Extradited For Non Payemnt Of Credit Card

[LostinBkkagain]

I've got a great credit rating in the UK but have not got the funds to keep paying off a debt which I've had to go in to! Things are looking OK for me now here money wise. Touch wood its carries on! But I cant afford my credit card bill back in the UK.

If I stop paying a debt what can happen to me here? I know its going to mess me up going back to the UK. I have 2 Debts BTW. One for £10,500 and one for £4,500. People have told me different stories so I need some advice on here.

No flaming please I feel awful about this as I've always paid my debts...

Thanks for any replys

[meom]

If you feel so awful why not renegotiate the repayment?

[Mario2008]

Best is to renegotiate a deal about paying of your debt. If you just stop paying, the costs will only run higher. In the end they will get court orders and will try to execute the court order in Thailand.

[LostinBkkagain]

Best is to renegotiate a deal about paying of your debt. If you just stop paying, the costs will only run higher. In the end they will get court orders and will try to execute the court order in Thailand.

Could they get court orders for this in Thailand? So I could be extradited then?

[smokie36]

Effectively nothing will happen until you return to the UK. Then you will find it impossible to get a loan or mortgage or any other type of credit.

Better to renegotiate in my opinion but they are unlikely to chase you all the way to Thailand unless its a huge sum of course.

Edit: Just read the amounts. They won't be pursuing you over here. But you can expect plenty of unpleasantness and huge bills should you return.

Edited December 21, 2011 by smokie36

[Wallaby]

Not sure about the UK's rules but it may be that as you no longer are in the UK they would have you as a person who has taken flight. That would mean the debt stays on your credit rating for 7 years. If you hadn't 'taken flight' then the bad debt would stay on the credit rating for 5 years.

What they will do depends on the size of the debt. Say if it is $5k or $10 I doubt they would go to the expense of getting a court order etc especially involving Thailand. Plus they would have to be pretty sure they could recoup the debt otherwise it is too costly for them.

Call them, explain the situation, most times they will drastically reduce the debt in order just to get something back off you.

Edit: I too just noticed the amounts. If you have no intention of paying them you can call them and tell them you won't be paying. I doubt they would do anything except try and get you to pay a nominal amount in satisfaction of the debt.

Edited December 21, 2011 by Wallaby

[moe666]

A friend of my son from new Zealand while attending university ran up his credit cards with the intension of walking away from the debt. He has had no problem getting credit nor has he been bothered after his retrun home. He has no intension of living in the states where the debt has created and walked away from. I donot agree with this it raises the fees for the rest of us and someone pays somehow in the end.

Get your act together if you send a small amout in payment it will help smooth things out when you return to the UK, you where making an effort.

[scorecard]

Effectively nothing will happen until you return to the UK. Then you will find it impossible to get a loan or mortgage or any other type of credit.

Better to renegotiate in my opinion but they are unlikely to chase you all the way to Thailand unless its a huge sum of course.

Edit: Just read the amounts. They won't be pursuing you over here. But you can expect plenty of unpleasantness and huge bills should you return.

As already mentioned, if you do nothing the debt will steadily grow and grow.

If your doing OK in Thailand why not send some token payments, to at least offset monthly interest charges so it doesn't grow any bigger.

[LostinBkkagain]

Effectively nothing will happen until you return to the UK. Then you will find it impossible to get a loan or mortgage or any other type of credit.

Better to renegotiate in my opinion but they are unlikely to chase you all the way to Thailand unless its a huge sum of course.

Edit: Just read the amounts. They won't be pursuing you over here. But you can expect plenty of unpleasantness and huge bills should you return.

As already mentioned, if you do nothing the debt will steadily grow and grow.

If your doing OK in Thailand why not send some token payments, to at least offset monthly interest charges so it doesn't grow any bigger.

OK thanks for your answers, I will call them and see if I can sort something out.

OK can anyone answer me what's the best bank for sending money back to the UK? Cost wise more than anything say I could get them down to paying the interest and it only costs me 4000Baht a month how much would this cost sent to the UK from Kasikorn bank who I bank with or should I change banks?

[rak sa_ngop]

A friend of my son from new Zealand while attending university ran up his credit cards with the intension of walking away from the debt. He has had no problem getting credit nor has he been bothered after his retrun home. He has no intension of living in the states where the debt has created and walked away from. I donot agree with this it raises the fees for the rest of us and someone pays somehow in the end.

