What happens if i don't pay my Credit Cards bills

ShelfStacker_3

HeadInSand wrote: »

Being a !!!!!!.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

witches_cauldron

NickX wrote: »

In this instance of having no assets and not being concerned about getting credit for 6 years, then I think bankruptcy would be a better option. At least the debts are written off and there is no chance of any undesirables tracking you down.

The chances are that the debt will get sold off to a DCA and they will go to all sorts of lengths to get repayment even if they have to take a trip abroad.

If the OP went to America or Asia or somewhere even further afield, I really cannot see debt collectors taking a trip abroad. He'd have to owe them a HELL of a lot of money for them to even entertain the thought of doing this.

chuckley

as u are leaving the country for good i don't think u need to worry. after 6 years u could come back 2 the country and do it all over again.

are you leaving coz of the debts?!

nzseries1

stebiz wrote: »

I take it that was some kind of joke :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Actually I thought I read it once somewhere official, but judging by the comments left by others I am starting to feel I am wrong!

nomoneytoday

What do you think they would do?

Maybe they would follow you, set the dogs on you, drag you back to the UK and throw you into Debtors prison

(not)

fermi

nzseries1 wrote: »

Actually I thought I read it once somewhere official, but judging by the comments left by others I am starting to feel I am wrong!

Sorry, but you are.

On the general issue of attempting to escape UK debts by moving abroad, then there is a good overview (as far as I know) of the current situation in the following link.

UK DEBT WHEN MOVING ABROAD

However, I would take issue with the last paragraph of that. It is much better to seek advice on your debts from the organisations recommended in Martin's article here:

Non-profit Debt Counsellors' List

Paul_Herring

UK DEBT WHEN MOVING ABROAD

That looks highly optimistic:

People who [...] are swamped in debt believe that moving abroad will give them a fresh start and allow them to build a new life.

If they got into so much debt in this country, what makes them think that this won't happen again in their 'new life'?

Sounds like a case of fixing the symptoms, not the problems.

nzseries1

fermi wrote: »

Sorry, but you are.

Do you have proof? I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but so far we have yet to see any proof (from myself included) that you will or won't get arrested on re-entry to the country if you have a lot of outstanding debt.

But surely,
1. It's illegal to purposely avoid repaying your debts
2. If you do something illegal, that is grounds for them to arrest you. (Whether you actually WOULD be arrested or not is irrelevant - I said you MAY be arrested.)

Is that not a fair line of reasoning?

NickX

nzseries1 wrote: »

But surely,
1. It's illegal to purposely avoid repaying your debts

Well the issue here is how do you prove that an individual is deliberately behaving fraudulently ?

I agree that borrowing money that you have no means or intention of repaying could be deemed fraudulent, however you cannot then say that everyone who struggles to repay their debts, lets their accounts go into default, has their debts sold off to DCAs have behaved fraudulently. They have become a victim of circumstances which may or may not have been avoidable.

But to actually go to someone with bad debts and accuse them of fraud or theft is very difficult unless you have evidence of the intent to defraud at the time of borrowing the money.

Also to my knowledge failing to repay your debts is not a criminal offence. The creditor has a right is issue legal proceedings to recover the debts, but the debtor is not a criminal in the legal sense. I have never known anyone arrested simply for owing money.

As I mentioned previously I think the OPs primary concern would be DCA's employing the use of "heavies" to enforce a collection irrespective of the law of the particular land where they decide to settle.

fermi

nzseries1 wrote: »

1. It's illegal to purposely avoid repaying your debts

2. If you do something illegal, that is grounds for them to arrest you. (Whether you actually WOULD be arrested or not is irrelevant - I said you MAY be arrested.)

Is that not a fair line of reasoning?

No. Unless there is fraud involved.

Non payment of consumer credit debt is a civil rather than a criminal matter. To say that it is 'illegal' not to pay that sort of debt is incorrect.

The Office of Fair Trading guidelines on the collection of consumer credit debt states that it is:

False representation of authority and/or legal position

2.3 Those contacting debtors must not be deceitful by misrepresenting their authority and/or the correct legal position.

2.4 Examples of unfair practices are as follows:

e. falsely implying or stating that failure to pay a debt is a criminal offence or that criminal proceedings will be brought

Failure to pay debts such as magistrates fines is a different matter, but there are no criminal sanctions available for the failure to pay a credit card.