Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi, me and my American husband came to live here in the US 5 months ago. We left a large debt behind us in Ireland with a major bank.
We are struggling to make a new life for ourselves and our son here and have not been able to make any repayments on the Irish debt.
During the week we received a letter from a US debt collector requesting a full settlement of the debt in US dollars. They followed up with a phonecall to my husband. we are not in a position to pay them.
What should be our next steps? Can they take us to court and will it affect my husbands credit rating here.
Any reply would be appreciated as I am feeling very far away from home and really worried about how we will survive this.
my first inclination would be to say they couldn't collect, and if the creditor tried to follow the typical steps here in the US - notification, suit, prevailing in court, judgment, wage garnishment.... that they wouldn't have a basis to collect if the debt is from a foreign country.
Anyhow - it would be worth going over to creditboards.com and asking them; they're much more in tune with delinquencies and collections. Good luck.
I would check somewhere else as the guy above noted. My guess is they could report it, but that would be it. However, as long as you don't go back to Ireland, and there are no criminal charges associated with it(not sure how the Irish legal system works so if you could suffer criminal charges for not showing up if they take you to court in Ireland that could be a problem) then all they can do is harass you (which they will do).
An American collection agency might have bought the debt, and you now legally owe an American creditor who has full power to enforce. As far as I know, there is nothing to stop them from doing that. But if so, they probably bought it very very cheap, and you could probably negotiate a full settlement for as low as 20%.
Thanks everyone for your input.
jtur88 I'd be happy with the option of a 20% settlement, even if I did have to pay tax on the other 80%. Ive since posted over on Creditboards and have been getting great advice. Id be lost without them!
Thanks again.
First you have to estabish a credit rating in this country. Yes they can inquire as to any judgement that might be filed there in considering the credit worthyness in this country. Alot depends on Ireland laws as to credit really.In the information age we are in its pretty easy to acquire really. Credit reports are not now the only thing that determines credit worthyness more and more.
Last edited by texdav; 08-17-2010 at 08:47 PM..
Reason: uire. Credit worthyness now goes far beyond just your rating really.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
