Transfer of debt from ENGLAND to USA

Kentucky, USA

Bank in England wants to refer my account to a firm of worldwide debt collectors based in the USA unless I pay the full amont before 03/21/02 (1,291 Pounds Sterling about $1,850), Are they legaly able to do this?

Also, They state in the letter, "will instruct one of their officers to call at your home"

A.. Can they call at your home? Is this legal?

B.. Are UK financial Institutes allowed to sell debts overseas?

C.. Does English law hold in the USA, are English contracts binding in the USA?

I am wanting to pay off the debt but the company persuing it is being unreasonable about the payment arrangements I have offered, as I am on a limited income. Any money I transfer over there also has a transfer surcharge of about $20 per transaction, which makes the amount even more.

Any advice/info would be greatly appreciated.

Since I have no experience with the British legal/collection system, I'm going to take a guess here....

The debt is WAY too small for them to be serious about suing. So, that leads me to believe that they simply send out these letters to all the people who don't pay and move out of the country. Some people are scared by them, and they pay up. Those who ignore the letter aren't hurt, as long as they don't go back to the UK.

I suppose they could sell the debt to a US based collector, and that collector could go after you for the debt. However, it's a real stretch to imagine that the debt would stand up in a US court.

Unless you feel a moral obligation to pay the debt, I would just ignore the letter until you receive a summons to appear in court.

If you receive a call from a collector, ask for their address. Once you have it, send them a certified, return receipt letter telling them to cease all contact with you. If they fail to do so, you can sue them for violating the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

Like I said, I think they're just bluffing to see if you'll pay up. If someone in the UK owed me money, it would need to be well over $20,000 before I'd even think of pursuing them. It's just too much of a hassle.

Many thanks for your reply, what you say is pretty much what I was thinking, I do suspect that they might be bluffing as they keep offering discount off the balance owed at 40%, any company who was serious about a bad debtor would surely pursue for the full amount as it wouldn't be worth their while. I appreciate your thoughts on the subject. I do feel I have a moral obligation to settle the debt as the money is owed, however due to my financial limitations that is not realistic at this time. Once again, many thanks.