[ssnjeff]

My wife and i are hoping to move out to New Zealand in Jan/Feb 07 with our youngest children if our visa app is granted, we also have a son of 24 who is going to come out on his own PR visa later on in the year.
My main question is this, the 24 year old has some credit card debts that he says he is not going to pay due to him going to NZ, and he has been told (by one of his idiot mates) that they won't be able to get the money off him due to him being out in NZ.
We have gone down the moral issue road which had no inpact at all, then we have tried the "you have been brought up better than that" routine all to no avail. We have told him that it would effect his credit rating in the UK and possibly in NZ as well, but he says he will not be coming back to the UK so it's not a problem and it will not effect his credit in NZ.
Please,please,please could any member of this web site shed any light on this issue for us as we are worried sick that if he goes ahead with his plan he could be deported or even worse put into prison. We realy require any advise that is fact and not fiction or what people have heard from there mates sisters great aunt as this latter form is what our son is going off.

Many thank's, 2 Very worried parents.

[Avalon]

First off - im not 100% sure of my facts on this - because we actually found it quite difficult to get answers on this last year. We have a friend in a similar situation and we were trying to find out what happens.

From what I remember - the debt does stay live, and will go to debt recovery agencies, from there it goes to lawyers! . A problem can occur if you leave a UK forwarding address (for example YOUR parents). If that happens - they can start ringing them to find a forwarding address for you. If there is a forwarding address direct to NZ - then the debts could potentially follow. I would ask your son if he is prepared for YOU to be blacklisted, or worse, any grandparents he has. Maybe he will have a attack of morals at that point.

Ive checked with my friends, and they confirm that we did find out - the debts CAN follow you to New Zealand. Problem is, none of us can remember WHERE we found that out from :confused:

At the end of the day - it really is not as easy as just walking away. He may get away with it - equally he may not - and the results of that are much more expensive, both in money terms and in stress and hassle.

So, my advise is to speak to the follwoing agencies while still in the uk. All are confidential and will not cause fruther problems for you.

1/ Citizens advise. I never found them that helpful in the past - but its a good start. and they know where else to sendyou to for help and advise.

2/ http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1094132767,59163,
Look here at dealing with problem debt. Includes how to ask about things anonmously - which is what you really need to do

Also, on moneysavingexpert is a forum for debt free wannabies you may find useful - lots of really good advise from people already doing it!

3/ The consumer Credit Councelling Service (0800 138 1111). I think this is the most likely place we got the infor from last year.

If he decides to do the right thing and deal with the money he spent - then again - Moneyaving expert is a fantastic place to start. There are some very simple techniques to help pay off debts quickly and with the minimum amount of pain. It does of course rely on having the will to do it, and forst off he must stop spending money he doesnt have (comes to us all at some point :o ).

I hope that helps a bit - let me know if you need more help.

[jubjub]

I was also going to point out that blacklisting thing for addresses you have in the UK, it will affect more people that just him, the new owners of your house for a start may have issues as your address could be blighted as far as credit agencies go.

I worked at the next desk to a Debt Collector in my old job, he had the greatest determination to get every penny owed, and had many more tools that you would think to track people down, even using private investigation where necessary. If the amount is significant enough, they will find you!

Another thing to bear in mind is that he could be charged with something like fraud, and if he obtains a criminal conviction, can be deported from NZ.

Heres a case in todays news (not debt related though, and they were a bit stupid!)

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10395542

dont know if any of that helps, but its a couple more things to scare him a bit, again not got anything apart from personal experience to back this up, sorry.

[Avalon]

"You asked a friend in Britain to send some cocaine to you for your birthday. I doubt it takes me to remind you how foolish that was,"

DOH! Thats got to be worth a Darwin Award :nice1

[Diny]

OK - this post may go on abit because the story I have to tell isn't a short one. But hopefully if your son reads it, by the time he gets to the end he'll have changed his mind.

Here goes:

16 years ago (which when you consider the amazing 'technology' of today seems light years away) we lived in Darwin, Australia. We then had to relocate to Scotland with my husbands job. We had a 4WD truck which we needed to sell. We drove as far as Brisbane to spend a few days with my bro in law before flying out (to actually spend a 6 month break in NZ en route to the new contract). Our last job was to sell the truck. We had only a few days to get it sold so decided the best way was to sell it to a dealership. We easily found a car yard which was willing to buy the truck from us. The vehicle had some credit against it (being bought on HP). Not a massive amount was outstanding. Obviously as we did all the paperwork with the car dealer he was made aware of the credit and both parties signed all the necessary paperwork to transfer the credit to him - which he would pay off.

