Good evening all

I hope I don't get burned on here, just looking for some honest advice... my life is in a real mess at the moment and not sure if I can keep going...

I have some UK debt that I have been servicing from Australia and cannot keep it up as the rising cost of living is pushing me to the edge... The UK debt is in the tune of 14,000 GBP and I'm not sure what to do... I have had to stop the Direct debit from my UK Bank before my UK Bank freezes everything.

No one in the UK financial institutes have my address and I am not sure whether to contact these people now I have stopped the direct debit and inform them of the situation or not.... Advice please.... I have always paid my taxes and never done anything underhand in my life but having moved here permanently for good I don't want to ruin everything here too.

Can UK debtors take my Australian assets from me? can they impact my credit file here?

Not sure if I can deal with this pressure feel like completely giving up...

Your advice is gratefully received... Im not looking to be told I'm a bad person just some sensible advice that will help my situation.

Me...

What you should do in this case, is make sure that they know you are NOT in the UK. If they know this, then they should not take any court action in the UK which you could not defend. If they can't take UK court action, then they can't use the Aussie courts. Hence the reason to make sure all creditors in the UK know your Aussie address. When you contact them, make them aware of your current circumstances and that you have had to stop repayments. What will happen is that UK creditors should write back to advise you of their position and you will just have to stay firm, in that you cannot continue to make payments. They will eventually get fed up, write off the debt from their book and sell it on to a debt collection agency. So you may also receive letters from debt collectors, but they cannot use the courts to enforce, just try to hassle you until you give in.

Your UK credit record will be trashed as a result and it is possible that this could hurt you in OZ, if any Aussie company makes any searches which touch on your UK history.

Hello

I have a young family and currently am trying to gain finance here for a house which should be finalised in the next month or 2, will the Australian bank check the UK finance?

.... does this mean its all over? I cannot see anything positive to come from this... I really feel so low and not sure what to do.... I have not received a letter from the UK card company yet its that fresh....

Thank you for your response.....

It can take a few months before any default is noted on a credit record. If there is a way of delaying the default on your UK record (i.e making affordable payments), that would certainly help you in OZ. I would have thought that on any Aussie credit application, you would have to put down your residential addresses within the last x no. of years. If this include a UK address, they may check UK credit records.

So if I keep the payments up is it likely not to be taken into consideration ? would the amount be taken into consideration?

I thought UK credit was not accounted for in Australia?

I am a permanent resident here now so would that aid things? I can see now how debt can take peoples lives... I have never felt so low in my life...

Thank you for your assistance again...

I thought that in most countries, when you apply for credit, they will look at your credit history in the last so many years, even if they was abroad. On your application, you would have been asked about your residential address within the last x no. of years. The reason for this, is that it helps them, when they make the checks.

If this is the case, I would try to keep to the repayments in the UK, until I had sorted out the new finance in OZ.

I don't know whether the look at the amount of UK credit you are repaying, when they decide on how much they can lend in OZ. Ask about this in OZ, by making some general enquiries.

I have never known an Aus company check a uk credit report. Not even sure it would be legal. I wouldnt worry about your Uk credit report effecting any Aus applications. They would not be interested in my experiance. Relax.

Thank you for the comment Krios...

I doubt il sleep much the next few months... but your comment helps...

Im glad there are no judgemental people on here yet... I don't think I could deal with that too... Just don't want to trash my families lives as I have always tried to do the best by them...

Best try and keep up the payments to reduce the risk... but its going to be hard..

Can UK debtors take my Australian assets from me? can they impact my credit file here?

No and no + they'd find it near impossible to take any legal action against you there either, see; http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?304615-It-is-now-apparent-that-it-will-be-practically-impossible-to-enforce-a-UK-debt-in-Oz(1-Viewing)-nbsp

They can't access a UK credit reference agency database it would be a breach of the Data Protection Act.

Im glad there are no judgemental people on here yet... I don't think I could deal with that too...

