I haven't read all the way down the page yet, so somebody might have already mentioned this, but only 'debts to the Australian government' will affect a visa application. They don't care about debts in other countries, and even if you do have a debt to the government, they will still let you in as long as you have made an arrangement to start paying it back. They care more about criminal records and diseases such as TB.

I’ve heard that reciprocal agreements between countries are only regarding criminal matters and not civil. Can anyone confirm?

I am in the same situation - I sent letters to all of my creditors shortly before leaving saying that I'd contact them with my Australian address as soon as I knew where I'd be living. I also set up standing orders for £5 a month to all of them. I've been here a while now and, so far, none of them have called or emailed to ask what's going on. From what I understand, they are able to enforce debts in Australia, but ONLY if they have a CCJ against you, and if it's worth the hassle. I don't think they can get a CCJ against you if you don't have a UK address so the best thing to do is not tell them your going until the last minute!

Hi everyone, I've read through all these posts with great interest, but it doesn't seem as straightforward as claiming back the bank charges, as it's still in the early stages, and all cases are slightly different. I took out a loan with Sainsbury's which included a huge chunk of PPI (I only realised that it was included after submitting a subject access request). I have since defaulted on the loan and am currently paying token payments (which still includes the PPI payments even though I'm obviously not eligible for cover - this is the bit that confuses me). The loan was taken out when in financial difficulties, and I never asked for the PPI. I can see that I signed for it on the application form but there was no option on there to have it removed. Is it worth trying anything do you think? Many thanks in advance for your help!!!

Yeah I got confused with the interest - I don't know how much my overdraft limit was, or even how much interest I was paying on it, or how much of the overdraft was interest free at what time! I thought 8% would be easier all round. Best of luck with your claim (not that you'll need it!)

UPDATE: HSBC Acknowledged the claim and today I received a letter from DG Solicitors offering the full amount. TOO EASY! (They had about another week to enter a defence). So all I need to do no is reply making it clear that they have to pay by cheque, and then I think it's all done. Can anyone point me in the direction of a standard letter demanding payment by cheque?

HSBC have just acknowledged my claim and I just thought - will I be able to specify that they pay me back by cheque? As my accounts are now with the Debt Collection side of HSBC ! Thanks

Just realised from looking around here that other people who have two accounts to claim from are submitting their claims seperately. Do you think it's OK for me to combine both my claims in to one on MCOL? Hope so - 'cos that's what I've done. I did mention in the particulars of the claim that it's regarding two accounts.

Hi everyone, Well I've been lurking on here a few months now. I've been asking HSBC for £347 from one account and £120 from another. Here's my timeline: 21 August - Sent off first letter by Special Delivery (no reply!) 7 September - Sent off second letter by Special Delivery (again, no reply!) 20 September - Sent a few e-mails to the customer relations team telling them it would be better for them to pay up now rather than later! Today - The above seems to have done the trick as I today got a response from the lovely HSBC, offering me £120. (I should also add though that this morning I submitted a MCOL claim for the full amount plus interest). I now need some reassurance - The £120 they offered me is in respect of my account which did NOT have an overdraft in place. They refused outright for the account which DID have an overdraft in place. Does anyone know why this would be? I hope that I haven't missed anything. I'm a bit worried as both of my accounts are currently with Debt Collection Agencies! I'm not going to accept the money they offered, as they want to credit the amount to my (closed, defaulted & owing a lot of money) account. I just hope that I will be able to get my small claim paid as a cheque. Will keep you all updated!