If any accounts you have with other building societies have your overseas address then its probable that they will have noted the change of address to the credit reference agencies. If they have and you surrender the keys to Abbey, and Abbey did their homework, then yes, they could find out where you are. However, your society might not even have bothered - without seeing your credit reference file, then you've no way of knowing.(posted 8344 days ago)What some people think, is that if they move abroad, then a creditor in the UK cannot chase them. This is not true. It is possible to issue proceedings in the UK against someone who is living abroad, virtually anywhere. The Civil Procedure Rules give rules and practice directions on this.
Whether or not a creditor would chase you whilst you were living abroad is another matter. If there is a chance that a creditor will recover their money and they know where you are, then they may well instruct collectors abroad to act for them. Its all down to whether or not its worth it so the creditor. Its easier now because Eversheds, DLA etc have offices overseas.
If you do decide to surrender your keys to Abbey, then in time you may receive letters from them demanding a shortfall. Like we are doing in the UK, you will have your chance to ask for documentation and demand Abbey justify their claim. Even though you're abroad, claims issued out of UK courts will be subject to UK law and you'll have the right of discovery. If Abbey's claim is suspect or they know that they'll have a hard job getting their judgement against you, the fact that you're abroad may just push them into not bothering - but you just can't take this for granted.