Trapped

jacksie66

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m'lady

Hi op, you poor thing you must be feeling very trapped over there if you dislike it so much. So you have my sympathies there.

First off, have you actually been paying some money off your loan each week/ month? As far as I'm aware if you are seen to be trying to pay a little they tend to not be too pressuring on the customer, I could be open to correction though.

Also and more importantly have you actually contacted them to come to a payment arrangement?

Stavro Mueller

jacksie66 wrote: »

Hi guys. My head is fried at the moment. Im in New Zealand at the moment, been here for 6 months. I hate it here and was planning on coming home next week. I owe money to the credit union at home and I was making an honest attempt to pay them back. I'm not on great money at the moment and the cost of living here is very high. My mother rang me yesterday to tell me that the credit union are going to issue legal proceedings against me. It's just stressed me to the max. I don't want to be here anymore but now I feel I can't go home. I feel trapped here. Do I stay here, slug it out and pay back what I can ( being very unhappy doing it) or do I go home and face the music. I'm so confused I don't know what to do, I'm getting very stressed out about it. Didn't sleep much last night..

I remember you from your last thread - you were going to come home and go to college, weren't you?

You need to sort this credit union issue as soon as possible or you'll feck up your credit record. That's the last thing you need or no lending institution will touch you with a bargepole for the foreseeable future. Bye bye student loans if you need them. How much do you owe anyway? What sort of communication have you had with them? In my experience, it takes a lot for the credit union to resort to legal proceedings.

jacksie66

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Stavro Mueller

How much do you still owe?

Akrasia

If you're really unhappy over there, and if you really want to come home, then you should come home

While the threat of legal action is worrying, it's not as bad as it seems. If you face up to the debt and talk to them, they might accept a repayment plan. If it does have to go to court, the judge will take your circumstances into account.
There are guidelines for personal insolvency about how much income a person needs to survive with a reasonable standard of living.

Worrying about what may happen can be worse than going through the process and having a clear plan for when you'll come out the other side.

jacksie66

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Akrasia

Just to put it in context. If you can come to an arrangement with the credit union to restructure the debt over 4 years and hold the interest, you could pay this off at 50 euros a week for 4 years.

Who knows what'll happen in 4 years, you could get a decent job and be able to pay it off much earlier. Feeling trapped half way across the world for the sake of 50 quid a week doesn't seem worth it.

m'lady

Listen your not the first and certainly won't be the last to owe money to the credit union/bank. It does need to be paid back, but you would make life so much easier on yourself if you actually spoke to the CU.
Giving them €500 over the past month or so is great, but it would be better on you If there was a payment arrangement in place, and it would be less than €500 over a period of roughly 6 weeks!

I would suggest you call the credit union and speak to the manager, explain your situation and ask can a payment arrangement be organised.

In regards to your situation in New Zealand, I'd suggest maybe trying to see if you can improve your life over there, before coming back to Ireland- and if you sort the CU out you may feel more positive and less stress and things may improve.

How old are you ?

jacksie66

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m'lady

jacksie66 wrote: »

Im 26.
But once they've started legal proceedings is there anything I can do. I don't want to step off the plane and have the cops waiting for me. Its things like that that's stressing me out big time, even leading me to have very dark thoughts...

Again I could be open to correction but I seriously doubt the Guards will be waiting for you, if that was the case they may as well set up camp in most airports!

I can't keep repeating myself- you really need to call the CU, you might be surprised by what can be done. Ignoring it is not going to make it disappear. A loan is not worth having dark thoughts over OP- trust me. I genuinely think calling them will put your mind at ease somewhat. How much can you realistically afford to pay each week?

Stavro Mueller

No, legal proceedings can be stopped in their tracks. I assume these legal proceedings have started due to a communications breakdown. The credit union has resorted to this because they don't feel they can get the money out of you any other way. Pick up the phone and talk to the manager asap. You'll drive yourself insane thinking of doomsday scenarios. If you can satisfy the manager that you'll put a payment plan in place, this can be resolved.

You can't run away from this forever. Nobody's going to arrest you straight off the plane but you are going to have to come up with a plan. It may mean you have to stay working as a plumber for longer than you'd like but that's life I'm afraid. Can you get work in Ireland? Or in another country that's closer to home?

Akrasia

It's a civil matter, the cops won't get involved.

It's important that you contact the Credit union. If they go to court they can add the costs of the court case to your debt

If you contact them, they may agree to stay the court proceedings and if you can agree to a repayment plan, then they'll happily accept this.

The CU just want the matter resolved. They don't want to get involved in unnecessary court cases

P. Breathnach

jacksie66 wrote: »

Im 26.
But once they've started legal proceedings is there anything I can do. I don't want to step off the plane and have the cops waiting for me. Its things like that that's stressing me out big time, even leading me to have very dark thoughts...

Nothing like that will happen.

