the NZ lawyer I'm talking to is from the citizens advice bureau, its a free service. The consumer group is the 'department of consumer affairs'. If a DC was doing something illegal, the department of CA would be the people to complain to, they are an official nz govt department. I'd assume that the department of consumer affairs, being a govt department should know what they are on about, but I didn't mention that they hadn't yet started UK legal proceedings (CCJ) though, so maybe that is the difference? I'm right in my assumption that they can't obtain a CCJ in the UK without me being a resident at the time?

Hiya Thanks for the comment, yes I did see your post, there's not too much information out there about UK debts in NZ (lots more on UK debts in Aus). Accroding to a few sources here (such as the NZ consumer affairs etc) apparantly it is possible for NZ DCA to take on UK originated debt, and for this to affect NZ credit files, though there has been advisement from other sources to the contrary. I don't think its legally enforcable (at least not easily), again no-one seems to be able to give me a deffinate. I also rang up Veda (Baycorp) who said that they don't take on debt from other countries aside from aussie, so who knows! I'm seeing a Citizens Advice Bearu lawyer this sat to get thier opinion.

Hiya Any advice you can give would be appreciated! I'm from NZ, I lived in the UK for a couple of years returning to NZ April 09. I've a 445 Pound debt in UK with a bank. Debt has occured from bank charges and fees only after the bank didn't close the account down as I requested when i left the UK (April 09). Letters from bank & DC agency have been going to my old UK address. I've only just caught up with it. On finding out that I'm being chased in the UK I've provided the DC in the UK with my NZ address (silly move?) and told them I dispute the claim due to the amount being an admin error by my bank not closing the account. bank won't reverse it as they've already passed in onto debt collectors. Since advising of my NZ address I've recieved a letter from another UK based DC demanding payment, stating that they may start court proceedings etc (I guess this is a CCJ?) I've just written back saying "I don't acknologe the debt, dispute the claim, is a result of admin errror by bank etc etc". I just wanted to check up what the rules are for UK debt collectors chasing debt in NZ? 1) Can UK debt collectors pass on debt to NZ based DCs? what do I do if this happens? Does it effect my NZ credit rating? 2) given that I've complained and said I dispute the debt etc, can they go down the CCJ path? Any advice would be appreciated!