Hi all,

A very quick question. We are making every effort to pay off a credit card that we have here in the UK. I recently lost my job so we only have one salary coming in. That aside has anyone moved to Aus leaving behind a debt? What I mean is were you able to survive and pay your debt here? Obviously everyone'e circumstances are different as are salaries here aswell as in Aus but I just wanted to know experiences and get some advice on this. Thank you.

We would not be in this situation if the housing market hadn't come to a complete standstill.

Thanks, hope you can help.

Just use a company like www.tranzfers.com and internet banking to move money each month to pay the bill.
Nothing to stop you bringing the card with you and continuing to use it as long as you are making payments, that way you have something to use when you first get here.

Thank you, will look at the website you recommended,

Do you have jobs to go to? Will be lots of fees if you're going to send money back each month to cover debt repayment. Must be a difficult situation. Hopefully someone will come along and give details on how they managed.

dont bother paying it..spoke with loads of people over here who have left debts of tens of thousands in uk and have been here for years and not heard a thing but make sure any bank transfers you do are done thro third part i.e put your money in thier account then get them to transfer it to your oz acc.so my advice would be get more debt on over there and enjoy spending it over here...remember its worth twice as much lol

Great advice. Not.

Transferring with tranzfers costs $15 a go, so if you move enough in one go to pay the minimum payment for several months its not too expensive. Much cheaper than moving money with the banks themselves.
Some of us used this route for several years while paying off debts, so it can be done

Then of course you are always worried about the past catching up with you; will not be able to return to UK is Aus goes belly up....

A mate did this, and ended up being trapped in another country, as the debt was being actively pursued. Best advice- never burn your bridges!

Are you Kath's daughter?

Here we go again.......

I came over 3 and a half years ago with debt and will finally have paid it off in July! I transfer money each month via internet banking. My bank here charges me $20 for doing so, and my bank in the UK also charges me to receive it, about 12 pounds. So if there's a company who can save you these charges, go for it.

I also thought about not paying since I am permanent here, but I do want to be able to go back one day! I also have a student loan still that I wouldn't have had to worry about if i was living in the UK as I'm a teacher and was getting it paid off by the government. I let the SLC know my address here and wages and they worked out I only have to pay back 76 pounds a month so that's quite managable.

I was also lucky enough to get a consolidation loan from Egg banking when I went back to the UK in 2007 as my credit card debt had got even bigger whilst in the process of gaining a PR visa. I did tell a few porky pies to get the loan but i was confident i would be working when i got back to Oz and would be able to afford the repayments.

Good luck, you'll love it here, the sun makes you forget all your troubles!

'Glad to read that everything has worked out well for you

The financial side of things such as sorting out credit cards and other debt can be quite a burden. I'm relieved that (besides my mortgage) I cleared away all my debt before my last 0% interest credit card went back to the normal rates. But it was hard-going.

Running away from debt might seem like a tempting option for some but the downside is it burns bridges and self-respect.

Got any popcorn and beer you can share

So are you looking at renting your UK property out? If you plan to do that and maintain a UK mortgage while you are in Oz then the better solution might be to shift the credit card debt onto your mortgage. It's nearly always cheaper that way.

Best of luck!

if you're making a clean start and leaving nothing behind (houses or other assets that they can repossess) and don't plan to go back other than for holidays then nothing stops you from leaving it behind.

I had a student loan, for which I gave them my address initially in Aus, but when I moved I didn't bother sending them my new contact details. Never heard form them since. My dad went tot eh CAB in the UK to query what would happen, he said that unless the loan is 50k or more then it is not worth their while pursuing it as it costs them too much in overseas companies to pursue.

I also left behind a 2 grand credit card and a 2 grand bank overdraft and have not heard a peep from them. I would be blacklisted and I know I am burning my bridges but I really don't intend to go back except for hols, but who knows what the future holds.

But realistically I would still be paying all this of now (7 years on) with the crap exchange rate etc