Running from your debt!!!!

[Kim39]

Before anyone gets the wrong idea, this is a question in general. I was told last night by somebody in work about a kiwi who worked for us a while ago. He'd left NZ with quite a huge debt, but has since returned with a english wife and kids in tow. He said one of the reasons for leaving was his huge debt, but something in NZ law allows a person to be out of country for 5 years and this debt is wiped clean. Is this possible? Maybe somebody may have this answer. As i say i am just curious. Also is it possible that something similar happens here in the UK?

Kim

[Diny]

Kim

This reminds me of something that happened to us several years ago. We were living in NT, Australia but had another couple of months left before we headed over to NZ. We had a Toyota Hilux 4WD which, when we left, we drove from Darwin to Brisbane. Stayed with PB's brother for a while, then booked our tickets to NZ. We needed to sell the truck so we went around a few car yards to see what we could get for it. In the end, we sold it to a crowd who seemed really nice and were offering us a fairly good price for it. We ended up selling if for slightly less than we expected but we were flying out in a couple of days and were really stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Foolishly, whilst sitting in the office of the car yard doing all the paperwork, and sorting out the re-payment to the finance company etc, we got chatting about what we were doing. Yeah - we told him that we were flying out in a couple of days, heading off to NZ for 6 months then we would be returning to the UK so PB could pick up his new rig and start working there. Young and dumb.

The months passed, great time had by all in NZ, flew back to UK. Went up to Aberdeenshire where we rented a cottage so far out in the back of beyond that we had to leave a trail of breadcrumbs everytime we went out. A remote area called Mid Artrochie, Auchmacoy.

After being there for several months we received a letter from the finance company who we'd used when we bought the Hilux. The long and the short of the letter was telling us that we had skipped the country leaving the finance unpaid and if the amount wasn't settled within 5 working days legal action would be taken. We hadn't got any of the paperwork to prove anything, we couldn't even remember the name of the car yard......PANIC !!!!!!!!!! After the initial shock we swung into action. Went to see our UK solicitor who said he needed names of the company etc before he could help out. We contacted PB's brother who remembered the name of the yard and gave us their number. Then we pulled off the biggest bluff ever. We phoned the car yard. Told them who were were (funny really but he remembered us right away). Told him about the letter from the finance company and also told him that we still had all the paperwork showing that he had agreed to pay off the finance company and that we would be faxing it through to our Oz solicitors in 24 hours time unless we had proof that the outstanding amount had been paid. He was abit flustered and said he's look into it and call us back. Not quite as flustered as us though - no paperwork - no Oz solicitor - but hey - we knew we were in the right.

He did call back within a couple of hours, told us that there had been a clerical error and the paperwork had been mislaid but the full outstanding amount had now been paid.

So in the end all was OK for us, but it was a tense couple of days which left us feeling really sick. God knows how they found us. We were in the deepest, remotest little hide away in north east Scotland and the letter arrived with the exact address on it. This all happened about 13 years ago, imagine how easy it would be for them to track a person down in these days of internet, big brother and global shrinking.

Running is an option - hiding obviously isn't.

Diny

[Danpoll]

i understand that debts are valid for seven years in the uk. My freind in Canada sent me a letter from Rogers cable tv company saying that I owed them money, nothing was ever done. However I will be cautious to open up an account with them again.

Never leave a trail, always state you have been living in a country for more than 3 years

I shld be leaving the uk with no debts barring sky bt and the council tax, on my tax return i will state iam emigratting to france. not that i would be extradited. Though i didnt think companies or debt collectors went trans national. or had juris diction in the new country you are in.

please correct me on this.

Dan

[veronica]

Yep I too had heard that if you left the country for 7 years debts were wiped BUT what does this do to your credit rating. Does it get you on 'the List' as a bad debt risk and who can you apply to for references for credit/mortgage stuff when you are here. The computor is a global thing with info passed from country to country.

[sarahw]

I heard a while back in a newspaper article that people with bad credit ratings were leaving the UK & after (can't remember exactly!) 3 or 5 years a credit rating is wiped clean - so they were coming back after that amount of time and able to get loans etc...

[Arlevien]

This is actually a known fact that most people are leaving their country. However, in the US, they track you by SS number and from what I heard it stays there for quite a bit and not just 5 yrs unless they got updated coz your dead and thats the only time you get a clean slate.

[Diny]

Surely honesty is the best policy ???? I'm not suggesting that anybody posting on this forum is planning on running from debt - but just as a general comment, surely the knowledge that one day there could be a knock on your door is a worry you simply do not need.

If a small car finance company in the north of Oz could track us down in a very remote cottage down the end of a 2 mile farm track in north east Scotland all those years ago (see above posting) - in these days of electronic data I'm sure a persons every move can be logged.

Oops - hold on - my halo just slipped.

Diny

[Danpoll]

there is always the old fail safe, if they catch you they are entittled to their money within a period after the initial agreement/ transaction. However if you supply them with a letter stating that you are aware of the situation and at the present time you are facing unspeakable hardships therefore I will only be able to give back 2 pound a month. This then it makes it difficult to get you in court because you have agreed to pay it back. If they did then the smalls claims court would agree that you have made arrangemnts to pay them back. Agree evreything verbally when it is on their part, never sign anything they send you keep the contract in your control. Then get it to the point where its not finicialy worth chasing you for,


Dan

[Kim39]

Well i must admit very interesting comments. As i said in original thread it's curiosity. I will be leaving these shores debt free :hopeso so i need not worry, but i think given the chance i would run, but i know with my luck these :booby would be on my tail.
Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

Kim