Leaving country, what to do about debts?

sourcrates

patman99 wrote: »

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.

Last time I looked Kenya was a long way from Poland !!!!!

chattychappy

fatbelly wrote: »

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.

She does want to pay her debts and believes (rightly or wrongly) she can. But she will not make the payments over the next two or three months. She hopes to get a job in that time (she thinks she can). There is also a real chance that her family will pay off the debt, afterall she has giving up her income here to take care of them.

So rather than just "ignore" the issue, she'd rather proactively engage with it. Presumably if she just ignored it, eventually (on the basis she is not running away) this just means more fees/charges in the long term. She doesn't want her flatmates troubled in her absence. I think the IVA was suggested as a "holding" operation until she could pay it off.

What she really wants is more time and to avoid silly fees/charges being applied. Most of it is on reasonable APRs so interest being applied should be OK. She anticipates getting a surplus income in Kenya which is greater than the interest she is paying.

supermum1988

I personally think the majority of what Andy said is spot on. I work with the elderly and you would be astounded at how many elderly parents are left without visits or contact. It is very sad but as Andy said, others have responsibilities which they must face. No one is disputing that it is in fact a sad situation to be in, but life does indeed move forward.

I think a career break or compassionate leave would be a more responsible decision. Giving up a job without any real guarantee of finding work out there is a little irresponsible.

I hope she manages to sort something out and I hope she does get to see her parents without leaving herself in a bad financial mess.

chattychappy

supermum1988 wrote: »

I think a career break or compassionate leave would be a more responsible decision. Giving up a job without any real guarantee of finding work out there is a little irresponsible.

Thanks for the reply. You (and even I) may think that, but I'm afraid we are beyond that. She believes she will get work and frankly she can judge that better than you or I. We are where we are and should we still be debating whether her decision is responsible or not?

The job is finished, P45 issued, the flight is booked. I've checked her tax, but no refund due there (end of tax year). Phone company has agreed to end contract early without penalty. Landlord got a new tenant lined up for her place. She is confident of getting work and her family have some money which might be available.

Her options seem to me to be:
1) Just leave. Run away. Not tell her creditors where she has gone.
2) Leave. Just pay what she can when she can. Probably incur all sorts of penalties/charges on the way.
3) Approach the creditors - tell them the story and offer token payments.
4) Go to a debt charity - ask them to approach creditors - perhaps set up a debt management plan or whatever.
5) Go for an IVA or DRO. This wouldn't preclude her paying off the debt in full later on.

She has rejected (1). I'm guessing (3) or (4) are the real choices.

What actually happens when you phone a CC or bank (re a loan) and say you can't pay?

enthusiasticsaver

I would suggest option 3 as obviously things have moved on since your initial post. To avoid silly charges the only way she can do this is to approach her creditors and ask for leniency to avoid court action, letters etc which will all add to the debt. Perhaps she could offer token payments and perhaps her family can help with that. It is unfortunately a lesson we could all learn that we never know what is around the corner so a 6 month emergency fund is always a good idea.


I hope your friend sorts something out though and the end is peaceful for her mum. I very much doubt she will be back in the UK so it is nice that you have agreed to write off the amount she owes you.

pleasedelete

She must have an enormous amount of stuff to sell after all this time in the UK. She wont be able to take it with her. Cant you take it all
and sell it on her behalf.

chattychappy

A few hundred pounds' worth maximum. Laptop is probably the only thing of significant value. It's running Vista, so it's not exactly new.

chattychappy

By way of update, she phoned her creditors (Barclaycard and Natwest) directly. They listened on the phone and told her to put the story in writing.

She has just done this, including providing them with contact details in Kenya as well as an email address they can use. She has asked them to suspend interest/application of any fees/charges for a couple of months whilst she sorts herself out. She told them she will make a payment in the next couple of weeks ago out of what she has left.