Debt and moving abroad?

poukamiso

Hello all,
A big question... I am about to leave the UK for sunnier climes, but unfortunately have debts to pay... do they chase you abroad for them (can they take my new house abroad away?) I hoped my house sale would cover them but have lost a lot on it...
I have about 50k on loan/credit card and once house sale has gone through can pay off about 15k. I have sold everything I own and my new job abroad pays £500 a month, of which £420 will pay mortgage and the other £80 is for bills and food, so not a lot left...
Never missed a payment on anything, but now its time to sort it all out as the money is running out... Any ideas or advice??

Alassa

It might depend on which country you are moving to - whether Uk has any sort of *relationship* with them. You know if there are reciprocal agreements. I'm quite sure they would manage to track you down eventually if they wanted. Don't you think?

davek1

Hi there

The best they could do is write to you abraod. All credit agreements signed in the UK are enforceable only in the UK. If it is money owed to the Government or other agency then they could go to the High Court and get any writs enforced abraod but in general terms credit agreements are not enforceable outside the UK. They certainly couldn't take any property or assets held by you outside the UK. Even criminal warrents can't be enforced outside the UK unless there are extradition treaties etc so very unlikely they can do much. Having said all that they could of course continue legal action against you in this country as if you were here resulting in CCJ or at worst freezing of bank accounts etc.

Dave

krisskross

You would be in a bit of a pickle if you needed to return to the UK. But I guess if that happened you might be in a better position to deal with debts.
Tricky one this.

exil

Also in a pickle abroad. £500 a month and spending £420 on a mortgage????????!!!!!

martyfarty69

I'm interested to see how this thread pans out as i am in a similar situation, am around 25k in debt and although have finally got my act together and have got it in a manageable form ( 370 a month ) its still gonna be hanging around my neck for a long time, and i am also at the mercy of exchange rates ( $US to pound ) cos i will be moving to the states within the next couple of months.
So any advice would be greatly appreciated

creditcardking_2

If you can avoid all contact with your creditors for more than 6 years then you will be free, so long as there isn't any fraud involved, I would not max out all your credit cards the day before you leave the country.

Bombeiro

Hi
I posted a similar question last month and I got a very helpful reply from user name Kevicho. Here's what they said

Its not illegal to move, in fact some people have moved abroad to pay off there debts quicker, it would be worth confirming with a company like payplan or cccs, as they can arrange on your behalf a payment schedule, and help with what will be transfer after transfer while you are paying off debts abroad

Id recommend the payplan route as sometimes the banks can get twitchy, and payplan or cccs will have more experience and methods of sorting this for ya

* I'm not sure when I'm moving abroad, it could be anything between 6 and 18 months time. I've more than halved my debts by just following the advice on this site, as hard as it is I'm certainly not letting my debts prevent me from moving on to somewhere warmer; and cheaper. Yes there will be a big pay cut, but I'm certain I'll cope.
Best of luck to you all

ms_london

I think that so long as you declare to your creditors that you are moving abroad and give them a forwarding address - why not!! However, if you are doing it to ignore your debts then I think you should grow up and take responsibility for your own actions!!