Living Overseas Now and considering UK Bankruptcy

[Nicoblue]

Hi There, My first Post please be gentle !!

 

I am seeking advice...and not Judgement here, so let me fill you in.

 

At the time of taking out such Credit - I was earning very good money, an like evrybody wanted better things - Hard Lesson to Learn !!

 

I moved to Australia some 15 months ago now, initially to set up a business consultancy, however this has not really happened through no fault of mine - Long story but there you go !

 

However I am working but not earning enough to cover payments of my UK Debts, or at least the minimum amounts. I owe the usual suspects HSBC, Egg, MBNA, Mint.....

 

I have contacted all of my creditors, and advised them of my move, and in fact sent them the usual budget sheets, but they will not accept my reduced payments....MBNA - Saying "We will find you"

 

HSBC - Have just sent a letter demanding my debt be paid in Full (not my Branch, but the National call centre branch I think !!) or they will take Legal Action.

 

Let me make it clear I havent Run away from my debts, and before I came over to Oz, My house was for Sale and I would have had more than enough to Pay them Back.

 

To complicate matters further - My house in the UK has still not Sold, and the equity in it has reduced dramatically, couple that with my downturn in income, hence the Financial problems I have.

 

I am contemplating going Bankrupt in the UK, but am worried what effect that will have on my standing in Australia.

 

Also I am fearful of giving creditors my adress in Australia for fear of them sending collection agencies around (I do have a Post Box though !!) - I have my mail re-directed from the UK to my Postbox as well.

 

Debts are :

 

HSBC Bank Loan - Last Payment July 08

HSBC Credit Card - Last Payment Sept 08

Egg Loan - Last Payment August 08

Egg Card - Last Payment Sept 08

MBNA Credit Card - Last Payment Sept 08

Lloyds Credit Card - Last Payment Sept 08 - Agreed Payments GBP 50.00 per month

Mint Card - Last Payment Oct 08 - Agreed Payments GBP 1.00 per month

 

It is not that easy at the moment - any advice would be more than welcome !

 

I have tried to be breif - in the Hope that Some knowledgeable members out there can help me !! - Please

 

PS : This forum has been great for reading and given me hope that there are others out there who have benefitted from such Posts - Keep it going !

[reallymadwoman]

I can't answer your query about the effect of going bankrupt in the UK on your standing in Australia - have you tried having a search on the web, e.g. their immigration website, as I'm sure they have one.

 

In the meantime over your creditors, stick to your guns. Send another copy of your budget sheet, tell them what you can afford and send the first payment with your letter. It won't hurt to tell them that Lloyds and Mint have accepted your offers. I bet they don't send your payments back. Also insist that your offers are conditional on them suspending interest and other charges, or you'll find the debts going up instead of down.

 

Regarding the likelihood of them chasing you in Oz, it depends how much the debts are for, but if you think about the cost to them coupled with the likelihood of getting any more out of you than you are already offering . . .

 

One plus of giving them an address in Oz is that they couldn't then issue proceedings in the UK and say they didn't know that you'd moved. If you don't there's a risk that by the time the papers get to you it would probably be too late to do anything about it.

[jaystar2020]

Hi Nicoblue

A bit of info I found out -

Not to suggest you should neglect your UK affairs, but the current Credit Reference agencies are separate in the UK and Australia. As they need to pay to search files overseas, they don't currently seem to do this, for certain individual matters at least.

So your current 'predicament' in the UK will not stop you obtaining credit, or your status, in Australia...

Keep going with the token payments, etc, and hope to offer them a payout at some stage.

As above, I am not an expert in Law, but have experience with this info above.

Hope this helps a bit.

J2020