Go home. Get in touch with the CU or the lawyer acting for them. Lay your cards on the table, pointing out that you have made an effort to pay off some of your debt. Say that you still want to work things out. Tell them that you will keep properly in contact with them.

Most likely outcome: they will agree a payments plan with you - and you will need to honour it. Worst case scenario: they drag you into court; you say the same things to the judge; the judge orders you to make whatever payments you can afford; in effect, the same outcome, but with a little bit of added embarrassment.

It's a problem, but not such a big problem that you have to live in an unhappy exile.

Taltos

OP for what it's worth your debt while it seems excessive is a modest amount if you consider mortgages or extension loans. I know some friends who owe multiples of this. As above you have to start somewhere. Pick up that phone and work out a repayment plan. Also see if you can get some free financial / legal advice over there - someone like mabs to help you put a budget together.

As above the CU are only doing this I would guess as a last resort. They don't want to go to court - that just costs more money. So work with them. Stay calm - work on a repayment plan and do what you can. In terms of being afraid to come home - I know right now it is overwhelming - seems like everything is stacked against you - but if you put a plan in place even a small one and chip away at it you can get your sense of control back.

Akrasia

Here's the info about court proceedings for the recovery of debt
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/personal_finance/debt/court_procedures.html

jacksie66

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Stavro Mueller

If you feel this low, come home and see if you can find work here. Maybe not necessarily as a plumber - perhaps you might be able to get some other sort of job. Staying in New Zealand isn't the only game in town.

username123

Well 10k + is not a big sum of money. It seems big to you right now, but trust me, compared to the sums people owe in this country - its nothing.

I wouldnt worry a bit re legal proceedings. You cant get blood out of a stone, getting brought to court would probably be a good thing for you are you would have to provide an affidavit of means and they judge would order an amount that is feasible for you to pay back monthly. And likely stop interest/penalties too.

No guards will be involved. Its not a criminal offence.

Listen - its just a debt. Theres probably no legal proceedings anyway because thats just a threat to try and get you to pay up. Come home, contact MABS, get them to get the credit union to back off or contact the credit union yourself and organise a payment plan.

ongarboy

Just to repeat the others good advice here - engage, engage, engage. Please call your CU manager (no emails, letters, texts or 3rd party - a vocal conversation is what is needed). The sincerity in your posts here is what stands out for me. I've no doubt it will also come across in your conversations with your CU manager. Even if you show that you can make a minimal, affordable repayment every week, they will accommodate you. I'm not sure what you have done so far but it sounds like the legal proceedings were as a result of the CU not hearing any correspondence from you and assumed you were like so many others, recklessly ignoring your obligations and they reacted accordingly.

While the debt is a lot to you, in the bigger scheme of things, it is not massive compared to many of the CU defaulting loans out there. Newbridge CU went under for the amount of foolish 6 figure loans it gave to people on average salaries - totally against the charter of what CU's originally stood for (but that's another story). My point is that you will not be their number one priority but at the same time it is up to you to engage.

Being in NZ away from loved ones is also probably amplifying your stress. If you are in full time employment there, I wouldn't make any rash decisions about rushing home just yet unless you have certainty about securing a job as things (while improving) are still fairly bad here (particularly for tradesmen type roles). Best of luck!

jacksie66

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m'lady

jacksie66 wrote: »

That's the thing. I'm in a full time job. I absolutely hate it and the wages ain't that good. It costs an astronomical amount to get registered as a plumber here ($1400) and I don't want to invest that money if I know I'm not happy. I haven't been happy here for weeks. The only thing keeping me going is the thought of going home to my family, friends and as daft as it sounds, having a few games of FIFA on the Xbox with em.. I booked my ticket to go home before pad days weekend and I'm due to fly out on Tuesday next week. People are calling me crazy and mad for leaving but being here is not what I want...

I don't think your lazy or crazy. If your not happy then your better off at home with your family and friends around you.

My two brothers are in Oz, (both similar ages to you- 27 & 23)and if I thought for a second they were as unhappy as you I'd be dragging them home with my bare hands.

I really think you should still call the CU, and do not put it on the long finger- not being smart but that's why your in this situation in the first place. I totally understand that when something gets so hard to deal with it's easier to put your head in the sand, I've been there too, but in the long run it will not help your situation. Please try and call them to stop the legal proceedings- deep breaths and call them. They are human and generally understanding.

LegacyUser

You are being WAY too hard on yourself! Don't listen to anyone telling you "you're mad" they don't know the full story I presume? So don't be listening to unwanted opinions that don't matter anyway!

My brother has been in Oz for 3 years and he took out Credit Union loan of over 10,000 which he couldn't pay because of how expensive it is in Oz. So myself and my parents have being paying it off for him so he wont get in trouble and besides, my Mam is guarantor so we don't want her getting in trouble either. Believe me, there are times when I want to strangle him but I love him to bits and again, wouldn't want him in trouble. I would go to the end of the earth for him!