No and no + they'd find it near impossible to take any legal action against you there either, see; http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?304615-It-is-now-apparent-that-it-will-be-practically-impossible-to-enforce-a-UK-debt-in-Oz(1-Viewing)-nbsp

 

They can't access a UK credit reference agency database it would be a breach of the Data Protection Act.

Is this definitely correct that foreign creditors cannot access UK credit records ? There appears to be difference of opinion in previous CAG threads, as well as elsewhere online. According to an expats site I read, it says that Australian banks can check UK credit records, if consent is provided on the application.

This is a previous CAG thread.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?139340-Does-your-credit-history-follow-you-abroad

Just wanting to clear up this issue, as others are bound to ask.

The last post to this expats thread may help the OP.

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/australia-expat-forum-expats-living-australia/23975-debt-back-uk.html

From Ex pat arrivals site.

Your overseas credit - In most cases, lenders in Australia cannot access the credit histories of immigrants applying for a loan. While this could mean ignoring all of your hard work, or wiping the slate clean, there are eligibility criteria which are more important to an Australian lender. Instead you may be asked to provide evidence of your overseas liabilities and bank accounts so the lender can build a picture of how you manage your money. Also remember that you start to build a credit history as soon as you arrive in Australia so avoid applying for a number of loans or credit cards over a short period.

Is this definitely correct that foreign creditors cannot access UK credit records ?

Downfall,

Don't get worked up by this, it is simply not worth it. I have been in NZ for 4 years, and my UK credit record was stuffed before I got here, primarily due to loss of job following an injury. This has not stopped me starting again and I now have a mortgage in NZ and a new life.

The advice you have been given is very good, and I would reiterate that you MUST tell your creditors where you are.

Firstly, get a PO Box address and give the creditors this.They will argue that they can't take it, but as long as you retain proof that you have told them you will be fine.

I used the tear off slips from the credit card bill to notify a change of address, rang them and sent them notification by UK recorded delivery.

I posted all the letters to my Dad in the UK in one envelope, he posted all of them out, and sent me the receipts which I have kept.

All you will get is nasty, threatening letters from DCA's in your PO Box. They will threaten a doorstep visit which will never happen, and I am pretty sure that will be the end of it.

As regards an Oz credit check, there is a little something called the Data Protection Act in the UK which prevents a UK organisation passing details overseas in such a way.

I believe (but stand to be corrected) that Canada has some kind of data exchange with the UK which some creditors have used to sell UK debt to OZ DCA's by the back door.

Even if this happens, and your debt gets passed to an OZ DCA, they will have no legal right to take you through the courts, as your debt was, is and always will be subject to the Consumer Credit Act in the UK.

They could ask you for it, send letters to you and ring you up, but they can't legally enforce it in Australia. The only way they can, and the problem you will have is if you don't tell them where you are.

Before you know it, you will have a County Court Judgement registered against you at your old UK address, and once they have this, then it can be passed to an Australian Court for them to pursue.

If this happens, then you can apply to get the CCJ 'set aside' as you are out of the courts jurisdiction, but why go there when you don't have to?

My advice would be to tell them where you are and leave it at that. If you feel morally obliged to pay them back, then do so. I stopped paying altogether as i could not afford to, and struggled with the morality of not trying to pay them back, but after trying for so long, and them failing to help or provide support, I stopped feeling guilty a long time ago.

When they illegally threatened me and failed to comply with the law I stopped caring altogether.

It worries me that you have got so down about it, and I hope this post goes some way to allay your fears and makes you feel better.

All the comments I have made are from direct personal experience, so I feel qualified to make them. If you have any further specific questions, please don't be afraid to air them on here. You are amongst friends who have been there and 'bought the T shirt'.