He was a friendly guy who was chatting to us about our years in Oz and how we'd find a difference in NZ and how we'd feel the cold etc etc when we arrived in Scotland. In hindsight this was where we were duped. The dealer now realised that 3 days later we'd be leaving the country with no immediate plans of returning.

We handed over the keys, and took our copies of the paperwork and left. That was that - or so we thought.

About 10 months later, after spending our 6 months here in NZ and having rented a small cottage in a very remote hamlet north of Aberdeen (and I mean remote), a letter landed on our doormat. It had an Australian postmark. When we read it we nearly had heart failure. It was from a debt collection lawyer in the Northern Territory, Australia. It informed us that due to the fact that we had 'done a runner' (not the actual legal wording) on a HP loan for a Toyota Hilux we were being sued for the outstanding amount, plus costs. It also informed us that the matter had now be handed over to a company in the UK who they used for international debt collection.

Thankfully, we still had all the paperwork. The receipts, the signed agreement stating that the dealer would pay off the HP ..... everything we needed to back up our story.

We called my bro in law who promptly visited the dealership, introduced himself (obviously has the same name as us) and the car dealer turned a whiter shade of pale, stuttered and spluttered and claimed that he's been on holiday and was a little behind in his paperwork and that the matter would be settled that very day. And indeed it was. Dirty, lowlife, sneaky ************* ....(just confirmed my opinions of 2nd hand car dealers).

Now I have absolutely no idea how they traced us. Nobody in Oz had a forwarding address for us, all 'official' business (or so we thought) had been closed before we left. We have tried to think of every possible way they could have found us, and all these years later we're still drawing blanks. I'm glad they did find us and the matter was cleared up immediately, the thought of that black mark festering for years isn't a pleasant one.

Remember, all this happened before the world shrunk to the size of a pea due to the internet and Big Brother. If they found us with great ease then, imagine what they could do now.

A credit rating is like any other kind of reputation, once you get a bad one it follows you around for life. Please let your son read this, and please forgive me if I'm stepping over the mark by telling him that he needs to grow up, get real and stop fooling himself that this little ol' place called NZ is so cut off from the rest of the world that his past won't catch up with him. Don't be a fool - of course it will.

Diny

[Moorf]

I guess it depends if he wants to spend all his time in NZ looking over his shoulder or worrying if he'll be collared if he wants a credit card or car loan or even a mortgage further down the line - some countries have reciprocal deals with debt recovery agents in other countries - I would have thought that UK/NZ would be one but I can't find that info at the moment.

Reading around a bit it seems they can use all sorts of media for tracing - passport numbers, bank accounts, neighbours, employers, yada yada.... and in this day and age even Googling can track someone down...


I did find an article that might be worth him / you reading:

http://ezinearticles.com/?UK-Debt-When-Moving-Abroad&id=6081

Hope he sees sense soon :nice1

Moorf

[Moorf]

:laugh @ cocaine article... what are some people ON? except coke...

[Diny]

Another couple of thoughts that spring to mind.

Credit cards, such as Visa & Mastercard etc - surely they're all 'linked' in some way - you can use them just about anywhere in the world so surely the lines of communication need to cross at some stage.

Also, when we applied for our mortgage over here we had to supply a UK credit report, not only showing whether there were any overdue/unpaid loans, but also showing whether we had any active credit cards/loans, up to date or otherwise. If your son is planning to stay here for life then I presume that one day he's going to want a mortgage.

[Moorf]

Good point re Visa/Mastercard - they have access to so much data about people it's quite astonishing - I headed up a credit card marketing team and the data we could lay their hands on for acquisition/retention activity was amazing - you'll be amazed how much info filters back to them. They could potentially cross-reference address/dates of birth/locations etc to match up to yourselves if they don't have your details already on his file (or perhaps he's used you as guarantors at some point in the past?) and they only need to check your records (bank/voters roll/etc) and perhaps see that you've paid £xx to New Zealand immigration and bingo.. they're on the trail to NZ.

