Leaving country, what to do about debts?

katy_ann

I have to disagree with you Andy and to be honest I am shocked and quite disgusted that you would choose to say something like that. I know this is just an internet forum and you don't know these people personally but if you don't have anything nice and constructive to say on the situation then I probably wouldn't say anything!


OP - Maybe your friend can make payment plans through online banking when they are in Kenya? Having had my Dad pass away when I was younger I completely understand where and your friend is and what her thought process is at the moment. When she is more settled and things are settled and she has steady work, then payment plans could be made.


I would speak to National Debt Line though for advice as she wants to do it properly.

pathtofreedom

I don't understand why the over reaction to Andy's post. People don't even move within the uk to go look after their sick parents, so why is everyone acting like this is a common situation? If everyone just sold their houses to move in with their parents you'd see a lot more 3 generation homes, and kids changing schools all the time, rather than what we have which is care homes and carers coming to peoples houses etc.

If she wants to do it, and is single, no kids, no mortgage, no career then sure just go for it and forget the debt. If she wants to come back to the uk later depending on how many years that is will depend how best to deal with it really. Depending how old she is if she isn't to tied down yet this might be a good option to just go home, but if there are kids involved or other big commitments moving won't work.

Otherwise if you're just talking 3,6, 9 months or something then I agree with other posters see if she can take payment holidays, sell what she can, see if she can get an unpaid sabbatical from work etc. The debt charities might be able to help get interest frozen as well. It might mess up her credit history a bit so she can't get a mortgage for a while, but it is better than not paying anything.

bexster1975

I suspect pathtofreedom many people have taken andys comments in his first post rather badly. The "decent" thing to do apparently is to stay here and pay her debts. I'm sure OPs friend is delighted that Andy has been given the job of telling them what the decent thing is! Andy also brands the friends plan as ridiculous. Offering an opposing viewpoint is probably not what others have a problem with, rudeness and judgement possibly are.

Bexster

Cyberman60

Removed as the PC brigade won't accept an opinion based on experience.

concrete_kid

There is 1.1 billion people in Africa, how many of them have you met Cyberman60?

sourcrates

concrete_kid wrote: »

There is 1.1 billion people in Africa, how many of them have you met Cyberman60?

Lol good one !!!!!!!!!

andyfromotley

bexster1975 wrote: »

I suspect pathtofreedom many people have taken andys comments in his first post rather badly. The "decent" thing to do apparently is to stay here and pay her debts. I'm sure OPs friend is delighted that Andy has been given the job of telling them what the decent thing is! Andy also brands the friends plan as ridiculous. Offering an opposing viewpoint is probably not what others have a problem with, rudeness and judgement possibly are.

Bexster

Hey i'm sorry if my choice of language upset people, believe it or not that wasn't my intention. i shall try to choose my words a little more carefully next time.

I stand by my opinion, however perhaps i could have expressed it in a somewhat gentler manner. Point taken.

chattychappy

Thanks very much for the comments and I certainly don't mind the more cynical/critical ones. Didn't really want to go down the path of trying to justify her actions. But by way of background:

Friend is single, 32. She resigned her job giving notice, but was booted out on the spot as she was still within a 6 month probation period. It's a pity - the job was going well, but she had only started it 2 months ago having resigned a previous job with an employer that would likely have been more sympathetic given she'd been there 4 years.

Mother has pancreatic cancer. She suffered jaundice and was told to stop drinking (she didn't drink much anyway). Turned out it was nothing to do with drink - the tumour was pushing on her liver and this was the first symptom. Seems she has no more than 6 months left. The father had a stroke and has speech/mobility problems though is expected to recover somewhat. Too early to say. The stroke happened just before his wife's cancer diagnosis. Whatever the practicalities, my friend feel she is the only one that can manage carers and all that stuff. The welfare state there is somewhat lacking compared to here. The family has some money, but she doesn't know how much and of course it's not hers to pay off her debts with. (Perhaps they'll offer to do this.)

I told her to forget the money she owed me. It's small money to me and I feel very sorry for her. I believe her landlord waived the notice period - she'd been a good tenant, I suppose, and he knows he can re-let easily.

Perhaps she is deluded - but she does think she will be able to pay off the debts. Most of it is a 5 year loan. Her income in Kenya will be nothing like it is here, but she will have none of the overheads of living in London. She doesn't need to support her family financially and will live in the family home.

So rightly or wrongly, she is where she is.

sourcrates wrote: »

I'm afraid there is no easy get out clause from this, if she leaves the country still owing money, the debts will be chased, her old address will be the point of contact for her creditors, and she risks county court judgments in her absence.

However, its extremely unlikely they will attempt to trace her abroad, you cannot go to jail for debt, or be extradited back to this country either, she could set up payment arrangements from Kenya, if she so chose, but basically, nothing would happen if she just upped and left.

She really is quite serious about not hiding things - happy to give creditors her Kenyan address.

It is really the logistics of all this - it's quite a story which could all have been invented from a creditors point of view. I don't think she is even looking for interest to be frozen. I'm just wondering is it best that she contacts them directly (that was her plan), or as suggested earlier go through a debt advice charity. I don't think she really needs "advice", more a case of credible representation. She didn't expect to be told to "walk" from her job immediately, so she is likely to miss repayments very soon.

Somebody told her to start an IVA - on the basis that wouldn't preclude her clearing the debts later. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks again to everybody for their replies so far.

fatbelly

chattychappy wrote: »

Somebody told her to start an IVA - on the basis that wouldn't preclude her clearing the debts later. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks again to everybody for their replies so far.

If she wants to declare insolvency, she'd probably qualify for a DRO. Not enough debt or surplus income for an IVA

Thought she wanted to repay her debts.

patman99

In certain countries such as Kenya, there is no state help available for such situations. It is expected that the person who is ill is looked-after by their children (if they have any). Which is probably the main reason why the op's friend is going back there.

As for 'you cannot go to jail for being in debt', you can in Poland. Over there, if you can't pay your debts, you will get 1 day in jail for every £100 you owe.