He HATES Oz, hates it with a passion. Cannot wait to come even though he got a 5 year visa he is like NOPE, coming home. He has no job to come home to or anything but you know what? He will deal with that when it comes, and we will help him.

You are not a failure or anything like that, it's just not working for you at the moment and that's fine! OP stop being so hard on yourself! There's people out there who have made some very foolish mistakes and owe a LOT more than you do and they get on with it, because that's what you do!

howayahorse

Hi OP

I'm someone who also hated living in NZ. Really hated it to the point where it was not making me a nice person so I understand how you feel. I had lived abroad in lots of other countries without a problem but I just couldn;t settle in NZ. I didn't have any debts and was trying to save as much as possible to create an opportunity elsewhere but like you I still felt trapped. Everyone was telling me I was mad to go home, even my parents and that made me feel worse again because I started to feel like I had no home. But after much stressing out I decided going home was the right thing for me and it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made.

It was hard at first and it was quite a few months before I got work...I was being fussy careerwise as I'd spent so many years abroad just taking whatever I could get but there is work here if you are willing to look for it. All you have to do is start taking the steps towards finding a job and paying off your debts and you will get there. People are very quick to speak of the "doom and gloom" and there's lots of begrudgers out there but please don't listen to them, there's still lots of opportunities here if you're willing to work at finding work and keep an open mind to all job prospects, not just those where your specific skills are.

P. Breathnach

jacksie66 wrote: »

I'll get in contact with them ASAP. At the moment I've never felt so low. I've felt like this for a while now but this craic with the CU has exacerbated it. I suffer from depression and in the last week its just got worse. I don't want to feel like this and I know I shouldn't but it feels like the pressure of the world is down on top of me. I know people are much worse off than me but I really am starting to struggle to cope..

It's a good bet that you will cope better back home with family and friends.

In the grand scheme of things, the CU issue is a small problem in comparison to being unhappy so far away from home. It will prey less on your mind when you are here than it does while you are over there.

iusedtoknow

all this was by the CU was to get your attention. It worked.

I had a similar issue with a AIB credit card when I moved abroad. I hid under a pile of coats about it until a letter threatening legal action arrived.

I called them almost straight away, they froze the interest on the CC and I plugged away at the debt for a year (it was 3000 IIRC) until it was paid. The irony was, I overpaid by 2E, which they refused to pay back until I in turn got a lawyer friend to write a letter threatening legal action, which also got their attention )

If you want to come home, come home and deal with the debt from there. The banks and CU's are more than used to dealing with this, for sums a lot greater than 10K. This doesn't mean you shouldn't deal with it, you need to take responsibility for it - however it won't be as bad as you think

jacksie66

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Stavro Mueller

I mean this in the nicest possible way - it's time to stand on your own two feet and stop listening to your family. You are where you are because you went along with their wishes rather than your own. Because of this you didn't get to go to college but have instead ended up as a plumber in New Zealand. You hate both so why suffer on just to keep them happy? Stop looking to them for validation. It's your life and it's time you started living it on your terms. I warned you in the other thread that your family were unlikely to be pleased that you want to jack in your trade and come home. That's the price you're going to have to pay to get your life back on track unfortunately.

I still think you should come home and get your life on track. Please don't continue to bury your head in the sand like I feel you've been doing with this credit union loan. You've driven yourself demented just thinking about it. The reality of dealing with paying back the loan will be far less traumatic than the stressing about the unknown. So please please ring the manager tomorrow.

Defiler Of The Coffin

I remember your last thread OP, for the love of god don't stay in NZ, it's a problem that can be solved if you talk to the CU and come to an arrangement, believe me the legal road costs them a lot of money and it's the last thing they want.

jacksie66 wrote: »

I tried to tell him that my finances are my problem but he wasn't listening. I can't win, especially if my family doesn't even listen to me...

I don't mean to sound harsh OP but it's really time you stood up and asserted yourself for a change. It doesn't matter what your family want or if they listen to you. Do whatever you want to do.

Exiling yourself over a small (in the grand scheme of things) debt would be madness.

Magicmatilda

Firstly you poor thing, it's an awful thing to feel so trapped. You need to make a list of things to do and do them. Firstly I would be calling the CU and arranging an appointment to go and speak with them the day after you fly home. I would work out a payment plan with them there. Then I would contact a friend and ask if they have a spare bed you could sleep in. It sounds like your family are not supportive and I can relate to that. It is more healthy for me to rely on friends so I try to if that. Then I would email or Facebook all your mates telling them you are coming home and will be looking for work. Life is very short and you do not have time to waste in a country where you are not happy. You gave it a go and fair play to you but it hasn't worked out and that is ok. Your family may be worried but this is your life and you need to live it for you. Tell them you are coming home and that's that. They can choose to support your decision or not but it us your decision and you have made it. It will be ok. The thought of contacting the CU is much worse than actually doing it. You will feel so much better once it's done. This is a new chapter in your young life. Try and enjoy it.