I'm not saying this will happen but it's the sort of route my mind would take - but having worked with public and private dbases I know just how easy it is to i.d another person.

Hopefully that's a little more ammo for you....

[jubjub]

. They could potentially cross-reference address/dates of birth/locations etc to match up to yourselves if they don't have your details already on his file (or perhaps he's used you as guarantors at some point in the past?) and they only need to check your records (bank/voters roll/etc) and perhaps see that you've paid £xx to New Zealand immigration and bingo.. they're on the trail to NZ.

I'm not saying this will happen but it's the sort of route my mind would take - but having worked with public and private dbases I know just how easy it is to i.d another person.

Hopefully that's a little more ammo for you....

Thats EXACTLY the way our debt collectors mind worked.... he was like a highly trained sniffer dog.

Also as an aside, many Debt collectors are on commission too for every penny they get back, and money is a very strong motivator...

[Avalon]

Another thought occurs to me regarding something you may need to talk to him about. If he doesnt learn to deal with this now - at some point in his life he is going to have a much bigger problem to deal with. Debt never gets smaller unless you work at it.

So many people are literally crippled with fear at the size of thier debts. They cant sleep, they cant function ands they spiral down in to a very black pit. Hopefully - the size of teh problem now is not too big a task to deal with. If he ignors it (even if he succesfully runs away from it) whats to stop him getting into debt again???? He'll be just as likely to mess up again as soon as he gets a new credit card.

If he does it now, hopefully in his thirties (if he can think that far ahead) he wont be in such a pickle as lots of people are. And maybe - juts maybe - he will be one of the few people who understand that a credit card does not mean the bank is giving you free money to spend. Its not a gift out of the kindness of thier hearts - and they WILL want it back.

[Avalon]

And if all that doesnt scare some sense into him - we may need to send in


.....



.....




......







THE COMFY CHAIR

[StevieD]

You know what though, who would be the bigger criminal, the son or the thieving, robbing, low life credit card companies!!! :laugh

[wilson182]

You know what though, who would be the bigger criminal, the son or the thieving, robbing, low life credit card companies!!! :laugh

Cant argue with that logic......

[willsken]

I have to agree that there is a very good chance of the debt collecting agencies catching up with him.

A friend of mine works in this environment and over coffee one day we discussed this issue (OK, only jokingly on my part!) She seems to think in the "small" world of today there is a very good chance of them finding you if you leave a lot of money owing.

The risk he will also be taking is if he does get caught, is the amount he will end up owing will be FAR more than the original debt. The charges and interest that are added on are huge.

[mossum]

Hi

I kinda ran away from chorley borough council oce - poll tax !!! & yes they tracked me down to NZ , now if the council could find me 16 years ago i'd wager the credit card companies certantly will find your son .

sorry ;)

vic

[Cardiff Irons]

I kinda ran away from chorley borough council oce - poll tax !!!Quick everyone, don't lend any of your stuff to vic, ever! You'll never, ever get to see it again.





;)

[marcia]

Agree with all that has been written so far - and I for one wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder!!!!! :(

Tell him to grow up - he spent the money, now its time to accept the responsibilties and pay it back and start living in the real world - it's pretty tough sometimes! :roll

[Lupin]

The risk he will also be taking is if he does get caught, is the amount he will end up owing will be FAR more than the original debt. The charges and interest that are added on are huge.

And he'd be paying it back on a NZ wage :eek:

[marcia]

BTW ssnjeff - Noticed that was your first post - welcome to the forum! :)

[Trigirl]

might be worth a look in the "paperwork for mortgages" thread in the real estate section of this forum. a quick reminder there that you need a uk credit check to get an nz mortgage. unless he's planning on living with you forever???

[jaycee]

Here's another example of how the various official agencies exchange information.

A few weeks back I had to phone the Inland Revenue (no, I don't owe them money!) and when they pulled up my record on their system it showed that I had been living abroad since 1st February 2003. I told them (truthfully) that I hadn't, but received a letter a few days later asking me to confirm when I had returned to the UK. This was despite my having filled in tax returns each year showing my home and work addresses as being in the UK.

I was curious and a little alarmed as to why they thought I had been abroad, so checked my passport and found I had been on a short trip to New York on that date - I can only presume that US Immigration must have not recorded my departure. How exactly the IR got hold of that information I don't know, but they did, even when there was no obvious need to have it. Scary. Now I'm worried I may never be able to visit the US again - they may arrest me on arrival for being an illegal immigrant!

