# loan trouble



## johnrogers (6 May 2009)

hello

I have a loan of 8,000 euros in Ulster bank.  I am from Australia and I am working here in Ireland for the last four years with HSE. Now I lost my job and I am wondering if there is any trouble if I can't repay the loan.

I am paying for pension and PRSI for the last four years and it seems I dont get these if I move.

Waiting for your valuable reply


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## Stephenkelly (6 May 2009)

How did you lose your job from the HSE?


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## agentino (6 May 2009)

Get them to stick your 8 onto Sean Dunnes bill. He'll hardly notice and he wont be paying it anyway.
Or better still tell them you will pay it as soon as the Dunner pays his.

Either way I wouldnt worry about it too much. Your 8 Grand is the least of their worries


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## Smashbox (6 May 2009)

Great advice these agentino 

Of course there will be repercussions if you don't repay a loan. Speak to the bank manager as soon as possible to work out a payment plan.


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## Mpsox (6 May 2009)

first thing first, commisserations on loosing your role

Not clear from your post if you still owe them the full €8k or if you have paid off part of it

I'm assuming that you are not getting redundancy and/or will struggle to repay the loan?


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## johnrogers (6 May 2009)

I have severe back pain resulting from a disc bulge and my doctors advised me to stop my current job; otherwise, it will get really bad.  I had a personal loan of 12,000 euros which I have been paying till 8,000.  Now I do not have a job and I want to move permanently to Australia.  Will there be a big legal or other consequences if I move to Australia with this amount being here.

I am paying PRSI and pension here for the last four years, which I think is not refundable, so I have paid sufficient amount of money here, I think.

Please give your valuable opinion


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## WaterSprite (6 May 2009)

johnrogers said:


> I am paying PRSI and pension here for the last four years, which I think is not refundable, so I have paid sufficient amount of money here, I think.



You've paid PRSI (as everyone else does) and it is non-refundable.  You can get a pension back from your pension contributions when you reach retirement age - you can probably move it to Australia if you want (you should get the details from your pension provider).  You may also be able to cash out the pension depending on how long you have been a member.

All of that has absolutely _nothing_ to do with the fact that you owe money on a loan, which you chose to take out.  You seem to be equating "Ireland" with any money you spent, owe or borrowed here.  _Your_ judgment of what's "sufficient" is irrelevant.

The morals of paying what you owe are clear (to me) - presumably you want to get a job in Australia?  So why not continue paying off the money that you owe- or work out a payment plan that takes into account your recent unemployment and pay what you can until you get back on your feet?

There are a number of threads related to this topic (people wanting to leave the country and asking about the consequences of defaulting on a loan) and there has been some discussion on the ability and likelihood of banks pursuing defaulters for money owed.  You should do a search to see others' opinions on that, as some posters believe that no bank will follow you to enforce a judgment in Australia.


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## johnrogers (6 May 2009)

No I dont want to go away without paying the loan. I will sure pay the loan completely.  i think i can opt for illness benefit.


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## agentino (6 May 2009)

sorry for being facetious earlier John.
Look if you are not well enough to work thats it. Its game over for the bank and the loan. 
You can claim illness benefit (€200 a week or so) after your stamps run out
Either way thats not going to be enough to pay back your loan in the short term.
If I was you I'd head home and get your health sorted. if you get going again in a few years pay back the money if you want to be honorable. other than that I wouldnt worry about it. there isnt a snowballs chance that the Bank will or can come after you for it in Australia and even if a debt collection agency tracks you down what are they going to do. 
They would waste more on calls down under than is worth their while.

Most people wouldnt give it a second thought.


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## fjgh15 (9 May 2009)

Hi johnrogers and I'm sorry for your troubles, especially being a sufferer of frequent back pain, as indeed I am at present. Anyway, my twopenceworth is for you to check if you are entitled to claim back the tax that you've already paid this year. I'm not certain but I think you might be. Just contact your local tax office and they will let you know and send you out the claim form. You can claim back each 4 weeks until your tax is fully repaid, if you are still out of work, as far as I know. Good luck to you.


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## Raskolnikov (11 May 2009)

Have you any assets at all that you could sell to pay back the loan? If not, I would suggest that you talk to the bank and see can you at very least get the interest frozen.


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## Guest110 (11 May 2009)

Hya,

As mentioned previously

You should be able to cash in on your pension and get a few bob back - maybe 2-3k dependant on your contributions.

You are also entitled to claim tax back now that you are not working.

You should contact the bank and arrange a smaller payment using your overseas bank account, but the downside is that they will add interest to the extended period of the loan. 

Once all the above is sorted, then move home in peace.


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## johnrogers (12 May 2009)

hiii

i enquired with the pension department and they said that they won't pay back the pension.


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## Bob_tg (12 May 2009)

johnrogers said:


> No I dont want to go away without paying the loan.



John - you owe 8 grand and don't have a job right now.  Staying in Ireland is not going to improve your situation, I would guess.  Furthermore, you may lower your costs by moving back to Oz (presumably live with relatives, lower cost of living, etc.).  Take the debt with you and pay it back when you can.  Let the lender know you are changing address and give them your new contact details; perhaps they will let you reschedule the repayments.  Regardless, I can't see why you feel the need to pay it off before you leave Ireland.  As WaterSprite infers, "Ireland" has really nothing to do with it.


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## johnrogers (25 May 2009)

Thank you for your valuable reply, but i am in a stage where i cannot do any hardwork anymore, anyway i am going to talk with the bank rather than moving away.

My friends told me that there will be no trouble if i move to australia...If i contact the bank and go, i will be in deeper trouble.. 

a valuable and friendly advise is needed


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## KevinDub (7 Feb 2010)

They will be after you in Oz, a rep from the bank will be flown first class to come looking for you and the 8k. Make no mistake, they will tiggle you silly when they find you cant pay.


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## mercman (7 Feb 2010)

Kevin, the OP is probably lying on Bondei Beach with about a dozen tins of Fosters and a few Shielas rubbing Baby Oil on him. Miraculously I would say his back pain has disappeared. Don't worry, the Bank will sell the debt to an Australian debt collecting agency and they will hasstle the crap out of him until he coughs up the money.


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## Papercut (8 Feb 2010)

The OP should have told by whoever he spoke to in the HSE that if he produced medical evidence stating that he had to give up his position with them on medical grounds, he could have waived his preserved pension rights & applied for a refund of his four years superannuation contributions (less standard rate tax deduction).

  They should also have informed him that, after having worked for them for four years he would have been entitled to apply for a gratuity payable under the provisions of the Local Government (Superannuation) (Short Services Gratuities) Regulations 1986, which would not be liable for tax.

  The gratuity alone would more than likely have been (even for a lower paygrade) considerably more than the €8,000 that he owed to Ulster Bank. His superannuation refund after tax deduction (again even for a lower paygrade) would probably have been at least a couple of thousand.


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