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My husband left the UK in 2008 and relocated to (ROI) Ireland. He left behind some credit card debt to various creditors, one being the Royal Bank of Scotland (credit card). He was unable to file for bankruptcy as he would need to relocate back to the UK to re-establish residency which he does not wish to do. He tried to file from here but was denied based on residence in the London courts. He works over the border in NI and needs a NI bank account for his salary to be paid into. When I went through the phone protocol to open a bank acct for him jointly, the bank stated they are affiliated with RBS and that the credit bureaus are informed. He currently holds two accts with the same bank in the ROI. My question is if he proceeds with this bank account in the north, will creditors from the UK come after him based on this recent application? As it is he is three years in to a six year plan to not acknowledge his debt. He has done research and it appears his debts will leave his credit report after six years with nonacknowledgement. None of his creditors have contacted us in the ROI.
Optional Information: Province/Country relating to question : UK/ROI Already Tried: tried to file bankruptcy but was denied due to residency. has decided to try nonacknowledgement of debt so it is absolved in six years.
1. Once your husband has requested to open a bank account in Northern Ireland, then that request will appear on his credit record and will be searchable by all his creditors in the UK as the credit record is the same in NI as in the rest of the UK. This is likely to mean that if any of his creditors search his record they will then come after him as they will be aware that he has a bank account in NI and has income accruing there.
2. I would have thought he would be better off being paid by cheque and cashing the cheque in the ROI, not NI. This would avoid this issue with having his credit record checked.
3. Be aware that the ROI bankruptcy regime is changing at the moment and once the Bankruptcy Bill is passed by the Dail, it will be possible to go bankrupt easily in the ROI, especially where personal debts are involved. Accordingly, if your husband does not succeed in avoiding his creditors by nonacknowledgment, he can try this route.
Experience: Barrister 17 years experience
I will inquire re. check payment but as I recall his company, a large corporation headquartered in the UK only offers direct bank payment ergo our conundrum. Is there any way we can legally request/demand a check from the corporation monthly instead of their preferred method to avoid this hassle?His debts are all UK based and none are from ROI. Therefore will the modification of ROI bankruptcy law even be applicable in his case?Lastly he did have his name added to his father's NI savings acct so he could have a place for his salary to go based on employers stipulations. When he did this he only recalls providing a signature and perhaps a passport. The acct is jointly held but shows only his father's address in ROI. Would this bank have done a credit search on my husband in the north when it is only a savings acct and was already established in his father's name only? Thus far this has not caused any problems and he has not heard from any creditors through his father's address.
Hello it says above you will be able to answer any further queries. I just have the few items above I mentioned for clarification of your reply. Will you be able to respond to these for me please as I need this info to make an informed decision. I do not wish for it to open up to all experts as I do not wish to pay the full amount for a question when my questions are merely clarification of my original query placed to you.
Dear :Could you please reply to above follow up queries so I can close this question with you. Just a reminder it says this in the copy at the base of your reply: I will remain available to answer any further queries you may have.So I am waiting for you to reply as it says you are online and should have replied within 15 mins, thus far no reply and a notification you opened this to other experts. My follow up is per this site's policy as is yours. I don't want any headaches, just a simple clarification that will take seconds on your part.
4. Firstly, there is no legally enforceable right to demand a cheque. You will have to negotiate this with his employer. Secondly, once your husband's centre of main interests is in the ROI, then he can declare bankruptcy there. Normally residency is a sufficient ground. Thirdly, if you want to find out whether another financial firm did a search of his credit register in the NI on his joint account with his father, you will have to carry out a search yourself and see if there is an entry on the credit register.
Hello againCustomerI have a new (will pay upon your answer) but related query pertaining to the above please when you have a moment. Regarding avoiding his creditors by nonacknowledgment, is this generally successful and does it take six years for the debts to be wiped from his credit report (do they literally vanish)? At six years time should we do an online credit search to check this? We are three years in. Further, if he were to move to NI across the border, would it be more likely they might find him? We live in the ROI and he works in NI. We purposely avoided living in NI due to his worry about creditors. Is this a valid concern/risk or would it be safe to move over there?
1. Firstly, after six years of non-acknowledgement of creditors, the debts do not simply disappear. What happens is that your husband has a valid defence to an action brought seeking recovery of the debts. This does not mean that the debts disappear. they remain in being. However, your husband has a valid defence if sued for them. Accordingly, they do not disappear on a creditor report, but you can get the credit report amended to reflect the fact the debts cannot be sued upon. Secondly, living within the UK, including NI would mean that your husband would have an address at which he could be sued. It makes the whole process of suing and recovery of the debts easier for the creditor. Moving to NI would be a bad idea until such times as the six years elapse. By all means work there, but moving there is a bad idea, until the six years are up.
As he tried to file bankruptcy and we secured a firm which did all his paperwork further sending him to London court via flights from Dublin, it was rejected as he had not lived in the UK for the past 6 mos (I think that was the time span allowed). He was told he would have to move back for 6 mos and reapply. All of his debts are UK creditor debt and not accrued in ROI. We were told he could not file here either due to aforementioned. So is nonacknowledgment his only option? He also applied for an IVA but the creditors would only accept the max payment despite two attempts and he could not afford the repayment plan due to this.
Sorry one more thing....Since the debts do not disappear as I assume they do on bankruptcy by being discharged after a certain span of time (?), does that mean his credit report will forever be blighted and he will have a very poor credit rating as a result?
2. Thirdly, as I mentioned with respect to the debts, you can apply for rectification of the credit record once the six years have elapsed. This is how your husband ensures that his credit record is not forever blighted with these debts. Fourthly, as the bankruptcy term in ROI is up to 12 years, it is currently not worthwhile to apply for bankruptcy in ROI. However, when the Bankruptcy Bill currently before the Dail/parliament becomes law, then it will be only 2/3 years and it will be then worth applying in ROI. Essentially, your husband will be able to apply in ROI as it would be his "centre of main interests" which is the test under the relevant EU Directive. I would also advise your husband to apply for bankruptcy in NI if he works there, as he can easily argue that NI is now his centre of main interests, as it is there that he is paid and works. This bankruptcy would also clear all his UK debts, without having the problem of establishing some contact with the Mainland UK again. I would advise him to speak with a bankruptcy speciailist in NI. He can even live there for a few months to ensure that there is no difficulty with NI being his "centre of main interests" for bankruptcy purposes.
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