[ssnjeff]

We wish to thank you all for your help and advice, we shall make sure that or son has a good old read of all the replys and show them to his idiot mates as well. We will keep you posted on his final thoughts and if he still is not willing to pay them off we may just tell the credit card people just were they can find him?

[mtgillick]

well i know for a fact that if you are "untracable" for 5 years then your debt gets wrote off.(uk)was on to debt councillors a few week back for this exact info.
have been told by a few ppl that credit rating in nz doesnt matter,you start from scratch.

[voxel]

In Canada, immigration can trace your visits into and out of Canada. They demanded I return a tiny fraction of some tax refund money I got when I filed while living in the UK - records showed I "visited" Canada and did reside there.

Contrary to popular belief, credit agencies in different countries DO NOT SPEAK WITH EACH OTHER. Getting a credit card in the UK, US, Canada, NZ are essentially an independent process. I've gone through three different countries and three different credit systems. You'd think Equifax and Transperian in different countries would talk to each other? Not true... legal issues.

Most times, they couldn't care what your past credit rating is. Visa/Mastercard have no legal right to access foreign credit ratings without your permission... To get a credit rating in a foreign country, you can provide your local bank (they issue Visa/Mastercard cards - not some anonymous organization) with a credit report. Whether they care, depends on the country (in the US - nope - I was rejected for every credit card even though I had perfect credit elsewhere and a high paying salary). Dealing with international banks like Citibank and HSBC REALLY speeds up the credit process. Citibank knew me from Canada and issued new / positive credit on my report... then suddenly I was FLOODED with credit card offers and low-interest rate mortgages.

Nothing I said prevents an aggressive debt collector overstretching his/her boundaries and chasing you to the remotest parts of the world to get you to pay off your past debts.

Still, I would NOT do a bunk...

[Avalon]

have been told by a few ppl that credit rating in nz doesnt matter,you start from scratch.
This DOES seem to be true for the most part: we ceratinly didnt need to show anything - but not everyone gets away with that. It seems to come down to mix of employment, wages, visa status, loan amount, day of the week, if the sun is shining, what colour you are wearing etc etc :)

[Leccy-Lee]

I recently attended a course at NZ House in London, and during the lunch-break we had an arranged presentation by a NZ bank official (name escapes me now) and in it she went through many things, and the subject of credit ratings etc when emigrating came-up, i was amazed at her information and surprised.

In summary she said:

-Credit rating at home in UK doesnt matter, can be blacklisted etc and NZ banks etc wont check or care (allegedly?)
-Quote "could leave piles of debts in UK, and in NZ the day you arrive and start work the NZ banks will happily give you a credit card / loan etc, no questions"
-Quote "credit agencies will not discuss people with other countries" !!
-Quote "you really will start a fresh clean slate in NZ" she said

Now i am not condoning or agreeing with any of that, but just thought id point out thats quotes from a lady at a NZ bank (she was looking for business mind!)

However i hope its true as i still admit i am poorly credited due to mistakes 4-5 years ago here in UK. Be nice to make a cleam financial start now i grown-up a little!

[kiwidebs]

I've read this thread with interest and keep coming to the same conclusion - I don't care if they could track me down or not I just couldn't do it cos it's wrong. It would go completely against all moral values I hold dear. I also think that if NZ doesn't work out (and lets face it, we've seen plenty of people on this forum convinced that NZ is for them then packing up and heading home within a year or two) and you want to go back to the UK then you're pretty much stuffed!!

I guess it's a decision each individual needs to decide if they can live with it or not, and I'd guess there's plenty out there who could do it without a backward glance.....I'm just not one of them.

[Moorf]

We have never had to show a credit reference and neither has a bank asked for us to get one done - and that's at any stage whether it was setting up accounts or buying a house. But I read that others have had to produce credit reports.. so it's best to play on the safe side.

As per Kiwidebs, it's just not something I would even consider doing, just not in my nature to even consider trying to get away with something like that... and be careful about being too cock-sure about being tracked down, if the credit card co's can't find you they can sell the debt on....

[Bergita]

All I have to say is that it is so much more relaxing to be honest... even at that uncomfortable moment when you're "coming clean", it's comforting to think that at least you have nothing to hide.

