Hi,

Cut a long story short I left the UK and moved to the US to get married in Feb 2006. I had credit card debt which I continued to pay until June 2006. The money ran out and I couldn't afford it. So I stopped paying.

We had to move to another state in June 2006. I didn't tell the creditors my new address (they had my old one in the first state we lived in). Now, a year later I have had a letter from a company called Bluestone wanting the money.

There is no way I can afford to pay this now. I do not have the spare cash like I did when I was single and living with my parents in the UK. Plus we have a baby on the way.

I'm scared about what they can do. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I don't know what to do. Please can someone help.

Thanks,

As far as I know, they cant do anything as long as your in the US. Should you travel back to the UK, you may have some issues. I depends on the laws of the UK and how far they can go to collect a debt.

I've heard some stories about debts following people from the uk to the states. I'm not sure what you can do about it - but I'm sure that someone will be able to help you out and give some good advise. I actually went bankrupt back in the uk in April as I didnt want any debts to follow me and i knew that i would not be able to pay them back whilst living over here.

Be responsible it is your debt after all.....call them and try to arrange payments that are acceptable to both parties!

I agree. Irresponsible behavior like that only raises the cost of borrowing for the rest of us.

Homesick_American - I would have thought with all the personal attacks flying back and forth in other threads of yours when people are not replying to your satisfaction, you might have a little empathy and be able to stop the feral urge you appear to have of clicking reply when you have nothing of consequence to say. The OP was asking for help, not your opinion on his/her moral standing or how responsible he/she is or has been.

To salde - There is a company that may be able to offer you some advice: www.myvesta.org. Lots of experience of dealing with people with UK debts now living in the US.

Good luck and best wishes

If everyone else gets to express an opinion, then I do too.

You could have just PMd this to me, but you didn't.

How is that the company even knows that you are in the US? Did you tell them or leave a forwarding address? The company can do very little in the UK, let alone in the US.

Not sure quite what you are getting at. Why on earth would I want to PM you? So you could come whining back to the public board that you are being personally attacked in PMs? No thankyou. Also, a little nugget for you: You could have PMd your original response to the OP, but you didn't.

It is so sad to see another thread turned it a slagging match.... It amazes me that when someone who was screaming blue murder yesterday for being attacked with comments she did not want to hear in her thread is still happy to make comments about others way of life and pass judgment on them all in the name of expressing her opinion....

To the OP the company that has contacted you has no power to enforce that debt here in the US.... they have no way of forcing you to pay anything.... it is up to you if you want to sort out a payment plan with them... but once you sign an agreement here in the US it becomes enforceable under US law.... if you choose to not pay them and let the debt sit there unpaid the only problems you would have if you returned to the UK would be if you applied for credit as it would show up as an unpaid debt....

Kez

This is pretty amazing, how come I was the one that made the initial comment, which I happen to stand by, however as HA agreed with me she now gets the beating????

Not really amazing, why would I be 'beating' you when you gave some advice to the OP when she asked what she should do? (blunt, maybe, but nothing wrong with that and it was advice all the same, and in my opinion it was actually good advice.) What I had a problem with was the quoting of and addition to the tiny part of your comment which may have been construed as negative was not helpful or of any consequence.

In the first instance I didn't read your reply as berating to the OP, although perhaps I was wrong and if so I apologise!

No apology needed....

I was just a little shocked thats all, HA got a slating for something that she stated which I also happen to believe is probably very true and not just in the area of debt recovery.

She too is very blunt and to the point I do not think that she meant any malice in her comment she just stated a very salient point IMO.

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for the constructive comments and I'm very sorry I seem to have upset some of you with my "irresponsible" actions.

Anyway, a lot of people read my thread so I thought I would update for anyone that's interested. After extensive research of my own and consulting with a professional, this is where I'm at right now:

A CCJ can in theory be enforced in the US. However, a CCJ cannot be served on a foreign address. Therefore, if you were in contact with the bank and they have your address in the US, they cannot have a CCJ issued against you in the UK if you default.

If you did not tell the bank your new address when you left the UK they can have a CCJ issued to your old UK address in your absence. Then, if and when the collectors find you, it is possible in theory to enforce it in the US.

So basically the collectors will send the usual letters but they are not worth the paper they are written on unless the original creditor has a CCJ against you in the UK.

So that's where I'm at right now.

It might be advisable, even if you are pretty sure your debt cannot be forcibly collected, to try to figure out a payment plan. You can use the fact that you're in the U.S. to your advantage, and the creditors might settle for a lump sum or a less punishing payment schedule. They'd rather have some money than none at all.


You never know if you'll want to return to the UK, or if the laws will change, or if your child will want to attend school there and need you as a reference. Best not to have it hanging over your head.

I would let it be. Debt laws in the UK are very much in favor of the consumer. Collectors can call and even "threaten" to take or sieze your items, but they cannot legally do this. Even if you were to go back to the UK, creditors really only go off of your name and previous addresses, not like your SSN in the US. So if you were to move back, start fresh, your name and your current address and leave off your current UK address and I very much doubt it would ever catch up with you. Besides - how much are we really talking here? Unless it was several tens of thousands of pounds, it isn't worth their time to pursue it.

Start your new life and put it behind you.

All VJ Members...

DO NOT lend this deadbeat any money. He wil stiff you and find some excuse not to pay his debts.

I dont know about you, but I dont get in the habit of lending money to people I dont know

You have no idea about people's exact circumstances. Good people often make bad decisions. Name calling is really unnecessary.

Good people most certainly make bad decisions.

But good people rectify them too. It's what sets them apart from the other people who take advantage of situations & only do what they have to...not what's 'right'.

OP, I wish you well & hope you find a way to strike an arrangement with your creditors.