Relocating, how easy is it for creditors to find me?

pumblechuck

I got myself into a terrible mess while living in London 3 years ago. I ended up getting into 50K of debt and although I was paying this off with Payplan, I was still barely surviving. I lost my job towards the end of that time and was headed for a nervous breakdown. I decided to move to Ireland for a fresh start, as I have family out here. I didn't take my debts with me and I think I recieved a housing benefit overpayment of a month or so which to my shame I did not return.

Since then my parents divorced and I have changed my name by deedpoll to my mother's maiden name in keeping with this. I've been debt free over here and I have a chance at another life. I'm now studying a Masters, which was something beyond reach when I was in England. However when I graduate next year there is a chance I will have to move back to England to find work, as the job market out here has been very hard hit by the recession.

I would have been in Ireland 3 and a half years by this time. So my question is, if I do move back to England to work, will it be very easy for my creditors to find me? Will the council locate me easily and prosecute for that overpayment? Will it be very hard to open a new bank account? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cyril

I don't know the technicalities of how easy it would be to disappear but I imagine if you have changed your name and address for over 3 yrs it would be hard to trace you. It would be very tempting to remain hidden so to speak.

I would say for me though I couldn't stand the worry of being found out everytime I needed to do a financial transaction ie get a mortage or rental references for example.

If you move to get work and it pays well I think it would be worth starting a repayment schedule. Or save a lump sum and make full and final offers to your creditors.

mr.ton

It doesnt matter weather they find you or not really - they'd have no legal power to obtain any money off you anyway, only a county court has this power.

fatbelly

It hinges on what information the credit reference agencies hold on you - if they link your current name to an 'also known as' then the creditors may be able to track you.

Once six years has passed without you acknowledging the debt by payment or in writing, then the debt becomes 'statute barred' and court action cannot be taken.

KingElvis

When you return to the UK and apply for any form of credit or get credit searched for something like insurance say, the huge server farms at Experian / Equifax and the 486sx 25 at Callcredit will have you nailed in no time, I'm not kidding.

They will then inform their buddies in the DCA business who will hound you like a dog.

My advice, stay strictly "off radar" for at least another 3 - 4 years.

Good luck.

DarkConvict

They display information from the last 6 years, and its not say that they may hold onto it longer, although that doesn't really matter to you.

It is all down to linking names and addresses. This is why on the forms they will asks for your last 6 years of addresses, and also any name changes that you have had.

One thing you could do is request your Equilifax/Experian credit report online, and based on the real information you give them, see if it links you up whilst staying in the protection of being in Ireland. If it does link you up then creditors will find you easily as its already been linked on your credit file, which the odds are they are notified about the new changes. So may know your first UK address as soon as you move over.

You also need to consider any court actions they took out in your absence, like CCJs or even bankruptcy orders to secure the debt if you do ever return to the UK. You can search for any court actions against you here, http://www.trustonline.org.uk/ Its £8 per search, and for each search you provide one name matched to one address.

KingElvis

Sorry if this seems OT but the original question was about staying hidden using a name change. The data centre back end of Equifax (I've seen one of them) is immense, not seen the others but I would imagine they are equally advanced.

The data warehouse and analytical tools used by these companies only has to flag a couple of bits of information that MAY be fact and they start to build the whole picture. It's extremely hard to stay hidden unless you use NO products or services that may attract attention.

This is why people get letters for people with similar names and addresses.

FraudBuster

Check out GAIN.

https://www.econsumer.equifax.co.uk/consumer/uk/sitepage.ehtml?forward=gb_cpo_gain

Fiddlestick

DarkConvict wrote: »

One thing you could do is request your Equilifax/Experian credit report online, and based on the real information you give them, see if it links you up whilst staying in the protection of being in Ireland.

What makes you think that being in Ireland is protection?

They lenders could easily present a UK court order in Ireland and request enforcement.

chuckley

stay away until 6 yrs has passed!

Goodtimesahead

It's not the CRA's job to find you or link your addresses, they rely on the data from creditors! I wouldn't worry about it really, if you don't give them a link to your old address they there will be no link. I have heard many thousands of people have created new addresses without providing links to old adddresses, therefore building up a new credit file, although that would need to run for at least 3 years. Sounds like a waiting game really!