years. after which time the black data will no longer be on your file for all to see.

my sister did a similar thing when she went to the states, she came back after 6 years and not a sniff of her bad debt on the cra file.

credit card companies write off debt(some more than others) every year. also banks make allowances for bad debt when working out yearly budgets.

don't get too worried about it, just go.