NCO Europe - will they chase me in Australia??

[oxfordkaty]

Hello all,

 

So glad I found this site. I am absolutely terrified that debt I left in the UK will contact me here. My husband knows nothing about it and it would kill our marriage for him to find out.

 

Basically, I owed about 2K on 2 different cards. Egg and MBNA. I then moved to Australia.

 

I emailed the companies to tell them I was having difficulty and that I could not pay and that I would not have a contact address for them to contact me.

 

I have since found out that a debt collection company has called on my neighbours, my mum AND HER NEIGHBOURS TOO!! I then got an email from NCO Europe asking me to call them.

 

I know it was wrong, but i have just ignored all this hoping it would just go away. I have been in Australia for 6 months now.

 

I have just had another email from NCO Europe but the email address is international@NCOeurope So I am worried that they know I am in Australia (prob from a neighbour) and my fear is that they will find me and blow the whistle with my husband.

 

I have just replied to the email saying I live abroad, am not aware of any UK debt and that any further contact from them will be regarded as harrassment and reported to trading standards and ultimatley the police. Do you think I have done the right thing? And do you think that they would chase me in Australia for the debt?

 

I really hope that somebody will be able to give me some advice on this one.

 

Thank you,

Katyoxford.

[jimdev1976]

Hi there,

Have been through something similar with a larger amount, much closer to home (Netherlands). Basically they can and most probably will chase you if they can find your address, so I would suggest you don’t give it to them no matter what. The worst that can happen really is they pass it on to a Australian debt collector who will no doubt send you dire threats(if they get your address and country of residence) such as bankrupcy, loss of citizenship and anything else nasty they can think of. The thing is that its all threats with no substance. I have yet to find a case of anyone, anywhere in the world who has been taken to court in a foreign country for an unsecured UK debt. The main reason being, as I found out when facing down a Dutch DCA was that they can only take you to court to enforce a judgement already made in the UK. The problem is that to get a CCJ in England and Wales they need an address in England a Wales to serve papers. Now a crafty DCA in England may try and get a default judgement on a previous address, which is what they tried on me, even though they knew my Dutch address. However even if they did this, it would be too expensive to realistically do and there’s no guarantee of success in a foreign court, leaving the foreign debt collector significantly out of pocket and no way of getting that money back.

My advice would be to sit tight, do nothing and it will eventually go away. In terms of contacting your neighbours, parents, and their neighbours, complain to the OFT and the local trading standards in the UK about their behaviour which breaks the OFT’s guidelines. They won’t do anything, however if enough people complain they may do something in the future.

In my case I invited them by letter to take me to court in the Netherlands so we could settle this matter once and for all. This was 1 and a half years ago. I am still awaiting a response.

[cerberusalert]

I suggest you also check out the Ex-pat Focus forums Expat Focus - Forums - Expat Issues (scroll down for country specific forums) - Personal Finance (scroll down for country specific forums) - Personal Finance is a very common topic of discussion & they should be able to answer all your questions from their own experiences.

[oxfordkaty]

Thank you. I have had a look on the forums and yes, they are very helpful. I suppose its a case of just waiting to see what they do next now. I only hope they dont try to contact my husband through is job, which would be easy to trace if the neighbours have passed on any info.

 

Thank you so much for your replies,

 

Katy xx