Regards,

3tea

See if anyone can figure this out for me then:So I too have come here and left a minor trail of destruction in my wake in the UK. around 8 grand split between CC's and catalogs. I have set up mail forwarding from my old address to my in laws, and she regular gathers them all and sends them to me here. What I have recently done is to take the latest of the debt recovery letters and requests etc and put them in an envelope addressed to the agent and also included a letter as if it was from the person now living at that address stating that they are the new occupant and that they do not have a forwarding address for me and would they please stop sending letters to that address.Again, I do intend to make repayments but I am guilty of the lame excuse of time getting away from me. So, from here - what are the odds of them actually reading the letter from 'the new owner' and saying, oh, ok we'll stop sending them, or well we'll send someone round just in case.Essentially I just don't want the new guy in the property to get messed around because of me.I have put on it that 'they' don't have a forwarding address for me and that 'they' believe I am overseas. Thoughts?

in my opinion, maybe look at getting a UK address, that all your creditors can write to, so it doesn't hassle you, look at http://www.myukpost.com get an address with them, and they will scan your mail to you in Aus,

The problem with giving them any UK address is that they can use it to serve court papers. Not a good idea when you are not a UK resident and would cause enormous problems trying to get a CCJ set-aside.

As it stands now an Oz court will not hear claims which are covered by CCA 1974 however if there is a CCJ in place they will allow it to be enforced in Oz.

Just thought I would come back and update you as to what has happened...

I have updated the creditors to my Oz post box and 2 out of the 3 have written to it, 1 has not been notified (partly my fault but I have now notified them in writing by registered oz post) and the other 1 continues to write to both UK and Oz post box... (i have also sent them a registered letter explaining I am not living there and to send all correspondence to the Oz post box)

In the letter I have stated that I am no longer a UK resident and permanently living in Australia.

I have said I am unable to pay at present as I am having difficulties, should I offer to pay something? or not pay anything...?

Very scared and worried as they are now saying I am being issued with a default notice and that they will take legal action... I dont have a UK person to send them registered post from within the UK.. so am concerned they will ignore my letters and issue a CCJ against my old address... not sure if I can deal with this any longer... please any help or any advice would be much appreciated....

may be of interest: - came across this: -

I would not bother making payments, as token amounts will lose a chunk in transfer costs. It is only worth paying them a small lump sum as a result of them accepting a without prejudice full and final offer. Debts can usually be settled with debt collection agencies for about 10% of the outstanding debt amount, as this should more than cover their costs of buying the debt.

If they apply and get a CCJ by default knowing you are out of the country, they could get into trouble, as they may have submitted false information to the court. If they told the court you were out of the country, they could not proceed with the court claim.

I would not worry too much, as they can't do anything. You can apply to Experian in the UK for a copy of your credit record to be sent to you in the post. I believe you have to write to them with various info to confirm your identity and then they can send it on. It may be worth obtaining a copy of your UK credit record at some point. The application process is on their site somewhere.

It's been quite the battle, and some of us have had more fun than others, but Pie & Beer have been soundly thrashed. All cases have been dropped; the Privacy Commissioner has refereed all its cases to ASIC who are investigating these fraudsters. Some of us are still finalising our compensation claims against Pie & Beer, others have already settled and received our cheques.

Before all this started, nobody had tested whether UK credit agreements were still covered under CCA if the defendant was resident in Oz. Pie & Beer tried to claim that the debts were covered under Oz law. FAIL

it is safe to say that UK debts will not be enforced in an Australian Court. Pie & Beer tried this. FAIL

It is an offence under Australian Law for a creditor to threaten to take an action against a debtor that they are not entitled to take. If anyone is threatened by a DCA or creditor with court action for enforcement of a debt covered under UK CCA immediately file a written complaint with ASIC.

If anyone has paid money to a DCA, especially Pie & Beer, as a result of threats of legal action where the debt is covered by the UK CCA, file a complaint with ASIC.

Pie & Beer, along with other DCA rely on dependents being ignorant of their rights. Thanks to the XXX Forums, and others, ordinary people have come together to share knowledge and stand up to the thugs and conmen. Pie & Beer thought they could bully us but came away with a bloody nose (and a lighter wallet). The real damage will be inflicted by ASIC who now have enhanced powers to deal with rogue DCAs who choose to ignore the law.