Check what the local laws say about debt prescribing. In my home country if you owe anybody any money and they don't take steps to recover it; that debt prescribes after three years. They have to prove they contacted you to recover debt and that you received notices.

Debt cannot be outstanding indefinitely.

Well it is is in French, but that is an official government website: http://www.minefi.go...ption_dette.htm

They say 5 years for rents and 5 years for electricity.

I guess that settles it then, unless it is a possibility to transfer the debt to a private creditor company.

Same laws applies to them. Actually there is even a decree explaining how these agencies can be contracted and what they can do.

Check what the local laws say about debt prescribing. In my home country if you owe anybody any money and they don't take steps to recover it; that debt prescribes after three years. They have to prove they contacted you to recover debt and that you received notices.

Debt cannot be outstanding indefinitely.

Well it is is in French, but that is an official government website: http://www.minefi.go...ption_dette.htm

They say 5 years for rents and 5 years for electricity.

I guess that settles it then, unless it is a possibility to transfer the debt to a private creditor company.

Same laws applies to them. Actually there is even a decree explaining how these agencies can be contracted and what they can do.

I see.

I dont know what is worst, owing the state money, or a private contractor.

I believe the contractor is the last to give up, since this is what they do for business.

Having said that, I dont think OP has too much to worry about, especially immigration.

But I would have paid my bills, so I didnt have to worry about it at a later stage.

The outstanding deposit would had been transferred to his account anyway I guess.

Check what the local laws say about debt prescribing. In my home country if you owe anybody any money and they don't take steps to recover it; that debt prescribes after three years. They have to prove they contacted you to recover debt and that you received notices.

Debt cannot be outstanding indefinitely.

Yes they can.

The creditors send out a small notice in local papers in the area where he had his last known address.

This way, the bill stay put, until it is paid, with bigger interests and bigger fees.

Pretty normal routine actually.

The bill doesnt go away because it is 10 years old.

Bills these days are also backed up electronically, so they can be stored until end of time, with out any extra cost.

You and I are obviously not from the same country . . .

Check what the local laws say about debt prescribing. In my home country if you owe anybody any money and they don't take steps to recover it; that debt prescribes after three years. They have to prove they contacted you to recover debt and that you received notices.

Debt cannot be outstanding indefinitely.

Well it is is in French, but that is an official government website: http://www.minefi.go...ption_dette.htm

They say 5 years for rents and 5 years for electricity.

Too bad for the OP then.

Check what the local laws say about debt prescribing. In my home country if you owe anybody any money and they don't take steps to recover it; that debt prescribes after three years. They have to prove they contacted you to recover debt and that you received notices.

Debt cannot be outstanding indefinitely.

Yes they can.

The creditors send out a small notice in local papers in the area where he had his last known address.

This way, the bill stay put, until it is paid, with bigger interests and bigger fees.

Pretty normal routine actually.

The bill doesnt go away because it is 10 years old.

Bills these days are also backed up electronically, so they can be stored until end of time, with out any extra cost.

You and I are obviously not from the same country . . .

ok

The creditors send out a small notice in local papers in the area where he had his last known address.

In which country?

Because the only notice I usually in French newspaper with names on them are obituaries...

Has been done for as long as I can remember in the Scandinavian countries.

These notices will NOT state what it is about, but only this or that person should please contact this or that office.

I think it was last year (or earlier this year) Bangkok Post actually had one litle notice from a creditor company in Norway, where they wanted to get hold of Norwegian bloke, last address Pattaya.

The local rag does something similar i n Guernsey. They print details of every crime no matter how trivial.

Mr X fined £80 for urinating in the bushes behind a nightclub on Saturday night.

Much worse than the fine!