perksy

Tax and Inland Revenue are classed as a civil debt i.e it is owed to the British government, and as the UK and Australia have a recipricol agreement it is enforceable in Australia so theres no getting out of that one. Wether the Inland Revenue choose to pursue is up to them.

Just to clarify civil debt is pretty much anything owed to the UK government and consumer debt is credit cards, loans, HP, outstanding bills such as gas, electric, water, telephone etc. Also a CCJ cannot be enforced outside the UK but fines gained through the criminal court system can. A Student Loan if taken out pre 1998 is a consumer debt and you can walk from, however loans taken after this date are now civil ones, there was a loophole which has now been closed.

perksy

It is only stealing in your eyes. In the eyes of the British law it is not. I would like you not only to answer my previous question to you but also answer me this one.

Should you lend me a CD for example and I have every intention of giving it back to you which we both agree on. Is it stealing if I cannot for whatever reason give it back to you? You will find the answer is no.

However if I came round your house and took the CD without you knowing and never returned it, is that stealing? You will find the answer is yes.

You really need to educate yourself on what the word stealing means before you label people who cant pay their debts as thiefs!!

jond

DownUnderPaddy

Correct, but I would expect you to go out and BUY them a replacement :-)

perksy

Quite right, however legally there isn't a damn thing you could do about it if I didn't.

Lending is based on trust and nothing else.

Twinset

Quick question - if you still have a house in the UK, can debt agencies go after your house if you owe consumer debt?

MarkMC

Only if they know you still own it

collybabe24

i have a question for the other way round, we came here 2 years ago, and luckily we paid our debts off, the child tax credit people over paid me so i'm still paying that off, unfortunately i have no work anymore and we cant afford to live here so we have just sold house and have enough to pay for fees, flights and to pay the credit card off over here my only problem is the car, it has been up for sale for weeks now and nothing and as its on finance i really need to sell it and pay money back, is there an option for handing the car back in to the finance company and wat happens to the remaining couple of thousand we will probably owe due to the de value of car as we will have nothing left, im losing sleep over this as i dont want to leave a mess behind, please no lectures just friendly advice as i want to do the right thing

DownUnderPaddy

Statement of fact - I couldn't argue with that.

However, If someone I lent a CD to didn't return it, or a suitable replacement after some reasonable length of time and was blatant about making no effort to do so, I would NEVER lend one to them again, or anything else for that matter, as broken trust is not easily repaired.

That just highlights how stupid the financial institutions are, in that they would clear your credit history after 5 years and start lending to you again. I guess that's why so many of them have the problems they have

perksy

I agree with you totally, though its the UK law not the financial institutions that set the 5 and 6 year limit.

lonndongeek

If there's one person in life you really shouldn't piss off, it's the 'tax man'.

Cheers

Steve

DownUnderPaddy

...and up to 7 years in Australia.

http://debtmediators.com.au/credit-history.php

perksy

Heres a quick summary of how it works. Firstly the creditor cannot knock on your door and demand possession of your house, its a long and costly process.

Creditors will chase you for a while, if they've had no joy they will sell the debt to a collection agency. They'll try to get payment for a while and if they have no joy many will sell the debt to another DCA for a few pence. This may happen several times. Some DCA's will give up and move on while others may pursue further depending on the amounts outstanding.

If eventually you are unlucky enough to recieve a claim for a CCJ through the post then you need to fill it in and return it within 14 days. On the form you give information about your income and outgoings and make an offer to the creditor of the amount that you think you can reasonably pay as an instalment. You send this back to the creditor (not the court). If the creditor doesn't agree with your offer, the case is presented to the court and they decide or 'determine' the rate of payment. That decision would then be binding - as you pay the instalment ordered by the court the creditor can take no further action.

If you don't pay, the creditor can use one of the following methods of enforcement:
Distraint (bailiffs)
Attachment of Earnings Order (direct deductions from your wages)
Charging Order (a way of securing the debt against your property)
Third Party Debt Order (to get money from a bank account that you have in credit)

They can also apply for an Order to Obtain Information, to find out more about your circumstances.

A court could order you to pay the full amount at the initial judgment stage if the creditor has asked for leave to apply for a Charging Order. There would be a hearing if this was to happen, and you wouldn't have to sell your house - it would just give the creditor security for the debt.

If you still didnt pay up, then it is up to the plaintiff to recover any money owed, and, if you do not adhere to the terms of the CCJ, the person you owe money to will have to consider whether or not it is worth returning to court to seek one of a number of further remedies. This is likely to be a lengthy and expensive process so, in the end it may not be worth the effort.

Should you have no assets in the UK then the CCJ becomes a worthless blot on a worthless UK credit history for 6 years and cannot be enforced in Australia. It is possible to recieve a CCJ without your knowledge (if you're living in Australia for example and have no access to mail at your old UK address) the creditor would just assume you are ignoring his attempts of collection and may push on with issuing a CCJ against you. It may be worthwhile getting someone to forward you any official looking mail every once in a while so you are aware if any creditors trying to issue a CCJ against you

perksy

Interesting, I don't know much about debt collection in Australia, only the UK.

sonlymewalter

Is there anyone out there who can advise this poster please as they are clearly concerned?

Sorry mate, I can't help answer this as I've no idea but good luck with what seems to be horrible circumstances. It sounds like you're going through tough times. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. All the best.