Many people leaving the country to take up opportunities overseas either don’t check to make sure their debts are covered or leave thinking that they can get away without paying. And even when you think all your debts are squared up, very often one may have slipped your mind or the creditor didn’t reconcile their accounts properly and before you know it, you are listed on the credit bureau for an outstanding debt.

Those outstanding debts are usually reflected on your credit record, and increasingly your credit record is one of the things checked by potential employers, banks, and even schools and universities before they make you any offer or extend any credit to you. That credit record, which few even remember they have, until they get declined for finance, is something you should take a keen interest in. Increasingly, your good payment profiles and discipline result in your being able to get better credit terms. On the other end of the spectrum, when your credit record is less than favourable you will have real problems getting even a cellphone contract, let alone car finance.

There are specialist law firms, like Logan Attorneys, that deal in helping expatriates settle their debts and rescind any judgments before returning home so that those skeletons from the past don’t end up as unresolved problems.

Doesn't matter if you don't receive summons
Surprisingly, many people still believe that just because they didn’t receive a summons personally they cannot be held liable by a court. Unfortunately for them, it doesn’t work that way. In terms of the Rules of Court, a summons must be served on your last known physical address, either at work or at home. Provided that was properly done, the court is entitled to award Default Judgment, despite your being absent from court or not having actually received the summons. These rules were designed to ensure that people running away from collection attorneys could not avoid having to be in court to answer the case being made for payment.

The main benefit of using a specialist firm of attorneys is that they can act for you in court to rescind any judgments that creditors may have obtained in your absence. Provided you take the trouble to ensure your credit record is clear and if not, have someone attend to it while you are away, you should have no problems on your return.

No imprisonment for civil debt
One of the other concerns many people have, which is something that may influence you not to return, is the thought of being arrested for non-payment of a debt or because of a judgment being made against you. Although it is possible for the Maintenance Court, a division of the Magistrates Court, to order your arrest for non-payment of maintenance following a divorce, there are no other unpaid debts which can result in your arrest or imprisonment as imprisonment for civil debt was abolished by the Constitutional Court in September 1995

As a result, civil debt judgments will not result in your imprisonment and you simply have to deal with the financial consequences of the judgment. A judgment remains legally enforceable for 30 years and as such they represent a threat to your assets until that period has expired. That said, the judgment only remains on your credit record for five years from the date of listing and it will therefore probably not prevent you from obtaining finance once it falls off your credit record.

Depending on your circumstances you should carefully evaluate whether to settle the outstanding balance through a debt negotiation process, using a specialist firm of attorneys, or take the chance of having the sheriff attach your property. My advice: deal with it, don’t ignore it — you will be better off and those dollars or pounds will have been well spent! To get access to your 2-in-1 Credit Report click on Credit Health,