UK Debt From Abroad - options?

arthur42

Hi - new to the forum and hoping someone can help.

Over a fair few years whilst I was living in the uk, for one reason or another I ran up a load of personal debt.

I moved out about 9 months ago to work in gibraltar and I live over the border in spain.

Debts are as folws:

Egg loan - £10.6k remaining @ 6.9% (was 18k) paying £312pcm
A&L loan - £4.3k remaining @ 7.4% (was 6k) paying £110 pcm
Barclaycard - £2.4k @ 19.x% paying usually £400pcm
MBNA card - £3.6k @ c.14% (tbc) paying £150 pcm (min is 85 iirc)
Halifax One card - £3.2k @ c.14% (tbc) paying £150 pcm
Barclays OD - c.£2k @ ???% (not sure) not really repaying this at the mo

total payments pcm - c.£1200
income - £2300
rent +utils - £400
phone - (ridiculous - getting rid of it soon) usually around £300
social & food - £300

Ok - I've been speaking to friends and colleagues, several of who have just stopped paying and waiting to see what happens. I don't really want do this as
1. it's partly my debt (well, technically all my debt) although most of it came from 'helping' an ex-fiancee who refused to do more and hid her debt (long story) and I don't want to just run away from it.

2. I don't really want the stigma of going bankrupt even though I plan never to live in the UK again (plus no UK address).

but,

3. I don't want to be paying this off for the next 5 years or so if I can help it

4. I've paid a fair bit off already, plus tons of interest, and I initially singed up for PPI on all of them so they've made a fair bit off me in that.

I'm on reasonably good pay, £45k, although with gib's tax laws that equates to about £35k in the UK (high personal taxation despite popular belief to the contrary).

Like i said, although simply not paying anything and ignoring letters etc is a tempting choice, I don't want to do it, however I've been looking at F&F options.

Is it possible to do these one at a time whilst paying the others off (min payments)? Or paying less to the others (tell them I can no longer pay full amounts, would they accept reduced payments for the time being? Yes this is lying but could they find out as I'm not in the uk? (especially if I switch to foreign bank account for salary?)

Once I'm on min/reduced payments can I approach them one at a time and offer reduced amount as F&F? Can i use the threat of simply not paying at all to force them into accepting?

Or could I just stop paying and wait for them to contact me before offering reduced payments / F&F etc?

If I binned all payments for 3 months that's £3600 so i could maybe clear two of the cards as F&F straight away, then start making min payments on the rest and reduced payments on the loans. I'm not really fussed about UK credit rating as long as it's not bankruptcy so I don't mind some non-payments, or i could skip 2 months, make a payment third month and offer F&F on some cards then?

Am i talking utter b***ocks? Is there anything I've blatantly missed?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

Arthur

beanielou

So I take it the company's that you owe money to have a Spanish address for you?

beanielou

Welcome to MSE by the way!

arthur42

thanks - no they have a UK PO BOX address which is my forwarding address from my last place where i lived in the uk - the mailbox place then forwards it out to me once a month.

Lillyella_2

I know your post is old, but just wondered if you ever got this sorted out.

Does your UK Bank have your current address in Spain? If you have changed your address with your UK Bank it will be on your credit file, it won't take much for the loan and card companies to find you, but I don't know how hard they would search for you in Spain or even if they would bother at all.
My gut feeling is that you might get away without paying for a while, but what IF you did ever want to go back to the UK? would all this rear it's ugly head? personally I would rather get it paid off then you can live wih without the nagging doubt.
I am in the same situation myself, I'm still paying back debt in the UK, but I am paying it, I hate the fact that I owe money, I want it paid off so that I can get on with my life and make a fresh start.
My Bank have a PO Box address for me and my Debtors still have my UK address, I just get all mail forwarded to my PO Box here, I just thought they might start asking questions if they noticed that I'd moved to Spain.