leaving Hongkong with debt 24 years ago

[gutsglory]

its the same thing in my case....
im in hong kong 2 years ago and i had a debt on the bank and didn't paid it becoz i lost my job and didnt contact the bank what would actually happen. but they are sending a letter to my house the indicates my loan. i call them and says to stop the interest and i will pay them as soon as i get my job. im in different country so i sent some payment for them but not regularly and its minimal.
now i need to get a police clearance certificate and im scared if i will get one or if they will give me a bad record.

any comment would be appreciated.

[TheBrit]

A debt to the bank is a civil matter, not a criminal one. A police report should not show bank debts.

A credit check would be a different story.....

[Watercooler]

Is it just me or does this topic keep cropping up alot? Are there that many in-debt expats in HK or is it just one or two fellows here keep raising the issue?

[HowardCoombs]

The former : There are/were *many* in-debt, deadbeat expats.
There are less so today, but pre-97 when brit-youth did not need a work visa to come here, there were a lot of people who showed up, worked and partied hard and then ran off when they could not cover their party bills.

I personally know of 3 people that left Hong Kong with debts; one of them on a sail boat in the middle of the night.

[Morrison]

I also know of two cases in which foreigners from Europe tried to steal meat from the supermarket. Money is tight.

[SiuMaiTaiTai]

And that is why some landlords won't rent their flats out to foreigners !

[Watercooler]

The former : There are/were *many* in-debt, deadbeat expats.
There are less so today, but pre-97 when brit-youth did not need a work visa to come here, there were a lot of people who showed up, worked and partied hard and then ran off when they could not cover their party bills.

I personally know of 3 people that left Hong Kong with debts; one of them on a sail boat in the middle of the night.

I see. I stand corrected then .

[chingleutsch]

I think that if PDLM were still posting he would raise the point that there is more than likely one nationality grossly over-represented in the total number of in debt expats (the vast majority of whom will not be eligible for PR after living & working here for 7 years).

Having had lots to do with people of this nationality over the 15 years or so, I would be inclined to agree with his hypothetical post.

[gutsglory]

thanks for the info TheBrit...when i called them they said its on collection department already so does it mean they can put in on the court? if its on the court are the police concern about it?

[TheBrit]

It would be a civil matter when it goes through the courts too. If the court finds against you and orders you to pay then I guess it might be an offense if you don't cough up. I am not sure about this latter point, I expect someone will pop up with the correct answer though.