What happens if I decide to ignore my debt?

It's hard to misread the following:
justintime said:
I'm going to pay my debt. Not for moral reasons (I can't believe people are standing up for banks - your argument that it's the shareholder who suffers is BS - using that logic the shareholder is responsible for when the banks rip off the public!)

...

well my response to that would be "Because you are part owner of AIB, your overcharging screwed me over... bastard!!!!
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but feel free to explain the subtle nuances that are buried in there to me if you like.
 
?????

I shall explain again.

If you have shares in AIB you are a part owner of AIB. That means when AIB rips off it's customers (and AIB are well known for this happening) that means as part owner you are partly responsible.

So, using this logic, if, as a part owner of AIB, you think it is disgraceful that someone might screw over AIB, I think it is slightly hypocritical, considering you have been ripping people off yourself!

...

It was only a minor point. Let's move on :)
 
But what has any of this got to do with your debts and your quandry about either running away from or settling them?
 
justintime said:
If you have shares in AIB you are a part owner of AIB. That means when AIB rips off it's customers (and AIB are well known for this happening) that means as part owner you are partly responsible.

So, using this logic, if, as a part owner of AIB, you think it is disgraceful that someone might screw over AIB, I think it is slightly hypocritical, considering you have been ripping people off yourself!
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So were you personally overcharged by AIB, Justin?

You are correct insofar as shareholders bear responsibility for the actions of the company. Shareholders do have limited powers to impose their views on such companies through voting for/against directors and/or speaking at AGM.s They also pay the price of those actions, where the bank was fined or penalised.
 
justintime, I agree - the shareholder IS partly responsible for the behaviour of the banks. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. The board of a public company is elected by its shareholders, and the board is ultimately responsible for the behaviour of management. If that behaviour is unethical or criminal well then the shareholders as the owners of the company are ultimately to blame. The small shareholder may not, of course, be able to do anything about the voting patterns of large institutional shareholders but if s/he does not agree with the choice of board members etc well then s/he can sell her shares and walk away.

But if you enter a contractual relationship with a financial insitution to pay back a loan that's an entirely seperate issue.
 
Hi Just in time,

Glad you changed your mind! Ring MABS they should help sort you out!
Best of luck with paying it off :)
 
In relation to AIB and overcharging, the original amounts have been paid back with interest and penalties, so in a sense, the shareholders have been punished (I'm not in any way condoning the overcharging).

I have no investments in AIB so I don't care either way, I just think it's worth pointing out that's what happened.
 
justintime said:
I am saying... if your argument is "I have shares in AIB so if you don't pay back the debt it is screwing me over!", well my response to that would be "Because you are part owner of AIB, your overcharging screwed me over... bastard!!!! :)"
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Heck, while out shopping, if you think something is overpriced... feck paying the price! just shoplift the item.
Justintime, your sort of thinking is thievery.

-soc
 
Update...

You'll be happy to know I payed back the debt. It was painful but it has taught me a good lesson. I'm now able to save about half my wage every month, so not only am I now debt free, but I also have about 10,000 in savings, and this increases by about 1,500 every month.

It took me a few years to build up the debt, and a few years to get out of it, but I did the right thing in the end.

Thank you everyone for the advice.
 
justintime said:
Hello,

I owe about 15k in debt (loan and credit card.) I cannot afford to pay it back. It is really bothering me (I worry about it everyday.)

If I move house and change my name to it's Irish equivalent (something I am considering doing for personal reasons), and decide to ignore my debt, what will happen?

They surely won't be able to track me down...
I'll have a new ICB file under my new name...

Will they just give up and write off the debt?

Any opinions appreciated.

PS I don't give a sh*t about banks, so please don't say I should pay off the debt because it's the "right thing to do"!
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IF it was that easy,dont you think that everyone in your situation would do the same think.
Right now everyone is going through hardship,not just you.if you set up meetings with the ppl you owe money to,maybe you can all come to some arangement.
 
cleverclogs7 said:
IF it was that easy,dont you think that everyone in your situation would do the same think.
Right now everyone is going through hardship,not just you.if you set up meetings with the ppl you owe money to,maybe you can all come to some arangement.
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The original post was from 2005. Check the update from the OP above yours.

That's great to hear justintime. It's a good story of how people can get out of debt and get back on track.
 
ICB can match Irish and English surnames, ie Walsh to Breathnach etc. If there is any overlap on addresses, dates of birth, occupation, etc, it will come back with a "partial match". It's really very hard to escape.
 
Alex said:
i guess it would be hard to get cash out of someone who doesn't have it. the courts would have the same attitude i think.

Alex.
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Far from it -- Google prison for debt in ireland. Well over 200 people are jailed for not paying debt each year, and it is trending upwards ... closer to 300 last year.
 
dub_nerd said:
Far from it -- Google prison for debt in ireland. Well over 200 people are jailed for not paying debt each year, and it is trending upwards ... closer to 300 last year.
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In fairness, those imprisoned usually have no leg to stand on, as they have a ) run away from their debts and b ) are in contempt of court.

If you do not attend your court hearing, the judge has no facts and figures to work from, and thus makes an "educated guess" as to how much you are able to repay each of your creditors. If you a) refuse to pay this amount or b ) cannot afford it, you are in contempt, and will likely suffer a prison term.

If you actually showed up at the court hearing in the first place, you could argue your case, present facts and figures i.r.o. your current financial situation and the judge will make you pay a reasonable, affordable amount, even if it is €5.00 a week.

Interesting article here:

Paul Joyce said:
FLAC Senior Policy Researcher Paul Joyce said: "We can suggest ways that the percentage of people in prison for debt-related offences might be substantially reduced or eliminated. The initial hearing at which a decision is made to order repayment of a debt by instalments is often not attended by the debtor, as that hearing is in open public court and attendance is not compulsory. This usually results in an instalment being ordered that the debtor cannot afford. This in turn leads to default in payment and a further application to have the debtor imprisoned. The debtor will usually not appear at this hearing either, having at this stage well and truly opted out of what is a long-winded and intimidating process.
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At least, this is how I understand it. Feel free to correct me please.

And congratulations Justintime, nice work.
 
There is another side to people not paying their debts.
In the present climate a few non-nationals took out loans & then skipped the country. The result of this is that now, some of their countrymen genuinely looking for a loan are finding it very difficult to get one.
When anyone defaults it makes the lender far more cautious....................yikes maybe it would have been good if this happened a few yrs back ???!!!
Congratulations Justintime, I'm sure you feel a lot happier for having done the right thing
 
Mena said:
In fairness, those imprisoned usually have no leg to stand on, as they have a ) run away from their debts and b ) are in contempt of court.

If you do not attend your court hearing, the judge has no facts and figures to work from, and thus makes an "educated guess" as to how much you are able to repay each of your creditors. If you a) refuse to pay this amount or b ) cannot afford it, you are in contempt, and will likely suffer a prison term.

If you actually showed up at the court hearing in the first place, you could argue your case, present facts and figures i.r.o. your current financial situation and the judge will make you pay a reasonable, affordable amount, even if it is €5.00 a week.

Interesting article here:
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I know of many cases where a Judge made no order because a persons sole income was social welfare payments.

If a person cannot pay as opposed to won't pay they will not be imprisoned. People here seem not to be able to get to grips with that simple fact.

I also agree that the process of examining a debtors means should be conducted in camera. If it was people would not ignore the process. I have seen debtors reduced to tears in the witness box after some very sharp questioning by solicitors. I have seen solicitors acting for the big boys being told off in open court for their masters actions. It would be far easier if these types of cases were dealt with in private.
 
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