Re: debt in uk
 

Hi Everyone, I have been reading this discussion with great interest and have joined British Expats consequently. So this is my first posting so go easzy on me please.
I came over to Oz about 18 months ago thinking I had cleared all my debts in the UK before I left. Then last month I received a letter from a collections house in Melbourne stating that I owed $43,000 for a debt in the UK. I checked with the UK bank and it materialised that I had put a wrong account number on something and anyway this money was outstanding. Being of a responsible nature I have paid this collection house the money and have now got proof that this debt is settled. They have told me that this will not affect my credit rating here in OZ.
Now my question is: If I had decided not to pay this collection house, could they have taken me to court here, because if you believe their letter, they could "commence legal proceedings without further notice"

Please before you shoot me down, remeber I HAVE paid this money and this is just a hypothetical question from reading the postings in this discussion.

Re: debt in uk
 

Hi NC,

Firstly welcome to the forum...
Just wondering from your post was it an English collections agency that contacted you or an actual Aussie agency?
Also how do you think they found you...

Sorry I am just curious.... as I thought once you leave the country legal proceedings weren't enforceable?

Someone knowledgeable please shed some light...

:)

Re: debt in uk
 

Hi,
It was an Aussie collection agency that contacted me who are based in Melbourne. I have no idea how they found me, but in fairness I haven't tried to hide it from anybody so it could be via a company in the UK or my finance people here in OZ.

Re: debt in uk
 

thats unreal what was it a bank or something if you dont mind me asking, you would think it would be impossible for any one to find you at the other side of the world they only have 6 year to catch up with you or its written off (they could still ask you to pay but cant make you)

Re: debt in uk
 

i should get a prize for this being my first post, how many have replied and looked at it lol :)

Re: debt in uk
 

I don't mind you asking - it was The Bank of Scotland. It makes you wonder if the Australian courts would even be bothered about a UK debt.

Re: debt in uk
 

Credit card companies are not charities. Isn't the interest rate something like 27% on them? No what you have spent is not what you owe.

If you borrow money from a bank you pay interest, why would credit cards be any different?

People get themselves into trouble by just paying the minimum amount each month and still go on spending. The increasing balance is then acrewing an ever increasing amount of very high interest.

Re: debt in uk
 

I read the other day that the majority of Australians think that the amount they owe on their credit cards is the line which shows the monthly minimum repayment!

If that's anything like true it demonstrates a shocking financial naiivety: it's little wonder that some people get hugely into debt.

Re: debt in uk
 

I think you missed my point m8. We're saying the same thing:)

If I borrow money and I know the score re interest etc, then I pay it back. I can't claim ignorance or that the c.c companies are taking advantage of me. I borrowed the money and no one forced me to.

I borrow the money. I pay it back. Even if I can only afford to do it one pound / one dollar at a time. It's my debt so I pay it. I don't disappear into the ether claiming ignorance, or that the CC companies can afford it. They are a business like anyone else regardless as to how rich they are. If I took that attitude, then I'd go to the supermarket and walk out with my weekly shopping without paying for it. They can afford it can't they? No....it's a stupid and ridiculous argument:rolleyes:

We pay for what we want in life...to do otherwise means you're a thief:(

Re: debt in uk
 

Actually that's not a surprise. Credit card companies deliberately prey on people's ignorance and the C.C rules are deliberately designed to confuse people. It's not surprising.

Credit cards are extremely good finance tools if you use them within the rules. You can actually get the c.c. company to finance your monthly spending and not pay a penny in interest if you get the right card:)

The things is these companies prey on consumer spending and emotion and people living beyond their means..and unfortunately over 95% of people do exactly that, hence people owing large amounts of interest.

The reality is most people *want* and they *want* it now. And in reality they can't afford it. So they pay the price and then whinge when they realise the price was too high:rolleyes:

Re: debt in uk
 

I wouldn't agree that the CC companies deliberately obfuscate when they write the rules. They employ lawyers who don't know how to write any other way <g>

I suspect most of us here use our cards for convenience, paying off in full each month, anyway. When I arrived I could only get a uselessly tiny limit on the HSBC card, so after the first month or so I ditched it and went Virgin, who asked me what limit I wanted. It's just at the time you want to use a card to buy the high items like furniture - ie., on arrival - that you actually *need* the high limit. Not a few years later, when you have bought the sofas and things!

Re: debt in uk
 

leave it and dump it, (the debt), there is no jurisdiction in other countries for a civil case - which is what debt is.

Enjoy your life in the sun safe in the knowledge that you've got one over on the greedy UK banks....

Re: debt in uk
 

Actually, technically yes under the The Reciprocal Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (Australia) Order 1994 (SI 1994 No 1901) which allows UK court judgements to be recognised by the Australian enforcement system. This would normally apply to corporate bodies and not individuals and its more complicated a process than it sounds. The reality is that they probably would not attempt enforcement against a now Australian resident with only Australian held assets but may certainly threaten it.

Re: debt in uk
 

We had heaps of debts we used a combination of paying over the phone form our credit cards and internet banking dead easy.

Re: debt in uk
 

Very controversial comment. I don't know of any bank that doesn't somehow pass on any losses to it's customers. Ans I wouldn't be 100% sure that debt cannot be recovered from someone living overseas, as it can be and has been!