expat debt

A question about : expat debt

Uk citizen,I have 5 creditors in Uk ,-2 original lenders, 3 sold on.
I have now retired and moved to Asia.
written to creditors telling them i now live in Asia-only some replied.....????
I do still have uk bank account (nothing in it) but dont use much. have asia bank account now.
over here in asia i have met several expats who simply stopped paying their debts when they moved to asia. The companies/agencies probably had no idea where these people are - and they tell me the debt is cancelled after 6 years -is that right?
must be honest, i am tempted to follow suit, and stop paying creditors -but worried what may happen. I may return to Uk one day - but not for at least 5 years (except for holiday visits) What does happen if people move abroad and stop paying creditors?
Any advice much appreciated.

Best answers:

• From experience, not a lot. When I moved to Asia, I could have stopped paying them and eventually they would have hot wiped of after 6 years. They won't track you down in Asia. When you go back on holiday, you won't get arrested at the airport. For me, it was a moral issue. I always felt thst I had run up the debt (credit card) and didn'r feel ot was right to run away from it.
• thanks moomin master- i agree with you. It is a moral decision i suppose.That is why i contacted the creditors and told them where i was.
  think I will pay as best i can -even though i will have to live to be about 185 years old to pay back the debt at the present rate!
  one thing that worries me is that i have a UK government pension paid from UK to Asia each month. I hear the creditors could take money from this - is that possible?
• Whilst I do agree, that after 6 years they will become statute barred. There is nothing to stop a creditor taking the debt to court within this 6 year period and in your absence. If you havent provided them with your new address, they can lawfully obtain a CCJ in your absence using your last 'known' address.
  If a CCJ is obtained, there is no 6 year limitation as the debt is enforceable until paid.
  My honest opinion is to clear the debts, even if by small amounts each month. If on your return to england, you find that they have obtained a CCJ against you in your absence, you will have very little defence to this if you failed to provide them with your overseas address.
  EDIT: As for deductions from your pension; the debt would need to be enforced by a CCJ and then have what is called a Third Party Debt Order applied. This will allow them to take money from your pension.
• again -thank you for your advice/comments.
  There are one or two points worrying me.
  firstly, i have not heard from 1 or 2 of my creditors for months -and in that time i have made no payments to them -despite sending them my asia address I have heard nothing yet.
  secondly, my last UK address is a friends house. i dont want her to be visited or bothered by creditors.is that probable?
  the other point is that my creditors dont know of my government pension (this has happened by accident -as i retired early due to ill health -and moved to asia.) my uk bank account shows no income.
  so if they dont know i have an income/pension -how can they claim part of my pension from a court?
• Hi-I saw your post and I am sure that I can help with some advice. I have dealt with many people in your position and I am happy to clarify a couple of options for you.
  Firstly it depends on how much debt you have. This normally dictates the options that you have, but first you need to make a decision-do you ignore this debt or do youdeal with it?
  Many people will ignore the debts due to where they are; Asia is a long way away from the UK and it is possible that you won’t hear from anyone. The problem that you have is by giving your creditors your friends address, she will bear the brunt of any debt collection. For this reason you may still hear about things when people come knocking at her door.
  We deal with many banks and credit card companies on a day-to-day basis and (amazing enough) some of them cannot place an overseas address on their system. In most cases they will just have the last UK address and this is the address that is targeted by debt collection agents. This may be why you have only heard from some but not all of the creditors that you owe money to.
  If you want to deal with your debts you have options and if you may, at some point, return to the UK you are probably best to deal with them in some way.
  For a smallish amount of debt you may consider either a full and final settlement or maybe a good debt management program.
  For the full and final settlement you may need around 50% of what you owe and handled correctly this may be enough to settle the debts in full.
  With debt management you pay (for instance) Ј100 per month and if the interest and charges are held(essential) you will be paying off Ј1000 to Ј1200 per month depending on who you use to administer the program. The bonus for you is that you pay one monthly payment to the UK that is then split between your creditors. It will also keep them from harassing your friend in the UK as they are getting a steady payment.
  For higher amounts of debt you may consider bankruptcy or an IVA. The IVA option (whereyou pay off the debt over 5 years) reduces to total that you owe but you need to show that you have enough disposable income every month to afford this option-this may be a problem if you are not working and just receiving apension.
  Finally you can file bankruptcy from Asia as long as you moved from an English or Welshaddress in the last 3 years.
  Bankruptcy will clear all of your debts and you will be bankrupt in the UK for 1 year. You don’t need to return to the UK to do this-the bankruptcy can be submitted onyour behalf.
  If you have any assets or disposable income these may be affected, so you need to take advice on this option, but if you only have income from a pension it may be a good option for you-it really depends on how much debt you have.
  I hope this helps!
• Do you have the means to repay the debts? Probably not if you say it will take 185 years.Did the lenders force you to borrow the money or did you request it? If you choose not to repay why should I have to pay your debt in the form of lower interest on my savings and higher interest on debts that others will incurr.
  In reaching your answer to what you see as a moral decision consider also who and how your health costs will be covered in the future
• Thank you for your comments and advice.
  My debts are around 30,000 GBP - spread over 5 companies. the highest single account is about 14,000 GBP.
  I did belong to a debt management company a few years ago -but i was paying them as much as my creditors each month so stopped.
  What worries me is my friends house being visited.(my last known UK address) -how can i stop that possibility? I have written to 3 of my 5 creditors months ago and only 1 replied. why no reply? (The other 2 creditors i have maintained small, agreed payments to)
  My other worry is these companies taking money direct from my uk pension. I believe they can do that -even though my pension is paid direct from uk govt to my asia bank.I am not being greedy here - just could not survive if my pension was lower.
  I will write again and hope these 2 companies reply and will accept low payments starting again. having said that, I am now thinking that bankruptcy is a better option. How do i start that process from abroad?
  Any other advice is much appreciated.
• Hi Biwwy
  Sorry-I didn't see your last post on here as I thought that I would get an email to advise me a new post had gone on. Maybe someone can tell me if this is a setting on this forum-I'm not that "up" on posting comments....
  With the amount of debt you have, I would say that bankruptcy may be your best option. I doubt if you can set up an IVA as you need to demonstrate that you have enough disposable income every month, and debt management will just be a waste of time-if you pay Ј100 per month you are looking at around 30 years of payments, maybe longer!
  Regarding your creditors not being in contact, as I mentioned before, some companies struggle to deal with people that live overseas. I think that they are probably just ignoring the letters that you are sending.
  One way to move the address from your friend's house may be to get a UKmailing address, as the creditors should be able to deal with this a little easier than an address in Asia.
  Finally these companies cannot just take money from your pension. If a creditor managed to take you to Court and applied a CCJ, then they have an option which is known as an attachment of earnings. The Court would then look at your income and expenditure and set a repayment figure, but this could be very hard for them to do as you are not in the UK at the moment.
  If you file bankruptcy from abroad you will be debt free and in bankruptcy for 12 months (in the UK not in Asia). You will only pay money out of your pension if the Insolvency Service feels that you have enough income to live normally and also have disposable income left over. I doubt that this is the case and in my experience most people living on a pension in Asia do not get income payment agreements in bankruptcy unless they have a very large pension payment each month.
  The bankruptcy is filed on your behalf in the High Court of London under power of attorney and most people will pay a Company to prepare the paper work and to submit this on your behalf while you remain in Thailand. The current Court fee is Ј700 and there is an additional fee to pay to the Company that deals with this on your behalf.