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by Mi Amigo » Sun, 07 Aug 2011 2:12 pm
I'll say up front that my post is going to be judgmental and will not help the OP in their current position. But maybe someone in a similar situation in the future will read this thread and learn something from it.
The problem as I see it is the assumption that it's perfectly OK to leave a country owing money to banks etc. and not pay off the debt. AND then the assumption that if you do come back later, everything will be OK as long as you offer to pay back the money owed if necessary. Well in my opinion, it's not OK to behave in this way. I can't believe that the bank in question would have refused regular payments to the account, so I don't buy the story that they took an 'all or nothing' approach. My impression is that the OP thought they would 'get away' with it.
Perhaps the OP is the previous tenant of my current home. Since moving in some months ago there have continued to be many letters for the previous occupant from banks; more recently there was a hand-posted letter from a firm of solicitors. I called them (their address and phone number was on the outside of the envelope) and explained that this person had moved out months ago. Whilst they did not give me any specific details (I didn't ask for any and why should they?) it seemed clear that the person has disappeared without paying their debts. So if I were the OP I wouldn't assume that this has all been brushed under the carpet. And nor should it have been IMO.
BTW, does the new employer know about the debt that has remained unpaid when the OP left the country?
My point is - if you owe money you should do everything in your power to pay it back. And if you don't, you should expect serious consequences. The OP's behaviour (which sadly seems not to be uncommon) has an impact on the wider expat community, including those of us who take pains to ensure that we pay what we owe. For example, now we know why it is that we're asked to pay very high deposits when opening utility accounts, etc. And this kind of thing only helps to reinforce 'anti-foreigner' feeling.
Oh, and before someone makes a comment along the lines of "you don't know what it's like in that situation," well I do actually. A long time ago in a decade and continent far away, I was left high and dry on an overseas posting when my employer back home went out of business, owing me back pay and expenses. It was by no means easy, but I found a way to sort everything out before leaving the country so that I didn't owe anything to anyone there. I'm not trying to be sanctimonious here, but I did this because (a) I believed it was the right way to behave, and (b) because I thought that maybe in the future I might want to go back there.
So fair enough to those who are offering advice to the OP, but (to quote the person being asked for road directions in a dodgy area) I wouldn't start from here.