In a bad situation... How much debt will the banks write off?

I

infradig

Guest
Okay, here goes...

For reasons not entirely of my own making, I have ended up with quite a few debts and now I'm in a bit of a desperate position.

I'm not looking for any moral judgments here, but I'm thinking of some desperate measures to escape the debt. What I need to know is if I was to leave Ireland and go back to the UK (I'm British originally), could the banks and credit cards chase me for the money there?

How much would they just give up on? How much would they pursue? Would they bother to chase me through the UK courts if they knew my address in Britain? Would it all depend on whether they were banks operating in both the UK and Ireland?

I've got a "clean" financial record in the UK. Would debts in Ireland affect me in Britain?

I have 10,000 euros outstanding on a loan with Bank of Ireland, and 4,000 euros on a credit card with AIB.

Thanks for your help...
 
The level of debt you've posted does not seem to warrant such drastic action. Why don't you make an appointment with MABS. Its a free service and they may at least give you some other options.
 
I also agree you can sort out your debt without resorting to drastic measures.

How much do you earn per month?
 
If you run now you'll limit your options for the future - no banks in Ireland will touch you - doesn't seem worth it for €14000. Do you have roots here?
 
ney001 said:
doesn't seem worth it for €14000. ?
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As per the other posters i was expecting to hear of a debt of at least six figures as i read the tone in the post.

Thriftys' advice about contacting Mabs is good
 
Thanks everyone for the very reassuring advice. I feel much better about it now.

The truth is I came out to live in Ireland because of an Irish woman I met when in the UK. The relationship has now finished, and didn't end well. Basically, I've been a bit daft about the whole thing and keeping her in the manner to which she was accustomed is what's landed me in all this debt. You live and learn of course, and I'm not looking for sympathy.

I like Ireland a lot, but in reality I now have no roots here at all, and what with the personal side of it, I just feel like I want to go back home ASAP and make a fresh start, a clean break.

That's why I have the temptation to do a moonlight flit. I know it's not morally right to cut and run when I owe this money, but with nothing to hold me here I must admit I'm tempted.

But, as I said, I don't want that decision to affect my future in the UK.
 
With the whole EU thing, it could be just a matter of time before we get a central credit bureau or something like that.

For 14k, I don't think it's worth the risk...
 
HotdogsFolks said:
With the whole EU thing, it could be just a matter of time before we get a central credit bureau or something like that.
Click to expand...

Haven't heard about it being on the cards though so in answer to the ops original question your bad debts here should not follow you to the UK.
 
I suppose, yes, on the one hand it's hardly worth taking the risk for 14k, but given as I'm thinking of leaving anyway, it's probably a small enough amount they wouldn't start taking action against me in the UK, right?
 
infradig said:
I suppose, yes, on the one hand it's hardly worth taking the risk for 14k, but given as I'm thinking of leaving anyway, it's probably a small enough amount they wouldn't start taking action against me in the UK, right?
Click to expand...


Pay your debts, or negotiate a settlement with the bank. Don't just cut and run.
 
I have heard of cross-border wages arrestments being made within the EU. People can be tracked down whenever they start paying tax & national insurance in another country and creditors can lodge what is called a wages arrestment with the new employers. The employer can be obliged to hand over part of the employee's salary directly to the creditor. In the case that I heard about, the debtor was tracked down within 2-3 weeks of starting her new employment in a different country.

However, it seems to depend on the laws of the countries involved - see following link:

[broken link removed]

The material in the pdf isn't 100% clear, but then again I am no legal expert...

You could try doing some searches on google for cross-border wages arrestments / garnishments.

I will try to find out which countries were involved in the case I mentioned above.
 
In answer to your question... yes they could pursue you in another country.

Best to be honest with your creditors. We are all human beings at the end of the day
 
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You could contact Citizen Advice Bureau (CAB) in GB when you get there and they will negotiate for you with the Irish creditors.
 
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