babydoll11

I'd really appreciate some impartial advice in regards to leaving debt in the UK and moving to another country.

I got myself into a horrible situation, made silly mistakes (went through a marriage and continue going through a divorce) and as a result am wayyyyyy over my head in debt. I never have enough to stretch to the end of the month and have to borrow money from friends for groceries/travel card etc. Aside from from this being hugely embarrassing I feel like a terrible person.

I move home to Australia soon and will be studying there. I have a Corporation Tax debt of around £7000 which has to be paid by late next year (payments to be made monthly). I also have credit cards which have £5000-£6000 debt on them.

I have always intended to pay all these off but am now stressing out so much as my bills keep rolling in and it seems less and less likely that I will be able to pay all of my debts.

What are the ramifications for moving to Australia and leaving tax / credit card debt behind? As I said, Im hoping it will not come to this but would appreciate some expert advice on the likely situation.

Thank you!

Centurion

Get some professional advice on your situation. Unless you have a residence visa, moving to Australia is not an option and takes considerable time, effort and financial resources to attain.

Use the forum search function for debts and you will see some previous discussions on the issues. It may well be there are legal alternatives to your situation rather than attempting to run from debts which is complicated from that usually discussed on here due to the corporation tax.

Start with http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/ who can advise on personal and company debt.

TiddlyPom

OP says they're going to be studying over here... so obviously it is an option for him/her.

B'doll...
There are people who've left behind far more than you have, but if you're only studying and intend to move back to the UK, then this could have ramifications for you. You'd end up with CCJ's against you but these only last as far as I know, for 6 years.

How distinctive is your surname? If it's traceable then they'd sell your debt on and you'll get hassled by debt collection agencies here if they can find you. They might also hassle your family in the UK if they have those contacts but it wouldn't last for a long time. Depends really on what you want to put up with!

Leaving corporation tax may be different, though essentially it's a debt to the Inland Revenue... made on the profits of a company presumably run by you?
Are you liquidating the company? If not, you should, because the assets of the company will be pooled and given over to whomever you owe to.
Did the company have shareholders?

There are debt threads on here, but it's more about credit card debt than anything else so it may not help you out.
If the company is liquidated, the debt would be gone and there would be no reason for the IR to pursue you for the money, but if you chose not to liquidate the company, that might cause you issues....

As C says, get in touch with the national debt helpline as they will be able to give you accurate advice.

Hope that helps some.

goldchoccycoin

Your best bet might be to start a Debt Management Plan (I highly recommend a good read of http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...splay.php?f=76) through a non-fee paying company.

If you start with low payments per month you can continue them from Australia - I transfer money back regularly to my UK account to pay off my student loan through www.tranzfers.com only $15 per transfer.

Good luck.

asprilla

Do some seaches on this forum and you will find useful comments.

You say that you are moving back home to Australia, so it sounds like you are an Australian citizen.

IvanM

Speak to the CAB. Work out whether you are running away from more than debts and confront your issues.

knockoff nige

Clearing this debt before moving will be a fantastic accomplishment for you and will give you the confidence to do anything in life. You shouldnt pass up this opportunity to acheive something like this.

If you fail at paying this debt off, you will see yourself as a failure and will most likely fall into the same boat in the future.

TiddlyPom

That's not likely really, is it Nige. I mean, come on, some of us have been divorced and business has gone bad but we don't all sit there beating ourselves up about what a failure we are. Some of us actually learn from our mistakes and move on.

The girl needs advice, not a lesson in morality.

knockoff nige

I couldbnt disagree more. We're all responsible for our own situation and its up to us to deal with them, rather than running to the other side of the world for a minimum of 7 years.

All I said above was common sense. If you dont deal with your problems, regardless of how big they are, you will see it as a failure, a failure created by you. Plus, the guilt of leaving th debt behind will last quite a whil until you are eventually free of it. Unless of course you are like millions of other people who DONT learn from the mistake as they have no knowledge of controlling their finances.

Advice is what the OP needs, for sure. But the wrong advice is to suggest that its ok to run away from debt, or any problem for that matter.

Maybe someone else created the problem, but if you're in that situation its your responsibility to fix it.

itxrd

This again!! You're situation is very different to the norm as you have corporation tax debt to pay. You're obviously not very good with money eh.

Corp tax is money to the Inland Revenue and a criminal matter. You must have heard of people going to jail for not paying their taxes right? Well corp tax dodging is one of them. I would make sure you pay that. Big time.

The CC debt is a civil matter so while its bad they can't arrest you etc. The CC - well thats up to your conscience. But it can just affect your credit rating. A search will give you all the info you need on that

Really you should pay both but if you don't pay the IR you can get banged up and 7k isn't worth getting banged up for. In fact if you can't pay that before leaving you deserve to get banged up. Get another job or apply for an overdraft

TiddlyPom

This is just it, Nige. I'm sure she knows it's wrong to run away from debt. No-one's suggesting it's right but if she's going to do it, she'll do it anyway without some bloke she's never heard of before in her life moralising at her. She asked for impartial advice, not your moral views on life and failure.

Any debt thread on BE is the same. There's always someone who'll go on and on about doing the right thing, according to them. Of course we're all responsible for our own stuff in life, but not everyone functions the same. Given a business collapse and a divorce, telling her she'll feel a failure if she doesn't sort it out is merely adding insult to injury.
I've been through both so I have some idea of how that must be.

Just give her the facts not what you think she's going to feel. You can't possibly know.

asprilla

From an ethical point of view knockoff nige, you are correct that the debt should be repaid.

However, you do make a few assertions in your posts that I would call into question.

Would repaying the debt really be a fantastic accomplishment for the OP? No of course not, on a "fantastic' scale of 1 - 10, this would rate very low.
Will it give her the confidence to do anything in life ? I think not.
Will the OP feel guilty if she doesn't repay it? yes, very.
Will she feel like a failure? I would say, no.
Will the same thing happen to her in future if she doesn't repay this one? Impossible to say.

You state that we are all responsible for our own situations... but then later in the same post you say "Maybe someone else created the problem" ??? In such circumstances, you'll struggle to find many people who will happily take it on the chin, as you suggest.

As I said earlier, I would be keen to try and repay the debt. However this forum is full of stories about people moving here and leaving debt behind... and I haven't seen any threads about any future repercussions. EDIT - taking into account itxrd's comments re: corp tax... I don't think I've seen any threads on this matter. Itxrd's comments are definitely food for thought.

One last thing knockoff nige - would I be right in saying that you have repaid a similar debt in the past?

knockoff nige

So she came on here for legal and financial advice? Not a very smart move was it? Nor is contemplating running away from debt. She should be asking for professional advice on how to pay off the debt.

I'm not affected by her debt and so have nothing to gain. But its too easy to look at facts of what you can get away with and what you cant and then base a decision on that.

Do the right thing op. If you dont give it your very best effort to get rid of this debt, then you are actually a failure. If you do your best, you're not.

FYI Tiddlypom, I can say what I like. If the OP doesn tlike it, they can tell me. You not liking it is irrelevant to me. You're advice to me on dishing out moral advice is a tad hyprocritical.

harrip

I can't help but feel with a first message by a visitor being the ole "moving to Australia and leaving tax / credit card debt behind" post we're all being taken for a ride by replying.

Perhaps rather than going to Australia to study you could get a job and pay the debt off?

asprilla

hmm, I don't know harrip... perhaps you're right but my instinct tells me that the original question was genuine.