I have been advised that if I ignore CCJ's and debt collectors etc they just go away eventually

Re debt collectors, iIt all depends who you are dealing with and how you acquired the debt?.If the creditors are unable to prove you owe them that money, and you have never admitted it, it may well be your best tactic if they try to scare or harrass you with silly threats to take you to court and send baillifs etc.In some cases they could be committing a criminal offence against you like unlawful harrassment or criminal fraud. Alternatively you might be better off getting legal advice such as from Citizens Advice, because  that tactic is used a lot by con men to try to dupe people into paying a sum of money into the con man's pocket.

But if on the other hand you are dealing with the government department like the DVLA or Local Authority, and it is definitely money you do owe them, they are very likely to continue to pursue you. But if you think it is provably unfair, and may be an accounting mistake, of which government departments and Local Authority staff make loads of, the best person to contact for help if they continue to harrass you is your local Member of Parliament. 

Well, sort of

Negative tradelines remain on your credit report for 7 years. Debt collectors can continue to attempt to harass you after that period is over, but legally you can just fire off a letter letting them know that the statute of limitations is expired on that debt and they are legally forbidden from contacting you.

Most credit card companies and junk debt buyers are not going to bother to take you to court over a small amount like that though. It costs them money to file in court and because of that they usually go after judgements on the large amounts.

So yes, they will stop. Once it has already hit your credit report though paying it will NOT improve your credit unless they agree to delete their tradeline! Otherwise your best bet is to sit back and wait out the remainder of the 7 years.

No they wouldn't just give up. They would get in touch urging you to contact them to make suitable payment arrangements. If you failed to do this they would either send in the bailiffs or take you to court.

It is just not worth ignoring your debts. Even if you move and they don't know where you are, it will catch up with you eventually later on in life. All our debts are stored on our credit files. Everyone has one of these, see www.creditexpert.co.uk to view yours. Then next`time you apply for a credit card, new bank account, mortgage etc your past history will be there for all to see (also allowing those old debts to catch up with you).

Trust me, I speak from experience.

no, it will escalate to become something that affects your life.

You owe 400 quid. There is a clue there, take some responsibilty for your actions and pay up.

If you owe £400 and you are avoiding paying it you are a thief, its as simple as that.

Ther is no-one in the UK who cannot get extra work to earn £400. Seriously, no-one.

I think it's only if they can't find you. If they know where you live etc, they will pass debt onto collectors and you will get baliffs knocking. Someone I know took a mobile phone out at his current address and when he moved they couldn't trace him. It was 6 years later when it was removed from his credit report. But it means having bad credit for 6 years too though.

No i promise they don't go away at all.........

i used to live in blackpool uk and when i moved i missed my final council tax payment, i never thought any thing of it, only now when i have settled down in the north east of england ( i have been divorced and changed back to my maiden name) 6 years later THEY HAVE FOUND ME !!!!! and i have to pay the money back or i will end up in court and god only knows what.

So a name change, 6 years elapsing, and living in a different county..... and they have still found me !!!!!.

I would say if you don't want them to find you, you can never go on an electoral role AGAIN, BUT then you will never EVER get credit again either.................

Oh yeah they go away, wait for a year then come back and that £400 has turned into a £4000 Debt. Seek help ASAP contact a free, non-profit debt help agency, citizens advise bureau or national debtline.

Not necessarily, they might start taking your stuff. It's not the best course of action, especially for such a small debt.

pay the man & dam his eyes , offer £5 a week make sure they freeze the intrest.

they will pass your debt on to another debt collector