Hi everyone, I posted on here a while ago about going back home and my mother not speaking to me ever again (she lives here in FL). Well, that's all sorted, but I'm seriously worried about something else.

When I left, I came to FL to live with my mother for a while, but I had quite substantial debt in the UK at the time. I told my mother about this debt and she said she would pay it off for me. Now, three years later, I've decided to move home and she's kindly informed me that NONE of them have been paid off. Not one payment has been made for 3 years. I know I should have checked into it myself beforehand, but I trusted her and it's not like I can turn back time now.

My debt consisted of the following:

Lloyds overdraft - 2000 pounds
Lloyds graduate loan - 4000 pounds
Lloyds credit card - 500 pounds
Natwest credit card - 1000 pounds

Total - roughly 7500 pounds.

My questions are:

What do you think will happen upon my return after 3 years of nothing??

The debts have probably been passed along to agencies in my absence so who should I even contact?

Will I be able to rent? (I'll have proof of paying rent on time here in US and I already have a good job sorted in England).


I know I've been stupid, I don't need to be told, I would just really appreciate some advice...

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post.

God--sounds like a nightmare. I am sure no one can beat you up on this one more than you are yourself. Let me just say "chin up" and the sooner you confront this thing head on the sooner you'll feel better. First thing you need to do is fight the urge to bury your head, and really find out what has happened to those debts. Track them down as best you can. See if your Mum can help you with this, or call the places where you had the loans in the first place. Ask to speak to a customer service person (or email) and explain your situation--hopefully they can point you in the right direction. Once you know figure out the unknown (hopefully) you'll feel better. At worst, you'll know what you're up against and be able to tackle it.

I've seen people recommend The Motley Fool for financial advice, and they have a good set of resources for getting out of debt. There's a page "Getting Help With Your Debts" that has some organisations listed that can help you. http://www.fool.co.uk/school/2006/sch060118.htm

There's also a discussion board there that might be able to help you answer some specifics here.

Good luck! And remember the first step to getting through this is to accept it

Also--it's a lot of money, but could be a lot lot worse. People live with much more debt on high-interest credit cards on a daily basis.

Gosh thats awful. How difficult all this is (understatement of the year, I know)
Im not sure Id ask your mum for any help/advice re this again though....
I cant remember but someone will know is it 7yrs when debts are written off if they cant find you. Might be worth finding the exact years out. I know its not entirely honest but it doent sound entirely your fault. Otherwise CAB (citizens advice bureau) would be my first point of call as free inpartial advice. They will contact the companies on your behalf and negotiate a manageable monthly repayment.
I hope you can find a solution anyhow
C x

Ok, I am trying to remember the details here as it was a long time ago. One of our ex-pats friends out here has a similar issue. They thought bills had been paid off and accounts closed. I am not sure what the exact amount was. I am not sure how it came to light that they weren't but it did. One was a bank loan.. It turned out that the bank and written off the debt after approx 18 months after being unable to find him. If you are going to chase the unpaid bills, then try the credit places in the UK. I think they now use Exerian (sp)? If your concerned about looking silly, please don't. When my friend started to plough through the problem it appears that they can't put out ccj's against you without first contacting you. So all you do is explain you left the country believing the accounts would be settled. It's only know you have found out they weren't. If you are going to find it difficult in paying back what you owe, go to the local CAB, and explain the situation to them. They have great money guys who can help you out. They will ontact the credit companies, for you and try to get you to pay pennies on the pound. Some companies are just pleased to get some of it back rather than none at all.

With regards to trying to get rented houses in the UK. From everything I have read and come across myself, we all have issues trying to return home after being away for some years. We have no bank accounts so therefore no bank statements to prove a regular income. I would suggest you bring a copy of your credit report from here to show them. That is what we were advised by exifax. It may or may not be any help but it can't hurt. If you can provide letters of reference from your workplace and landlord stateside, again it might not matter, but again can't hurt. I heard it would also make a huge difference if you can put down 3-6 months rent when you sign a lease.