Get your act together if you send a small amout in payment it will help smooth things out when you return to the UK, you where making an effort.

This seemed to be a popular practise amongst Malaysian students studying in America. Of course if your friend's son gets a job for a large international company which sends him on business or to attend a conference in America, it could prove awkward trying to explain why he can't make the trip. If he just wants to remain pumping gas or whatever it probably won't matter.

[beano2274]

I had a debit in Germany from a bank, the bank got in touch with someone here to try to reclaim the debt, however, the debt was past the Limitations Act, and upon me speaking to the Bank, the debt was wiped off.

[QED]

Had a friend in a similar situation, although his debt was about 3 times yours.

He had the same concerns and found several forums and help groups online where he got the facts. The facts are:

This is a civil matter, you can never be extradited for not paying your credit cards.

Cost will mount up for 6 years. After 6 years, from the last contact between you and your creditors, the debt is written off. I found this hard to believe but he showed me the legislation. (Actually I just googled this and found 'The Limitation Act 1980', but there does seem to be a lot of if's and but's around it).

[GuestHouse]

The OP, and others need to be very careful. As others have rightly said, being unable to pay a debt is not a criminal offence.

However obtaining credit with no intention of paying the debt is Fraud, which is a criminal offence.

The OP is well advised when told to comtact his card companies to report his circumstances and get a repayment plan in place.

I'd advise he follows that up with a written record of the agrement, names and dates of calls etc.

He should be prepaired for all his UK banking services to be withdrawn and for the likelihood that the bank(s) file against him as a first response.

Then start praying things don't go T1ts up in Thailand within the next seven years.

Edited December 21, 2011 by GuestHouse

[theoldgit]

You don't seem to be running away but there is little or nothing they can do to in Thailand as there are no reciprocal arrangements between the UK and Thailand.

You creditors cannot take court action against you in the UK as you are not a UK resident.

If you do not make a payment or acknowledge the debt for six years then it becomes Statute Barred and they cannot enforce the debt in a UK court.

If you want to do the decent thing then by all means try to negotiate a reduced settlement, as you are living in Thailand you are in a strong position and they will know that. I would not ring them as once they have your number they will hound you, just write to them.

There is a very good forum in the UK called the Consumer Action Group, there is a section there on debt and a sub section on overseas debt, Google it. My cousin is a debt collector in the UK and this forum is a real pain in his eyes, he tells me that they give far too much good advice.

[GuestHouse]

You creditors cannot take court action against you in the UK as you are not a UK resident.

WRONG !

[bartender100]

Also be prepared for what ever address the cards are resisted, to start getting lots of phone calls, it will get worse as the debt gets passed on to collection companies that will buy the debt from the CC.

If it was just a rented place its no problem, but if its a family member, you might be dropping them in a lot of hassle.

Best to go bankrupt if you have no UK asserts, but don't do it for such a small amount (wink wink)

http://www.freefromdebt.org.uk/our-services/bankruptcy-from-abroad

http://forum.debtwatchdog.com/Bankruptcy-Forum-8.html

Search around on the bankruptcy forums for advise. The debt if left un-attended will catch up with you one day

[theoldgit]

You creditors cannot take court action against you in the UK as you are not a UK resident.

WRONG !

Not wrong at all, county court action can only be initiated against somebody resident in the UK. I certainly tried tried to take somebody to court, I was not able to do so as the person was out of jurisdiction. You need to provide the court with a UK address to serve the summons.

Maybe you could do more than provide a one word answer and give the person seeking help the benefit of your knowledge.

[NewlyMintedThai]

If the OP has credit debt in the UK, certainly he has an address there. Whether or not is currently present there or not is a different matter.

Fix the debt instead of running away. The latter could haunt you for a very long time. It may look now like you'll never need to return to the UK, or to work or apply for credit now, you never know.

[geriatrickid]

With a judgement, can't social benefits be garnished? i.e. Register judgement with government and the person living overseas could see pension shrink. The person can protest, and the response would be, sure we'll review, please come to a hearing on such a date in Bath..

[Tonto21]

OP...I copied this for you, I hope it helps.....A little.

