Yeah, they tried a few more times and I just ignored them. They must have learned their lesson, because I haven't heard boo from them since all my debts passed the official Statute Barred date. My advice is to first determine when your debts will be statute barred (varies by Australian state ... most are 7 years, I think). NEVER admit they are your debts. Just continue to ignore them until they start ringing your employer and colleagues (they tried that tactic with me). They also troll your social media (LinkedIn especially) to see where you work, and they'll ring reception or anyone else they can get ahold of to try and embarrass you into paying. If they start with that, then write to them: deny that the debt is yours, ask them to send you ALL information they hold on you, and demand they never contact you again. Then send complaints about their tactics to every regulatory agency in Australia you can find. I've listed what I've done on these forums - shouldn't be too hard to find. They often move on to easier targets when you put up a fight and start complaining to the regulatory authorities. They're mostly looking for people who scare easily, and will pay up to get them to stop calling & emailing. Good luck. W

These Credit Corp cretins never cease to amaze me. They've come out of the woodwork for another go - today I received this email from them: -------------------------- I’ve been attempting to contact you in regards to an important business matter. Our goal is to find an appropriate solution for this situation and we need to get an understanding of your current circumstances, please contact Lxxxx Nxxx at CCG on 02 8xxx 5xxx or via Email. Regards, Lxxxx Nxxxxo Customer Relationship Manager Credit CorpGroup ----------------------------------- Here is the reply I sent to them: Ms. Nxxxxx, Your correspondence below has been received and noted. Your organisation has been harassing me since 2010. I have previously lodged a formal complaint not only to your organisation, but also to ASIC, Office of Fair Trading, and the Australian Privacy Commissioner. I will be lodging follow-up complaints as a result of your latest correspondence, and will again cc: you on those complaints. As a result of your continued harassment, I have done extensive research on your organisation. You have a reputation of acting illegally and contrary to regulations you are required to follow for the collection of debts. Namely: (1) You continuously pursue individuals who have no responsibility for the debt in question; (2) you aggressively attempt to collect debts that are statute-barred by law; and (3) you undertake debt collection activities in countries where you have no license to do so. In my case, any company undertaking debt collection activity in the United Kingdom must possess a Consumer Credit Licence from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). You have no such licence, and your phone calls, emails and letters clearly constitute debt collection activity. In previous correspondence with your organisation, you have been unable to prove: (1) I am the individual responsible for the debt(s) in question; (2) the debt(s) in question are not statute-barred; and (3) you are licensed to conduct debt collection activity in the United Kingdom. Further attempts by you to "get an understanding of your current circumstances" are illegal, an invasion of privacy, and will be ignored. DO NOT CONTACT ME AGAIN As stated earlier, I will be lodging additional complaints against your organisation with ASIC, Office of Fair Trading, and the Privacy Commissioner. I will supplement those complaints with my previous complaints against your organisation which you have ignored. Signed, William415

Yes, I am here in the UK and have no plans to return to Australia anytime soon. I was hoping to get some information in advance as to the likely issue before contacting them - but if nobody here has any prior experience, then I'll just have to give them a call and find out what they want. They likely got my employer's details from social media - most likely LinkedIn. I find unclebulgaria67's reply quite interesting, though - I could be potentially detained if I try to enter Australia? If that's the case, this has to be a tax thing - right?

Hello, I've done a search on CAG, but didn't come up with any information about this Australian organisation. I've received a couple of calls to my employer and my mobile from the NSW State Debt Recovery Office. I've checked their website to try and figure out what they could want with me, and it seems they deal with fines and wage garnishments. Does anyone know what this could possibly be about? The only thing I can think it might be related to is either (1) Fines for failure to vote (I'm still an Australian citizen, and compulsory voting covers citizens overseas); or (2) Back taxes. I don't think it's related to any old statute-barred consumer debt that I have - I've checked, and there are no court judgements against me in Australia. Any information from anyone familiar with dealing with this organisation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, W.

Hello, About 3-4 years ago, Credit Corp were chasing me about some statute-barred debts in Australia (I lived there for 8 years, and have been in the UK for 7 years now). I ran them around in circles (using the great advice received here), and they finally gave up. But in the last two weeks, I've had 3 calls from them and they've left voice mail messages asking me to contact them. (They always call in the middle of the night ... business hours in OZ, I guess.) I can't believe these idiots are tying to have another go at me. All my OZ debts are statute-barred, so they have no chance. Should I just ignore them? I'm worried that they will use the same tactic on me as last time - they looked up my profile on LinkedIn, and started contacting my employer trying to harass me. I don't want that to happen again, so I'd love to head them off if possible. However, I'm worried that acknowledging them in any way will result in them increasing their efforts. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks! William

