Debt - bank overdraft

Banking & Financial
1

Hello folks,

I have just discovered this forum and posting for advice, please.

I lived and worked in France from 2016 - 2017 and had to retun to the UK due to the company I worked for going bust.

I had a bank account with Credit Agricole and was overdrawn at the time I was finshed from work. The amount is 1,745 EUR but I haven’t heard from anyone about this debt for several years.

A few months ago, out of the blue, I recieved an email from a French debt recovery company asking for repayment. Unfortunatley, I am currently out of work and cannot afford to pay the debt. My French is quite poor and I don’t really know what my options are.

In the UK we have options when you cannot repay your debts - IVO, DRO, Bankrupcy, etc. Is there something similar in France? Is there someway I can offically declare I cannot afford to repay this debt?

Many thnaks in advance for your help!

MA1980

2

Hello, welcome to SF.

Yes there are measures than can be taken when repayments of debts can’t be made, similar to the UK. I’d start by reading the page below on the French government site to understand the possible options:

However I don’t know if being no longer resident in France affects your ability to take advantage of them. I’d suggest contacting a UK charity dealing with financial hardship such as Step Change. I’m sure you’re not the first person they’ll have advised in these circumstances.

https://www.stepchange.org/

Good luck, hope you get it sorted and are back on your feet as soon as possible.

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