Under the UK (England and Wales) statute of Limitations Act 1980, there are different time periods

for different debts. Mainly 6 years for simple contracts and 12 years for those contracts that may be

under seal. (Such as mortgage issues)There are areas that need closer inspection, however. For example if you are a debtor that falls

under the simple contract (6 years) limitation and you happen to acknowledge your debt in writing

or make any kind of payment towards that debt within that initial period, then that 6 year cycle

begins all over again from that moment, and you are still liable for the debt.

From the creditor's point of view, it appears imperative that they take the correct course of action

within the required time.

Credit Rating Warning

Unpaid debts, even if under the Limitations Act, may still cause problems in the future, especially

when it comes to credit rating. Even though a debt may not be enforceable, due to the points

discussed, this does not mean that it won't be filed onto your credit history and create an

unfavourable credit rating. If this is an undesirable outcome, then the sensible option is to clear the

debt in full.

[KNJ]

call the companies explain the situation. Get them to freeze the interest or you will pay nothing. Then get a repayment scheme which you can afford agreed, say 30 pounds even if it is less than minimum payment. Do it and do it now, the interest is being accumilated and the longer you delay the more deifficult. Get this agreed in writing, they will do it they have no other option, if they say they have to talk to their manager ask to talk to them direct. You need the man that has teh power to decide this. Dont be rude, just lay out the facts.

Regarding payment to UK maintain your Bank there transfer enough to cover for at least one year then set up a standing order for the amount you have agreed.to the two companies. Thus avoiding transfer fees each month.

If you are in teh situation where you cannot pay, and they take you to court, just send a nominal amount, one pound is sufficient, then they will have to reapply for court intervention again as you have made an effort to pay, and the amount on the court application is incorrect

[monty1412]

Effectively nothing will happen until you return to the UK. Then you will find it impossible to get a loan or mortgage or any other type of credit.

Better to renegotiate in my opinion but they are unlikely to chase you all the way to Thailand unless its a huge sum of course.

Edit: Just read the amounts. They won't be pursuing you over here. But you can expect plenty of unpleasantness and huge bills should you return.

As already mentioned, if you do nothing the debt will steadily grow and grow.

If your doing OK in Thailand why not send some token payments, to at least offset monthly interest charges so it doesn't grow any bigger.

OK thanks for your answers, I will call them and see if I can sort something out.

OK can anyone answer me what's the best bank for sending money back to the UK? Cost wise more than anything say I could get them down to paying the interest and it only costs me 4000Baht a month how much would this cost sent to the UK from Kasikorn bank who I bank with or should I change banks?

You can send from SCB or Kasikorn but its a pain to set up but doable. IMO you should talk to them immediately, explain what is situation and offer a plan ( which you must stick to.. repeat must stick too) IMO paying Interest Only is not going to satisfy them. I would opt for something over a two year period to amortise the debt but get them as part of the deal to freeze the interest. The banks will do this if you offer then a defined plan which see's them get rid of this bad debt over a none too long period of time.

Get a contact person you can deal with at bank and keep this person religiously informed. Little stuff like pick a few months of the year and pay more than you have agree even if its a paltry amount more and let the contact person know "I had some spare money this month so have sent this as extra to agreed payments" builds credibility and goodwill all of which are in your favour.

worst you can do is " head in the sand" here.. interest payment alone aren't going to cut it... better to go for principal reduction and they hold interest accrual. I negotiated this for my younger brother a few years ago and it worked like a charm even restored his full credit after completion of principal payment. Procrastination and lack of result orineted correspondence are your real enemies here.

make sure you get a contact person... use skype to call them on regular basis.

[theoldgit]

Bits of misleading advice given here, I'm certainly not an expert, though I was advised by a court than I could not start civil preceedings against somebody who was not resident in the UK. I would advise the OP to seek advice here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?266-Overseas-Debt-Overseas-Account-issuesCertainly it's true that a civil debt becomes statute barred after six years, five in Scotland, of the last payment or acknowledgement of the debt. That doesn't wipe the debt out, it just means the it cannot be enforced in court.Credit defaults only remain on the credit file for six years, and once they drop off they don't go back on.If a creditor manages to get a County Court Judgement, out of juristiction, then you cannot just sent a pound, the court will decide the level of payment.Everyone seems to be in agreement that it's best to talk to the creditor, and I agree that the sensible thing to do, though it is important to advise them, in writing, of your current address.