Please try and impress this on your son, there's nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night with butterflies in your stomach, thinking about things that may come back to haunt you.

[montana]

I am always amazed at what a small world it really is. Ever played 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon? Someone always knows someone that knows someone that knows someone even all the way in NZ.

Alas, it is hard to get very far very fast in life if you are always having to look back over your shoulder!

[marcia]

I've read this thread with interest and keep coming to the same conclusion - I don't care if they could track me down or not I just couldn't do it cos it's wrong. It would go completely against all moral values I hold dear. I also think that if NZ doesn't work out (and lets face it, we've seen plenty of people on this forum convinced that NZ is for them then packing up and heading home within a year or two) and you want to go back to the UK then you're pretty much stuffed!!

I guess it's a decision each individual needs to decide if they can live with it or not, and I'd guess there's plenty out there who could do it without a backward glance.....I'm just not one of them.


My feeling exactly - I don't need to look over my shoulder, if someones following me hopefully it will be to repay an overpayment!!!!! ( :laugh Ha Ha as if!!!)

At the end of the day its your own conscience that you have to worry about, as well as the possibility that you may be hounded in later life for the money.

You're starting a new life so start a fresh one! :nice1

[olivia]

[QUOTE=mtgillick]well i know for a fact that if you are "untracable" for 5 years then your debt gets wrote off.(uk)was on to debt councillors a few week back for this exact info.

Have been reading all these posts with interest. I have a friend who owed Barclaycard £800 when she was 18 but because she kept moving around she managed to get away with not paying them. Or so she thought!

Last year, now aged 33, she finally bought a house with a mortgage and was put on the electoral role and within 3 months she received a call from a debt collection agency trying to recover the Barclaycard debt! AND they were asking for a lot more than £800 because of all the interest and charges accrued over 15 years. I'm sure some people would have argued with them that after all this time the debt should have been written off, but being a Company Director now she had no choice but to pay. As it happened she did a deal with them and didn't pay the full amount they were demanding, but beware if you think you'll ever get away with not paying as they'll always get you in the end!

Hope this helps,

Olivia

[Diny]

Very interesting thread - with some good opinions. Going back to my original posting on this thread I would challenge the thought that debts do not follow you from one country to another ..... JUST NOT TRUE !!!!

Also, I guess it depends on which bank you decide to apply for a mortgage with - maybe even down to which individual in the bank you speak to. We DID have to supply a UK credit check. May be interesting to point out that at the time of applying for the mortgage we didn't owe a single penny to anybody (which is still the case), we had an attractive chunk of funds in the bank and a yearly income of well into 3 figures.

I guess it is just the luck of the draw but like so many others have said - it's just not worth risking. Who knows what the future will bring - who knows when everything may just rely on a world wide credit check. Besides, doing a bunk isn't in my nature.

Diny

[Charlosparky]

Mmm. Hows this for another angle- 5 years ago I owed Capital One £600, moved house twice, then 2 years later got a letter from a debt collection agency wanting payment within 7 days. When I tried to pay on day 7 they said they had refered it back to Capital One. I rang Capital One to pay, but they refused to deal with me as I had cut up the card and didn't know the card number (which was a security question). So had to apply to pay in writing. They wrote back saying I couldn't pay as it had been refered to another collection agency. 3 years on I still haven't heard from anyone, and i'm on the electoral roll etc, not hard to find, even got a business in my name in yellow pages etc!
So I cant clear the debt and the black mark stays on my credit file. :mad: Anyone know where it says about this 5 year rule re clearing the debt?

[Avalon]

So I cant clear the debt and the black mark stays on my credit file. :mad: Anyone know where it says about this 5 year rule re clearing the debt?
You may find it worth popping on to the Moneysaving Expert forum http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/ and asking on there. Also, they may be able to help you out with ways to clear the black mark.

First step would probably be to find out what your credit file actually says - there may be information on there you can use to get you started. If you cant sort it out - you can request that the credit agenies allow you to put a not on your file saying that you have tried to pay the debt. It goes under an "extra notes" section - but anyone looking at your record at least has the information. Ive no idea if it would actually make a difference - but it may be worth investigating.

In general though - we do need to be very very careful about stating as "Fact" things which may well be true in our experience - but are patently not the case for everyone. Debts ARE following people, sometimes many years later. Im sure the people posting about these things are not making this up - cos who would????

