Posted by
wiki123
18 yrs ago
I've racked up a huge amount of debt on my HK-issued credit card that I can't pay back. I'm leaving HK to go back to the U.S. Can the bank here or Mastercard come after me in the U.S.? Will this ruin my credit there or won't affect it at all since this is another country?
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Debt is debt and just leaving a country will not make it go away, you can either have this hanging over the top of your head until the bank or a collection agency catches up with you. Banks do talk to each other and especially so in the US, I work in the debt recovery game but also mediate in certain circumstances, best is to fron the bank and let them know your position and work out a payment arrangement.
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Without having any clue about your circumstances, I am trying not to judge you for having "racked up a huge amount of debt" (over time??) and are now considering not paying it back, and am assuming you had every intention of doing so but have suffered a knock-back like losing your job. If it's something like that then I wish you all the best in getting sorted, and hope that you will find the means to (eventually) pay it off.
I'm sure it's not totally impossible that your (hope it's not mine too, 'coz I'll end up paying off your debts indirectly!) credit card company has the wherewithal to put you on some kind of international blacklist. I'm sure you have already imagined future scenarios, e.g. never being able to buy things online or over the phone, book a hotel room or hire a car anywhere again, of having to pay cash at restaurants et cetera. Could make normal life a real pain in the a**e. As ChrisRed says, best work out a payment arrangement soon as.
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How did you get a credit card in the first place....obviously no intelligence test required....of course you OWE the money ....OF source the bank can, should and will track you down....of course if you default they will put you on the credit black list,,,,
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But how can they do anything about it if you live in another country? How would a U.S. creditor go after someone here in HK? I think it would end up costing them more to do it than to just write off the debt.
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And there was me giving you the benefit of the doubt! If you'd come across just a tad more contrite you might get some serious advice, but as most of us have Hong Kong credit cards and will invariably end up paying for your spend-ups in one way or another if our card providers have to keep writing off debts like yours, is there any reason why you think we should help you?
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wired
18 yrs ago
We had money owing to us buy a small trader in Scotland who advised us he was unable to pay the debt (several thousand) yet kept trading. It took some 12 months but we were able to recover the money with a little help from a debt collector (in his home town) called 'I'll break his legs if he don't pay' who's fee was around 20% of the total sum...and well worth his professional services.
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Legal and ethical issues are two separate things. To actually enforce repayment they'd have to get a HK judgment and then file it in your home state in the USA and go to court to get a domestic court's order enforcing the foreign judgment. A series of hoops to jump through -- definitely do-able -- but a gamble about whether the hound would expend the resources to pursue the hare. But, as a practical matter, they don't need to do this to force you to ante up eventually. To put it on your credit report is simply a matter of reporting it to the USA credit reporting agencies, and then nobody will give you credit until it's resolved. I'd be willing to bet this will show up on your Experian, Trans Union and Equifax credit reports sooner or later, as soon as anyone figures out where you are, thus effectively hindering your ability to qualify for future credit until you resolve it. Since this "advice" is free, it's essentially worth what you pay for it, so don't take it as the gospel. But you can get more reliable and very sound advice from the agencies associated with nonprofit Consumer Credit Counseling Services. They are one of the only groups that looks out for and helps consumers facing issues like this. When you get to your USA destination, contact them and they'll help you get it all sorted out in a professional manner and in a way that you can manage, whether through renegotiation or repayment plans, and usually with reduced interest and lower monthly payments than you could negotiate on your own. This would be the best way to repair your credit as well because in the end it will show that you worked through a tough situation without defaulting.
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How would a U.S. creditor go after someone here in HK?
Simple. They sell your debt to a company in HK at a discount. Somewhere in your contract with them may have a clause allowing for them to do that.
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I am not a debt collection pro but I think the likelihood of getting your US credit report slammed with a default will depend on what information was provided when the initial HK credit card application was submitted. If you indicated that you previously had credit cards in other countries and showed them proof of it, then it's probably 100% certain that it will show up on your credit report. On the other hand, if you didn't link your US credit report to the HK application, then they really only have your name and date of birth to go by to match up identities. It's probably a toss up at that point. While the HK bank may not be able to recover your outstanding debt, you probably know that having your US credit report dinged will be a problem you will have for the rest of your life (or is it capped at seven years?). Still, if you really have no ability to pay in full or in installments, I certainly wouldn't warn the bank that you were about to abscond. If you have some money to repay a portion, then you could always try to negotiate a settlement in full (at a discount to the face value) with the bank.
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its the same all over the world...if you make people pay (directly or indirectly) for your financial problems...you will get more attention than you want.
the concensus seems to be that you should work with the debtor instead of make the issue bigger than it needs to be. all they want is to be paid so i think no matter what you negotiate; you would still have th upper-hand. i suggest one thing that others didn't (i don't know why); here it comes..........the "b" word
"bankruptcy"
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68165
18 yrs ago
wiki123, you don't want to skip on the debt while there's a chance that you might not be given credit again because of a bad credit report. Being issued another credit card / loan at a lower rate than your existing HK credit card debt may be an important part of paying back your debt at the lowest possibe rate of interest. Think about it. You may not be successful skipping on the debt. You may be better off to consider why you got into such debt in the first place and negotiate the most manageable repayment plan that fits into the lifestyle you can afford.
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