Start the process NOW ... it will slow them down, and prevent them from accomplishing anything until your debt becomes statute-barred. Demand that Credit Corp and S.D. deal with you ONLY IN WRITING. Demand that they not contact your employer or clients - tell them if they do, you will report them to the regulatory authorities. There are laws the govern the conduct of debt collectors - they must abide by these laws, or their license gets taken away. Ignore their stupid deadlines - they are just trying to scare you. Demand that they prove you owe the debt - demand to see the original credit contract, with your signature. Deny you ever had the debt, tell them the have the wrong person, run them around in circles. It can actually be fun when you discover you hold all the cards, and make them scurry around like the rats they are. Good luck and don't worry. W

Natashacat, Sorry to hear that you are having to deal with these cretins. Please have a look at my threads - even though I never had to deal with S.D., my battle with Credit Corp was won due to the good advice I received from this forum. Please follow these general guidelines in dealing with this, and it will soon be over: 1. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER respond to S.D. and admit that you owe this money. If you DO decide to communicate with them (which I do not advise) - DENY, DENY, DENY. They have the wrong person; you do not acknowledge the debt; you never had an account with such-and-such company, etc. etc. You get the picture. The burden of proof is on THEM. 2. Complain to all and sundry about their tactics (and Credit Corp's). Complain to the Australian authorities (ASIC, FOS, etc.) and the UK regulators. You will find details in my thread. Write to Credit Corp and demand they send you ALL information they hold on you. This will send them running in circles, and cost them a lot of money. 3. Always remember: THERE IS NOTHING S.D. CAN DO TO ENFORCE THIS DEBT. They are bullies - they will scream, yell, threaten, and throw a hissy-fit ... but the reality is they are POWERLESS. Ignore them. 4. The reason they are putting the heat on NOW, is because your debt will soon be statute-barred - and then they are F*CKED. Absolutely nothing they (or anyone else) can do after that point. So your strategy is to DENY, DUCK-AND-WEAVE, COMPLAIN, ETC. until you hit the statute-barred date. Then you can write them a letter and tell them to go F*CK themselves. My debts are all now statute-barred, and my credit is OZ has not been impacted very much. My credit here in the UK has not been impacted at all. Good luck! W

This is a very important point - these bottom feeders use social networking sites to track people down, find their current employer, then begin harassing phone calls to the employer.As has been stated earlier, they are just trying to scare you into paying. There is really NOTHING they can do to enforce the debt once you are no longer a resident of Australia. Continue to ignore them until the debt is statute-barred.Good luck.

Bump.Any news?

What's the latest, docker1? Are you trying to negotiate a settlement with them, or will you defend in court?

In my opinion, there is a big difference on how you may choose to deal with this depending on whether or not you intend to return to Australia before the debt becomes statute-barred. It appears from your post that you do in fact intend to return to Australia before that time - if so, you MAY want to consider a settlement with Credit Corp to get this resolved so it doesn't cause you problems after you return.In my particular case, I do NOT intend to return to Australia and my debt is very nearly statute-barred. So my strategy is to run them around in circles until after the statute-barred date. In your case, you should carefully consider how this could impact your financial life if you return. In any case, as advised, NEVER talk to them on the telephone and conduct ALL correspondence and negotiations in writing. They may be unable to produce the original credit agreement, and therefore would be unable to collect the debt.There is an abundance of excellent information here on CAG regarding your situation, so my advice would be to first read everything and then make a decision on how to proceed.Good luck.W

It will be interesting to see what SD come back with ... no doubt more nonsense. Please post it up for our amusement.

I emailed the court directly (in the appropriate jurisdiction based on where I lived) and they promptly answered my question - verifying there were no court judgements against me. You can use this method, or access your credit report online using your last known address in Australia.

Credit Corp have given up on me, apparently. Haven't heard boo from them in a few months. They tried to send me a letter a few months ago, but I just marked it "return to sender" and put it back in the post. Haven't heard anything since.All my debt will be statute-barred very soon, but I wouldn't be surprised of SD crawl out of their hole to have one last go at me. Rather looking forward to that, actually - might have some fun with them.The one thing I've learned from this experience is that if you fight back - and FIGHT BACK HARD - these lowlifes back down. Their entire business model is going after people who don't know their rights, and bullying them into paying up. They don't have the stomach for a fair fight.Good luck.W.

Although I have been through essentially the same drill (Credit Corp chasing me in the UK for Australian debt) - SD were not involved in my case. Not sure why not, but thankful all the same.So given my personal experience, here is my advice:1. Send a formal complaint to ASIC regarding Credit Corp's tactics - you can find all the info you need to lodge a complaint on ASIC's website.2. Issue a formal complaint against Creidt Corp with the Australian FOS. Again, all the info you need is on their website.3. I agree you should complain about SD with the OFT and Law Society - although, as I said, SD were not involved in my case.As far as communications with SD themselves, personally I would ignore the little maggots. What are they going to do? Let them try to sue you - by the time they sort the paperwork and get a court date, your debts will be statute barred. If they DO - by some miracle - get a court date, then show up to court proving the debts in question are statute-barred and rip them a new one. Hell, I'll show up to watch the fun.Good luck.W.