[Moorf]

I would challenge the thought that debts do not follow you from one country to another ..... JUST NOT TRUE !!!!




Glad someone posted that - was worried when I saw people posting "facts" that debts aren't chased.. even globally.

Re the debt clearing period of 5 yrs - never heard of such a thing. Are you thinking of CCJ's?

[voxel]

Glad someone posted that - was worried when I saw people posting "facts" that debts aren't chased.. even globally.

I'm not sure what the "facts" were but I'd be only concerned with what's "legal" - crimes commited in one country don't apply to another without extradition agreements(?) So debt in one country is not "legally" enforceable in another. Sure, collectors can come after you, but have no legal right to garnish your wages or ruin your new countries credit rating. It's sad the world is not more connected - university degrees, professional credentials, credit histories, etc. are not easily transferrable. Even if the credit laws are changed they will NOT (mostly likely) be retroactive.

Still, doing a bunk is against my morals. I also wouldn't because you may return to your home country one day or the laws may change and make past bad credit illegal and you maybe deported to your home country, etc..

[constablechuck]

I have an experience with a debt situation from the U.S., years ago I had an injury that wasn't covered under my insurance, hospital bills of over $12,000, at the time I didn't have the money to pay it so the debt was sold to a collection agency for pennies on the dollar, I made payment arrangements with them to pay 100% plus fees, interest ect..., they were nasty people and would threaten me on the phone and by letter if my monthly payment did not arrive on time, my credit was ruined in the U.S. for 7 years, after that U.S. law requires that any derogatory accounts be removed from your credit report, collection accounts are considered derogatory whether you pay them or not.

After I moved to NZ I still owed them about $4,500, I researched the law and discovered that for them to collect in NZ they would need to get a judgement from a court in the U.S. and then hire a lawyer in NZ to petition the NZ court to enforce the judgement, depending on the type of debt and time elapsed the NZ court may or may not allow them to enforce the judgement in NZ, the fees involved in pursuing the debt would be substantial.

Armed with my new found knowledge I called the collection agency and told them I moved to NZ and since I had already paid them far more than they paid for my debt I considered us even, they made all kinds of threats and I told them to go ahead and do what they had to do, I suggested they do it quick as I may decide to move to Australia or even back to the U.S., a few days later they offered to settle for 50%, I called their bluff and said no, eventually they settled for 10% because they knew that I knew that for them to spend the money to attempt to pursue the debt in NZ was too risky as they may waste a substantial amount of money on legal fees and still never collect.

The account is not on my NZ credit report, it's my understanding that the only way a foreign debt is reported on a NZ credit report is if the creditor has a judgement in a foreign court and a NZ court agrees to enforce it, then a judgement is filed in the NZ court and the NZ credit bureau discovers it.

[james the mechanic]

It’s quite simple!
1.) He borrowed the money
2.) He cant afford to pay it back
He now has three responsible choices,
1.) UK bankruptcy
2.) IVA (individual voluntary arrangement)
3.) PAY IT BACK (he cant I hear you cry)
I would recommend voluntary bankruptcy as I doubt that an IVA would be appropriate as it would entail paying off some of the debt from NZ on NZ wages, which it’s clear he doesn’t want to do.
A UK bankruptcy is unlikely to have much, if any effect on his ability to obtain credit in NZ, however he ‘should’ tell any potential NZ lenders of his bankruptcy in the UK prior to being discharged from it.
If ‘doing a bunk’, keep in mind that if he ever comes back to the UK the debt will still be there, there is no such thing as this farcical five year rule, perhaps some lending institutions may write-off certain debts at five years, but its not a given. In the event that you ever become a UK company director you will discover, debt decades old will find it way to your door in a matter of days.
Yes it is theoretically possible for his debts to follow him to NZ, but it would require judgment in a NZ court to be granted, in order to even attempt to collect. As we are talking about unsecured debt of a few thousand pounds, split I assume between several different lenders, it would not be cost effective for them to even try.
In my opinion it’s totally irresponsible to ‘bump’ this debt illegally when he can ‘bump’ it totally legally.
Send him off to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and tell them the truth, as thought crime is not a crime in the UK just yet, and stop listening to the idiot mates or the bloke down the pub.
James