Bankruptcy from overseas?

someadviceplease_2

Hi guys,

First post here so please bear with me

I currently live in Australia and have done so for almost two years now...

I left England owing about 16000... in the first year I tried and was able to keep up with the payments... however now I cant and now am being chased for the money back home... the debt collectors are regularly calling my parents place (were all of my debt is addressed to)...

I cannot afford the payments and was wondering if bankruptcy was the option??? I have no intention of living in the UK anytime soon.. so going through bankruptcy and suffering a few years of bad credit back home does not concern me too much...

Ive been doing research and understand that obviously it effects you later on in life with credit, etc...

Am I able to apply for bankruptcy from overseas?? Or do I have to apply for it back home? Is this the best option?? or should I consider something else..im not overly concerned about the debt but want to sort it one way or another... I also want to stop the calls to the parents place...

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

fiveyearplan

Hi and welcome SAP. Your first step is to contact CCCS or National Debtline. Contact numbers are in the front page of this bankruptcy forum. You may be able to google them and start online but will probably need to speak to them at some point. I can understand you wanting to clear this up especially as they are hounding your parents. I do think that if you decide BR is the best option for you, you have to do it in person.

What information are your parents giving to the debt collectors? If you decide to do nothing, they cannot get anything from your parents.

newbie_al

someadviceplease wrote: »

Hi guys,

First post here so please bear with me

I currently live in Australia and have done so for almost two years now...

I left England owing about 16000... in the first year I tried and was able to keep up with the payments... however now I cant and now am being chased for the money back home... the debt collectors are regularly calling my parents place (were all of my debt is addressed to)...

I cannot afford the payments and was wondering if bankruptcy was the option??? I have no intention of living in the UK anytime soon.. so going through bankruptcy and suffering a few years of bad credit back home does not concern me too much...

Ive been doing research and understand that obviously it effects you later on in life with credit, etc...

Am I able to apply for bankruptcy from overseas?? Or do I have to apply for it back home? Is this the best option?? or should I consider something else..im not overly concerned about the debt but want to sort it one way or another... I also want to stop the calls to the parents place...

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

I am not sure it is possible, since you have been out of the UK for more than 6 months. It is possible if you have lived more most of the last six months in the UK. BUT PLEASE take advice from one (or more) of the debt charties (some or not up to speed on the overseas bit).

Good luck - I am sure there is a way of dealing with your debts.

fermi

See: Can I make myself bankrupt in England if I live abroad?

someadviceplease_2

thanks for the advice guys.. all of it is useful...

I really feel that bankruptcy is the option for me...

i think the best option would be to get someone to represent me in england to go through the process...

do you know any solicitors, etc that can do this and what would be the cost?

what information do i need to collate? ive no idea who my debts (in terms of debt collectors) that they have been handed over to...

what is the next step? im not suggesting i would just do nothing about this but what would these debt collectors do if they could not get hold of me? would they just continue to keep passing on the debt to different collection organisations? can this result in criminal proceedings against me???? im planning to head back to the UK for a holiday in the next 12 months.. could I be stopped at the airport? silly question but it is a worry!! thanks

fiveyearplan

someadviceplease wrote: »

im not suggesting i would just do nothing about this but what would these debt collectors do if they could not get hold of me? would they just continue to keep passing on the debt to different collection organisations? can this result in criminal proceedings against me???? im planning to head back to the UK for a holiday in the next 12 months.. could I be stopped at the airport? silly question but it is a worry!! thanks [/quote

You couldn't be stopped at the airport, it couldn't result in criminal proceedings - this is a civil matter. If your parents told all the DCA's that you don't live there and they don't know who you are, then they would eventually stopped getting hassled.

downunderandout

Hi there

Just wanted to let you know that I live in Australia and declared myself bankrupt in the UK a couple of weeks ago - it was incredibly easy. The biggest problem was that I had to fly to the UK to actually do it (at the High Court in London). I've been in Australia for almost a year and there were no problems with my petition getting accepted.

The main reason I did it was to clear the slate, give me peace of mind, and ensure that none of my relatives back home were hassled by debt collectors. If you're unable to fly over and do it yourself then I believe the two other options are to hire a company like MyVesta to do it, or to get a relative, friend or solicitor to represent you in court (power of attorney).

One other point that might be of interest is that I destroyed much of my paperwork before leaving the UK (due to the costs of shipping large amounts of paper) and was still able to complete the petition. You might find it useful to sign up for MyCreditExpert at Experian's site to obtain a record of your credit rating - I found the dates and figures included on my report invaluable!

Hope that helps