Moving Abroad with debt

webby1983

I've recently had a job offer from a US employer which I'm pretty sure I'm going to take. Trouble is I have a bit of debt here in the UK although I know, from speaking to British Expats living in the USA and from debt services on both sides of the Atlantic, that none of my credit rating/score will not follow me to my new home in the US. I'm basically going to have to start from scratch with 0 credit score which sounds like a great thing even though it will be hard at first I kinda have that covered as my new employer has said he will help me out a little by being a guarantor on a house and other essential items.

I originally thought that I would pay my UK debts of by sending amounts from my US salary - trouble with that is going to be the exchange rate, it'll take me absolutely ages to pay everything off!
I have about £8,000 debt on my credit card and overdraft plus an £8,000 student loan debt.

When speaking to many different people I found out that if I leave the UK and basically stop paying all my debts there is very little that a credit card company and debt recovery agency can do about it simply becuase there is no world-wide debt recovery. Therefore I understand it that I can move to the states, not pay any of my UK debts, still be able to make a fresh start in the USA and in 6 years time my britsh debt will be written off.

This all sounds very tempting, even though I know that I will never be able to walk into a Britsh bank and start up a bank account again. My plans though are to move to the USA and stay there so this will not really be a problem.
Does anybody else have any info/views on doing this or would you advise going down a different route?

Archi_Bald

You are not really expecting much help from people who will have to pay for the debts you will leave behind? Do the honourable thing and pay what you owe!

johnsmith_4

webby1983 wrote:

I've recently had a job offer from a US employer which I'm pretty sure I'm going to take. Trouble is I have a bit of debt here in the UK although I know, from speaking to British Expats living in the USA and from debt services on both sides of the Atlantic, that none of my credit rating/score will not follow me to my new home in the US. I'm basically going to have to start from scratch with 0 credit score which sounds like a great thing even though it will be hard at first I kinda have that covered as my new employer has said he will help me out a little by being a guarantor on a house and other essential items.

I originally thought that I would pay my UK debts of by sending amounts from my US salary - trouble with that is going to be the exchange rate, it'll take me absolutely ages to pay everything off!
I have about £8,000 debt on my credit card and overdraft plus an £8,000 student loan debt.

When speaking to many different people I found out that if I leave the UK and basically stop paying all my debts there is very little that a credit card company and debt recovery agency can do about it simply becuase there is no world-wide debt recovery. Therefore I understand it that I can move to the states, not pay any of my UK debts, still be able to make a fresh start in the USA and in 6 years time my britsh debt will be written off.

This all sounds very tempting, even though I know that I will never be able to walk into a Britsh bank and start up a bank account again. My plans though are to move to the USA and stay there so this will not really be a problem.
Does anybody else have any info/views on doing this or would you advise going down a different route?

There will no doubt be do gooders on here that are disgusted at what you are considering but that doesn't really help answer your question, so hopefully they will keep their opinions to themselves. Your creditors could likely trace you to the USA if they really wanted to, I am not sure if they can enforce anything. If you run up a load of debts in the weeks before you leave that may be considered as fraud and you could face criminal charges. Your best bet is to stop making payments to them and after some time they may consider a settlement offer, this could be a fraction of what you owe. Its sometimes better for them to get something rather than nothing and since you are emigrating it would likely be nothing. It is not nice to always be wondering if people are after you, especially for such a small sum of 16,000. If you don't want to live in the UK for 10 years or so then it should be all clear by then. Have a look on this forum below, they may have some answers.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/search.php?searchid=97061

bonnie_2

in your dreams mate. according to depthelp uk. debt recovery is now global and they can trace you within 10 days. also if you are on a green card in usa it apparently makes it easier and will cause you some grief.
this is dept help site not a how to run away from it one.

Kimberley

You would be doing something a criminal would do, take money and not pay it back If you are a decent person, you will pay it back even if it takes you all your life, that way you will live out your life knowing you have never cheated your way out of things.

johannamse

What if you have to return to the UK for a family crisis (you never know) and you have the added stress of wondering whether you will get in, what will be waiting for you etc. You may also not want to stay in the US forever , and you are closing down other options. You may meet an English girl and she may want to come back and live here. I know it seems tempting, but in my experience a happy life and peace of mind comes from feeling that you have control over your life. By running from the debts you are closing down future options for yourself and loosing control.

A.T.R.1

I Agree With You,go To Usa.stuff Them,they Charge You Stupid Rates,offer No Help,just Send You Threatening Letters.start A New Life.stuff England,but Make Sure You Dont Do The Same Thing Again.
We Are Just One Big Rip Off Country.....................................

june1970_2

will the usa let you stay if you owe money over here? i have heard from several people how hard it is to get into the usa to live.

You must pay it before you go.

Percy_Vere

bonnie wrote:

in your dreams mate. according to depthelp uk. debt recovery is now global and they can trace you within 10 days. also if you are on a green card in usa it apparently makes it easier and will cause you some grief.
this is dept help site not a how to run away from it one.

This person is correct - debt collection is global now, particularly with the US where the UK has reciprocal arrangements for debt recovery and a lot of the UK debt collection agencies have US parent companies.

Make no mistake, they will find you and you will screw your US credit rating as well.

Your call.

svmitche

A condition of your entering the US is that you will be able to support yourself. Your job will take care of this, but you may find that your employer has to vouch for you.

It could be quite embarrassing if your new company vouches for you and somewhere down the line you make a fool of them by being chased by debt recovery people.

The best option is to try and pay this in good faith.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but you really don't know what will happen to you in the future and although it would be lovely to move and not worry about it, for your own peace of mind it would be better to pay.

paulw_3

what kind of debt is it? if it is unsecured surely that is juat what it is. They gave you money with no guarantee of getting it back, their risk. If you have a home in the us, unless you intend to borrow more money who cares about a bad credit score. It seems to me that this is the only threat unsecured creditors can use. I have a mortgage, several sources of self employed income and several bank accounts so why would i need a good credit rating anymore?