HoneyJackMonster Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 Hi guys I've been having a few interesting conversations with friends and colleagues (a few of them no strangers to a dodgy deal or two haha) regarding my upcoming move to Australia and this same topic keeps popping up......" Mate you are moving to Oz? Got any credit cards? Make sure and max them out before you go!" They seem convinced that debt is not transferable and as long as you don't come back to the UK there is sod all they can do. They won't pursue someone overseas for such a small amount of money. Now before the moral outcry begins i would just like to clarify that I don't have any debt and certainly don't plan to accumulate any before I go! Not the type to burn bridges and don't fancy feeling like I'm always looking over my shoulder. I'm just curious to hear from people if there is any truth to this and the legalities behind it. I also welcome moral viewpoints also as the best I get from my mates is " you think those fraudster bankers would think twice before throwing your family out on the street to buy another ivory backscratcher? Play them at their own game and win one for the little guy" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 At the moment, there is no way of creditors catching people in Oz or their credit history following them. However, if it can be established that the individual deliberately ran up debts, then that is fraud and a criminal matter that can result in extradition back to the UK. It is also likely, that credit records will become much more international in the near future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOL Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 Besides looking at it from the law point of view. Make sure you look at it morally as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou8670 Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 (edited) Could you really live with yourself? I know I couldn't and as a qualified accountant I could lose my livelihood for that type of behaviour. I worked in healthcare in the UK and we did chase people down overseas to collect debt. We used an international deb collection agency. It is possible. Anyway, how do you know you'll not want to return to the UK in the near future? I wouldn't want to live with a debt hanging over my head worrying about it everytime I visited family and friends. Edited April 5, 2015 by Lou8670 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted April 5, 2015 Report Share Posted April 5, 2015 Chuckling at what a nice bunch of mates you have. I guess the thing to remember is that whilst the majority of people migrate believing that it's forever the truth of it is, is that you can never say never and returning to the UK to be faced with legal action wouldn't be that great for a person and their family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 Remember there are no safety nets here, if things go bad you can always go back to the UK, get a council house and live off the doll with free hospital cover and sponge off family, here you could end up on the street for a long time before the doll & homeswest kick in, every week there are people on the news living out of cars and tents with kids pleading for help, if you did have CCJ's against you in the UK you would never get credit again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arwen Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 I left the UK 10 years ago. Unbeknown to me I owed Vodafail 79 quid. Even though I left no forwarding address with them they managed to find me in Australia after 2 years and send me letter after letter threatening court action and bailiffs. I obviously paid this pitiful amount as I didn't know I owed it. They will find you. Plus if it doesn't work out here you have to go back to the UK with a stinking credit rating. Not worth it IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyJackMonster Posted April 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 Cheers guys I just found it hard to believe that as many people do it as I have been led to believe, and I couldn't also get my head round the fact they can't pursue you overseas when the world is a much smaller place nowadays. But please read the post " i am not going to do this" and Ali you should always judge a man by the company he keeps haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted April 8, 2015 Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 Ali you should always judge a man by the company he keeps haha Lol ... No, i'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt - because I like your avatar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegg Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 I left the UK 10 years ago. Unbeknown to me I owed Vodafail 79 quid. Even though I left no forwarding address with them they managed to find me in Australia after 2 years and send me letter after letter threatening court action and bailiffs. I obviously paid this pitiful amount as I didn't know I owed it. They will find you. Plus if it doesn't work out here you have to go back to the UK with a stinking credit rating. Not worth it IMO. Vodaphone chased you all the way to Oz for £79 !! Whoah ! We met so many people that felt hard done to by the UK ….. So basically fleeced the UK once left ! theve never had any comebacks , And also isnt there a law that if they cant find you in 6 years the debts written off ? ( Oooo just for the record im not going to rob a bank …. just a bit of feedback to throw in tha mix ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Hi guys I've been having a few interesting conversations with friends and colleagues (a few of them no strangers to a dodgy deal or two haha) regarding my upcoming move to Australia and this same topic keeps popping up......" Mate you are moving to Oz? Got any credit cards? Make sure and max them out before you go!" They seem convinced that debt is not transferable and as long as you don't come back to the UK there is sod all they can do. They won't pursue someone overseas for such a small amount of money. Now before the moral outcry begins i would just like to clarify that I don't have any debt and certainly don't plan to accumulate any before I go! Not the type to burn bridges and don't fancy feeling like I'm always looking over my shoulder. I'm just curious to hear from people if there is any truth to this and the legalities behind it. I also welcome moral viewpoints also as the best I get from my mates is " you think those fraudster bankers would think twice before throwing your family out on the street to buy another ivory backscratcher? Play them at their own game and win one for the little guy" When a debt agency starts chasing you, they tend to add their expenses to the debt. You could find a very nasty surprise waiting for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Vodaphone chased you all the way to Oz for £79 !! Whoah ! We met so many people that felt hard done to by the UK ….. So basically fleeced the UK once left ! theve never had any comebacks , And also isnt there a law that if they cant find you in 6 years the debts written off ? ( Oooo just for the record im not going to rob a bank …. just a bit of feedback to throw in tha mix ) very very silly people. Debt never disappears. There are rules on the way things stay on credit records. But the debt can and will be chased for ever. During the boom time about one third of british migrants returned. In the downturn I expect that to be a lot higher and some anectodatal evidence is pointing to that. Oz / UK debt chasing is almost certain to be agreed in the near future as it will be necessary under the governments policy to chase student debts internationally. And in oz, it is much easier to chase as once a citizen it is law to be on the electoral role - you actually do it in the citizenship ceremony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegg Posted May 31, 2015 Report Share Posted May 31, 2015 better remember to pay my phone bill then ;o) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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