Document Actions
Can a person escape debt successfully if they leave the country: how long will it be before the banks and other debtors give up chasing?
I have a friend from Australia, who has dual citizenship for UK and Australia. During his ongoing ventures in the UK, he managed to get himself in a debt spiral with around 2 loans worth 20,000 in total. In absence of any potential solutions to this, he has decided to head back to Australia and start a new life. Question is, the moment he lives the UK, he will obviously start defaulting. The banks will try to look for him, or even appoint debt collectors who will presumably fail in their endeavours. Could you explain what would happen at this point? Does the bank write of his debt? In other words, he is almost bankrupt however he has chosen not to hire a legal attorney to take him through the bankruptcy process, and has decided to let the lenders take whatever action they feel is necessary. So he is simply going to let nature(or system) take its course.(He is also aware hes credit record currently excellent will tarnish to Poor.) At what point would the lenders finally give up?
The lenders or debt collection agencies will attempt to trace him but may not look internationally. In time the debts are likely to be written off if no contact can be made.
If they are able to trace any assets in this country they could apply for a court order to seize them.
Credit scores and ratings are international but they need to match up with the right address for your friend to risk being discovered. If he declares his UK address this is likely to tarnish his credit rating in Australia but not declaring a previous address will also affect his credit score.
The debts are valid for six years. Make sure your friend has no contact with the original lenders for 6 years from the date of default and the debt is technically still owed but is unenforceable in the U.K.
The lenders or the owners of the debt may well have given up long before then.
It would certainly be worth getting the various agreements checked as to their validity as fleeing the country seems to be a drastic measure.
I can ask one of our legal counsellors to call you to go through your case in detail. The service is confidential, there are no costs associated with the call and there is no obligation of any kind. Please reply to this email if you want to use this service.
We hope this information answers your question and that you found our free service fast, comprehensive and useful. We answer questions on any legal matter so please tell anyone else who you think might benefit from our free assistance.
It would also be a good idea to bookmark http://www.lawanswers.co.uk in case you need free advice on any other legal question.
Please come back to us if you have any other legal matter we can assist with in future.
Important! Ask your own free questions... Questions are answered accurately at the time they are posted but the law can change or your circumstances may differ in an important but not obvious way from those mentioned. For fast, free and up-to-date personal legal advice direct to your inbox about your own individual case ask Law Answers your own free legal question.
