Safe to re-enter Ireland with debt?

Caerri

Hi,

I have a sensitive question.

I left Ireland 2 years and moved to the US because my wife had a job offer. I left Ireland with a €12k debt to AIB and because I had a ton of issues with work visa I've barely worked in the past 2 years.

I haven't paid anything since I left and I've heard nothing from them. They have the email I applied for the loan with but the only correspondence I have is some marketing emails.

My question is, is it safe for me to come back to Ireland for a holiday or will I be stopped when entering or leaving the country?

Many thanks

infogiver

I would be more inclined to post this in the Legal Discussion forum as its not really about Benefits.
maybe a kind Mod would do that for you.

BoatMad

Caerri wrote: »

Hi,

I have a sensitive question.

I left Ireland 2 years and moved to the US because my wife had a job offer. I left Ireland with a €12k debt to AIB and because I had a ton of issues with work visa I've barely worked in the past 2 years.

I haven't paid anything since I left and I've heard nothing from them. They have the email I applied for the loan with but the only correspondence I have is some marketing emails.

My question is, is it safe for me to come back to Ireland for a holiday or will I be stopped when entering or leaving the country?

Many thanks

debt is a civil case , you cannot be stopped from entering or leaving the country , you could find you have a civil judgement against you , but after 2 years thats unlikely.

I would suggest that you enter in correspondence with the bank and resolve this, other wise you could find a judgement registered against you in your absence, that would be considerably greater then the mere loan. ( nor is there any to prevent AIB taking a case against you in the US, even if that unlikely )

It would be unwise to allow the process to proceed to a judgement without you having some input

tedpan

Caerri wrote:

I left Ireland 2 years and moved to the US because my wife had a job offer. I left Ireland with a €12k debt to AIB and because I had a ton of issues with work visa I've barely worked in the past 2 years.

Unsure why you moved if her job couldn't support you both if you weren't able to work??

If it were me, I'd ensure I'd have a job lined up in Ireland before I returned. I'd be worried about owing the 12k, then work a payment plan out with the bank.

BoatMad

tedpan wrote: »

Unsure why you moved if her job couldn't support you both if you weren't able to work??

If it were me, I'd ensure I'd have a job lined up in Ireland before I returned. I'd be worried about owing the 12k, then work a payment plan out with the bank.

irrespective , there are many avenues to resolving it , including various degrees of personal insolvency etc

The key is get it resolved not necessarily having the means to pay it back

woejus

OP, if it's an unsecured debt (credit card or personal loan), forget about it. AIB have probably written it off. There exists no meaningful method of debt collection in Ireland for unsecured debt.

If you're having any kind of conscience issues, remember that AIB is something like 99.8% state owned, and they've written off far more than you owe from stupid developers etc.

BoatMad

OP, if it's an unsecured debt (credit card or personal loan), forget about it. AIB have probably written it off. There exists no meaningful method of debt collection in Ireland for unsecured debt.

frankly thats nonsense. a judgement followed by a sherrif , happens all the time in this country .

woejus

BoatMad wrote: »

frankly thats nonsense. a judgement followed by a sherrif , happens all the time in this country .

"OP, if it's an unsecured debt"

Sheriff won't bother his bum for €12,000 2 years old. It's gone, it's been written off. Some lad with a load of moveable assets, property, yes, he'll give it a go.

BoatMad

woejus wrote: »

"OP, if it's an unsecured debt"

Sheriff won't bother his bum for €12,000 2 years old. It's gone, it's been written off. Some lad with a load of moveable assets, property, yes, he'll give it a go.

It depends, AIB may simply seek a judgement , and that judgement will stand against the OP for all times unless a personal insolvency process can be established ( which is now a short process )

If the OP even wishes to come back and live here, then I would advise that he engages with the relevant people

in 2 years , the bank will not have written the debt off.

vandriver

BoatMad wrote: »

frankly thats nonsense. a judgement followed by a sherrif , happens all the time in this country .

Where would the sheriff go,and what would he seize?

BoatMad

vandriver wrote: »

Where would the sheriff go,and what would he seize?

I wasn't specifically referring to this case. I note that in this case all that would happen is a judgement would be entered against him.

I was applying to the common to general. Unsecured debt , that is debt that does not have specific collateral registered against it , is received by means of Judgement and the sheriff on a regular basis , as almost anyone living here has some assets.

The OPs case is different, but should he harbour a desire to return , he should engage to resolve it

Meeeee79

woejus wrote: »

OP, if it's an unsecured debt (credit card or personal loan), forget about it. AIB have probably written it off.

Unlikely written off after 2 years and if so, could very possibly have been bought by a debt collection finance house so he is far from scot-free.

OP are you open to trying to resolve this and pay what you owe or, are you, at the back of your mind, trying to get away with paying anything further on it but hoping you can still come and go in and out of Ireland without any consequences?

woejus

Meeeee79 wrote: »

Unlikely written off after 2 years and if so, could very possibly have been bought by a debt collection finance house so he is far from scot-free.

OP are you open to trying to resolve this and pay what you owe or, are you, at the back of your mind, trying to get away with paying anything further on it but hoping you can still come and go in and out of Ireland without any consequences?

Explain what the debt collection finance house can do to poor OP in the absence of a judgement.

BoatMad

Meeeee79 wrote: »

Unlikely written off after 2 years and if so, could very possibly have been bought by a debt collection finance house so he is far from scot-free.

OP are you open to trying to resolve this and pay what you owe or, are you, at the back of your mind, trying to get away with paying anything further on it but hoping you can still come and go in and out of Ireland without any consequences?

just to clear up something, The OP is free to come and go from ireland, debt is a civil issue.

nor is the only way to resolve it , is to pay it off. the circumstances of the OP may lend him to using services of the insolvency service . That service can simply have an unsecured debt written off without the banks agreement

Meeeee79

woejus wrote: »

Explain what the debt collection finance house can do to poor OP in the absence of a judgement.

I am not getting into the in depth discussion from a legal point of view that you seem to want but I am trying to let the OP know in simple terms that this can happen. Your comment could have given him the impression that the debt is written off and there will be no more said about it. That is not correct.

woejus

Meeeee79 wrote: »

I am not getting into the in depth discussion from a legal point of view that you seem to want but I am trying to let the OP know in simple terms that this can happen. Your comment could have given him the impression that the debt is written off and there will be no more said about it. That is not correct.

Not a legal discussion - just facts. IJ and the rest of those cowboys can do FA to you in the absence of a judgement.

Anyway, OP should probably address the issue with the bank but it's not really a priority for him unless he wants a mortgage / loan. They're not waiting at Dublin Airport arrivals with a van to spirit him away.

cee_jay

Thread closed as it is not a State Benefits issue. I'm unsure as if there is a better forum for this, so am reluctant to move. OP, you could perhaps PM the mods of Legal Discussion/Banking forums to see if it is a better fit there.