[jamescollister]

OP don't worry about credit cards, millions of people lost their jobs all over the world. If you have nothing in the UK there is nothing they can do. In Australia they have I think a 2 or 3 year window to take court action, after which time they can just send letters and phone calls, but they give up. Friend of mine owed a lot of money to the banks, told them to stick it. 5 years later he started a small business. Phoned the collection agency and said he would pay 10 cents on the dollar, they excepted and the debt was wiped.

Several years ago I was speaking to a retired banker in Pattaya, he said if the debt is under 1/2 million and the debtor has fled the UK they say he is now a ghost and will rarely chase. Big difference between fraud and just being a person who has over committed and given up. Jim

[ukrules]

Like some others have said - there is a six year limit then it's not enforceable.

One thing to note - the debt will most likely have been sold at a vastly reduced rate to a debt collection company by then. They might contact you and ask you to even pay a very small amount like say 5 pounds. If you do this then the six year cycle starts again and it's fully enforceable at that time through the UK courts if you live there.

There are other courses of action that can be taken which might not have this residence limitation like a high court writ for example. I owed a company some money about 15 years ago and they issued a high court writ against me for recovery. I wasn't even aware of the debt so I just paid it when it came through. Like I said this was a long time ago though.

They will most likely just issue a CCJ against you, however this can be easily removed if you tell them that you didn't receive it which is unlikely as you now live in a different country. The onus being on the lender to prove you received the CCJ notification.

[KNJ]

Bits of misleading advice given here, .If a creditor manages to get a County Court Judgement, out of juristiction, then you cannot just sent a pound, the court will decide the level of payment.Everyone seems to be in agreement that it's best to talk to the creditor, and I agree that the sensible thing to do, though it is important to advise them, in writing, of your current address.

Not misleading, If they are going to take you to court, they will tell you and you will be given a date for the court appearance, Before that appearance send just one pound, and you can have the court dismiss the case as you have made a payment and the details on the court case will be wrong as they are claiming you owe one pound more than on the case sheet. they will have to apply all over again.

Still follow the best advice, make a deal and do it fast, freeze interest, and come up with a repayment plan even if 20 years. Hopefully down the road you will be able to shorten this.

If part of the debt is already interest negotiate that off too. You need to be persistent and may take many calls but keep at it.

If you ignore eventually they will sell off the debt and collection agencies can be very agressive even to family members

[F1fanatic]

You creditors cannot take court action against you in the UK as you are not a UK resident.

WRONG !

Not wrong at all, county court action can only be initiated against somebody resident in the UK. I certainly tried tried to take somebody to court, I was not able to do so as the person was out of jurisdiction. You need to provide the court with a UK address to serve the summons.

Maybe you could do more than provide a one word answer and give the person seeking help the benefit of your knowledge.

Guest is right.

When my husband dumped me (here), he refused to pay half my credit card bill - even though I'd paid his off when I was made redundant.

I couldn't afford to make payments and the credit card company obtained a court order (judgement) against me, even though I was living here.

[theoldgit]

Guest is right. When my husband dumped me (here), he refused to pay half my credit card bill - even though I'd paid his off when I was made redundant. I couldn't afford to make payments and the credit card company obtained a court order (judgement) against me, even though I was living here.

Did they serve the County Court Summons on you In Thailand?

Did you defend it because you were out of the juristiction of the court?

Did the County Court Judge make a judgement against you in Thailand?

[F1fanatic]

Guest is right. When my husband dumped me (here), he refused to pay half my credit card bill - even though I'd paid his off when I was made redundant. I couldn't afford to make payments and the credit card company obtained a court order (judgement) against me, even though I was living here.

Did they serve the County Court Summons on you In Thailand?

Did you defend it because you were out of the juristiction of the court?

Did the County Court Judge make a judgement against you in Thailand?

No - they didn't 'serve' it at all!

I just received forwarded mail telling me of the Judgement at my 'old' address' in the UK!

Edited December 21, 2011 by F1fanatic

[harrry]

This may be a time where filing for bankrupcy may be a answer. You will have to surrender your passport for a little while. Lose much of your assets but then you make a fresh start.