Bankruptcy an option?

financialconfusion

hi i'm 22 and out of uni for less than a year, i got a job abroad in the hope i could pay off my debts but as it turns out i was misled as to how much money i could save out here and so stuck in a foreign country unable to come home or save my debts so my question is this

none of my debts are secured i have 3 credit cards and an overdraft all totalling approx 4000 pund, now i knw compared to some this is nothing in ways of debt but that is not including my student loans for 4 years. all the credit cards have now defaulted and they have been hunting for me since august last year and have no adress for me anywhere anymore. there is no way i can make the minmum payments, my credit rating is destroyed so could not consolodate my debts and asking for parental help is not an option. my friend suggested bankruptcy. im unsure of what this is entirley, what would happen to me. or how to do it?

can anyone give me advice on what could be my best option here, it would be greatly appreciated. thank you!

CLAPTON

why not come back to UK and get a job
then start paying your debts back

it seems life abroad is not perfect either

NickX

OK, first off don't worry about the student loan, there is no pressure to pay this back until you are earning a decent salary.

So, we are looking at £4000 of Credit Card debt. Personally I don't think this is anywhere near enough to consider going bankrupt. You should be able to negotiate a way through this amount.

They are getting edgy because you are abroad and have no fixed address. As with a similar poster a few days ago, this makes them nervous that you will dissappear so they are putting pressure on you.

If you were in the UK, I would advise that you speak to CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) who are excellent at negotiating with your creditors and have access to professional legal advice.

However, as you are abroad, I would suggest you simply to offer to pay them what you can even if this is less than the minimum payment. If you are making some inroads to repay the debt, then this will at least show that you are not trying to get out of paying.

In reality, and before I shot down I'm NOT advising you do anything illegal, but in reality if you are abroad and have no fixed address its going to be nigh on impossible for them to instigate legal proceedings against you, so the best they can hope for is that you pay them something.

Hope this helps.

udydudy

Do remember to ask them for a freeze on interest and a constant payment plan, if you intend to negotiate some sort of payment which is below minimum as otherwise with penal interest you will get deeper into debt.

Also is it not an option to come back to UK? £4000 is too low a debt to mess with your credit file as bankruptcy will remain on your file for 6 years which will mean problem accesing debt in future for 6 years.