Try not to worry too much there are plenty of people who can help you with advice once you get home. You never know the CAB may even tell you, your debt would have been written off if they weren't able to contact you within a certain amount of time.

Hi I was a Manager for Lloyds up untill 8 months ago ...what happens is that after several letters/attempts to contact you the debt is transferred to a debt collection agency and they no longer take any responsibility for the debt.

To trace the agency contact the bank who will give you the number of the Lloyds debt recovery departmant...they in turn will give you the number of the debt collection agency and you can take it from there.

With regards to renting/credit checks.... credit checks should only be carried out if there will be any credit involved(credit cards /bank acc/loans/ect) so I can,t see how a real estate person would be able to check this. I would keep proof/reference from your exsisting land lord.

You will still be able to open a bank account even with a poor credit history but it will have very basic facilities(no debit card /only be able to use that banks Atm/no cheque book or overdraft ect),they are called cash accounts.

If the debt is not repaid(or even if it is) it will effect any type of borrowing in the future. I would speak to the collection ageny and take it from there.But you will be able to get a cash account to get your salary paid into .

Estate agents do a credit check through one of the credit comps if you want to rent.

hiya the estate agents i have spoken to said that if we pay six months upfront then there is no need to do credit checks, only issue that would come up, is at the end of that six month agreement, would either have to have credit check then or pay another period up front again...........may be useful info to someone...........i was more intersted in saving the 50 quid they said it was going to cost per person to do credit check!!!!! how much doesn it actually cost 3 quid??? its disgusting them charged 50 quid for it!!!

Thanks so much for all the advice - can't believe I've allowed myself to get into such a huge mess... Goes to show though how much I want to go home if I'm willing to tackle it head on!

I asked for letters from all my accounts before moving over here to get a pay off amount...paid everyone...landed here and my dad phone to say one account had not been cleared because of a mix up...so I give them my PO BOX number in the USA...never heard anything we still have the PO BOX..no letters in it for 5 years now...

Just ensure you come back to a different address than you lived at when you ran up the debts ..
Ensure you avoid Lloyds and nat west
Ensure you can bring referances from the US and show your a good risk , and maybe even a few referances and you will be fine

Lloyds and Nat West make billions so they wont even be bothered by your petty cash ammounts

Hey you're not the first and you won't be the last - no wonder your mum was in panic mode when you told her you were off home.

As far as I can remember, when credit checks are done, they only ask for the last three years address don't they? So if you have been living in Oz for three years how will they ever know? If and when you are able to pay off the debts, you can contact them one by one.

I certainly wouldn't be having sleepless nights over it all though - like pete said, these companies make zillions in profit from the backs of ordinary folk so you just get on with planning the rest of your life. And enjoy it

You've been given good advice about contacting responsible advisers and speaking to them about how best to get your debts cleared off. Often creditors will be willing to formally waive certain debts in return for part payment, especially if you have no other assets. Bankruptcy is a final fall-back option.

Ignore the less responsible advice about banks making millions etc.

You posted on a previous thread that you got a green card through your mother. Are you really, really sure you want to abandon it? You may never be able to get another one.

If you need more "space" then why not try another part of the United States?

Try and make sure that they do not contact you for another 3yrs (6 in total) and providing they haven't already issued you a CCJ the debt will become "Statute Barred" under the 1980 Limitation Act.
Do a Google for more information... http://www.payplan.com/debt-library/...n-act-1980.php

The advice you give above may have worked for you but it's not sound advice by any means.

Maybe not in the long term but until she gets herself sorted out and financially in a position to be able to tackle the problem what alternative is there?

It must be so difficult moving across the world alone without the added worry of paying back 7.5K you didn't realise that you owed.

If the OP can buy a bit of time, get settled first and then sort this out when financially able to, then at least it's one less worry for the time being.

If she contacts these people immediately and gives them her new address then surely they are going to start hassling her for payments which will stress her out even more.