Enforcing a UK debt in ROI

Kotek Besar

A friend of mine used to live in England, up until about 3 years ago when he moved to Ireland. Before leaving England, he racked up just over £10k Sterling worth of debt (personal loan, overdraft, store cords).

My question is, should his creditors in the UK ever "find" him in ROI, how enforcible is the debt here?

Tom Young

Absolutely.

Kotek Besar

Tom Young wrote: »

Absolutely.

Care to elaborate?

Our man in Havana

They would need to get permission from the Irish Courts to enforce agianst him here.

dats_right

The debt isn't per se enforceable in our jurisdiction (save the possible application of the European Enforcement Order for Uncontested Claims Regulation 805/2004), what is enforceable is a Court Order/Judgement of a competent court in the UK. So if the debtors pursued the matter against your friend in the UK and were succesful in obtaining judgement against him/her then there is a relatively straightforward procedure for recognising the judgement in the Irish Courts. Recognition is almost automatic with very narrow defences available. The procedure of having the judgement recognised/enforced is by ex-parte application to the Master of the High Court. Upon having the judgement recognised usual enforcement remedies available in this jurisdiction are available e.g. installement/committal orders.

The primary law governing the area is Regulation 44/2001 (Brussels I) implemented in Ireland by SI No. 52 of 2002.

Tom Young

So absolutely enforceable within the EU. I know I was less then elaborate in my answer.

Our man in Havana

How can the debtor defend if the application is made ex parte?

A Dub in Glasgo

I got a county court judgment against me in the early '90s for non payment of Poll Tax when I lived in England. A debt recovery agency turned up at my Dad's house in Dublin looking for the money. I had moved from England back to Ireland and then to Scotland by that stage and I never heard any more of it. This was more than 15 years ago so I would imagine that the debt can easily be recoverable if they get your friend's details.

Tom Young

Bond-007 wrote: »

How can the debtor defend if the application is made ex parte?

Depending on the circumstances, if notice is given in terms of the summons under 44/2001 and the ex-parte application is brought before the master for recognition it is fait accompli. In general debt matters the Defendant can appear to defend at which point the master looses jurisdiction and the matter must be moved to the judges list for hearing. In general terms the defence cannot be frivolous in relation to the transaction. Where the judgement is given ex-jurisdiction and allowed recognition then regular enforcement is undertaken under RSC 46 and then in default under RSC 44 for attachment and committal if that fails.

chemini77

hi, i am from uk and moved here 7 years ago, i had a small bank loan of around 2.5k which i was paying for a few years , i was ill with depression and was on the sick so my repayments changed and were a little erratic, then i had another job and an order was in place to make payments direct from my employer, but i became sick again so decided to be closer to my family, i didnt even give any of my debts another thought, they were far from my mind, i have built a life here, and am now a mother, but a single mother inreciept of benefits,only able to work part time, so minimal income, (please dont judge, there are circumstances surrounding the situation) , untill recently, i had heard nothing from who i owed money too, but earlier inthe year i recieved a ltter from a collection agency acting on behalf of someone else whom i have never heard of to recover the ammount of over 4k, although i havent heard of the company, i assume its the bank padssing on the debt, i dont know what to do, i have ignored it, i am single mum to small child, no extra help, struggling as it is and cannot aford to pay out a penny more , i am having sleepless nights now,

Tom Young

Yeah, you should pay your bills. This is not legal advice but a judgment can be enforced and Bailif can be sent around, your earnings can be attached (or taken to repay the loan/judgment) and commital is Jail time for same.

Tom

Kotek Besar

Tom Young wrote: »

Yeah, you should pay your bills. This is not legal advice but a judgment can be enforced <snip>

Not if it's Statute Barred. Was it at least 6 years ago chemini77, that you last acknowledged the debt?

chemini77

was over 7 years ago, and i will not serve jail time, i have looked it up, you do not serve jail time for debt unless it is fraud or non payments of fines, that wasnt exactly a helpful thing to say to a single mother, thanks a million,
the attachment of earnings that was paying it off before i left was after struggling to pay a ccj, but once the attachment was in place payments were made consistently for a year at least, now usually yes you would assume it is statute barred but i am not sure if it applies as there was previouslt a ccj, i am not just thinkin "sod them" and sherking from a debt, i am litterally unable to pay, i can barely make ends meet ads it is, i dont smoke, dont drink, dont drive, so its not like i am throwing money away

Kotek Besar

Non payment of debt is not a criminal offence - you won't be going to jail, lol..

If more than 6 years have passed since you acknowledged the debt, it's Statute Barred. Still exists, but is unenforceable.

Forget about it.

Bills are there to be paid. End of.

Kotek Besar

rarnes1 wrote: »

Bills are there to be paid. End of.

Debts that are Statute Barred are unenforceable. End of.

Meself

rarnes1 wrote: »

Bills are there to be paid. End of.

insightful !

Tom Young

benifa wrote: »

Debts that are Statute Barred are unenforceable. End of.

Sorry but that is completely untrue.

If you care to check the Statute of Limitations 1957 on www.irishstatutebook.ie you will find the following sections:

Section 56 read with section 59 - Acknowledgement and fresh accrual of cause of action from acknowledgement in writing or written format by the creditor (person owing the debt) or the agent/solicitor of the creditor.

Section 69 ss 2. deals with part payment, acting as acknowledgement and refreshing the clock in relation to the Statute of Limitations.

So you can take your "end of" and smoke it.

Tom

Kotek Besar

Eloquent as ever Tom!

Ah yes - the difference between "Statute Barred" in the UK and that in Ireland.

In the former, once Statute Barred the debt can be acknowledged by the debtor, but it remains Stature Barred and unenforceable.

In Ireland, even when Statute Barred, the clock is reset if debt is subsequently acknowledged, and so it then becomes enforceable.

So, don't acknowledge it and it's still Statute Barred, and so still unenforceable.

I'm getting high from all the "end ofs" that I'm smoking. Fancy a toke?

Tom Young

Thanks, I was just joking. There are jurisdictional differences!

Our man in Havana

If a bank gets a judgement against a debtor, they have 12 years to enforce the judgement? If after the expiry of 12 years from the date of judgement, can the bank get another judgement for the same debt?

Tom Young

Order 40 Rules of Superior Courts: http://www.courts.ie/rules.nsf/8652fb610b0b37a980256db700399507/9ac9e2070ac14f0980256d2b0046b3e2?OpenDocument