Debt Collection

Debt collectors are not bailiffs

A debt collection agency has no special legal powers. It can only do what the original creditor could do — contact you by phone, letter or email to ask for payment, and potentially take court action after warning you first. It cannot force its way into your home or seize your possessions.

Bailiffs (also called enforcement agents) are different: they are appointed after a court order for certain debts and do have limited powers to take goods. Even then, a bailiff must send an enforcement notice giving you at least 14 clear days’ warning before a first visit, and in most cases cannot force entry to your home.

Harassment is not allowed

Creditors and debt collectors must not harass you. That includes contacting you an unreasonable number of times, pressuring you, using letters or logos designed to look official when they are not, falsely claiming to be a bailiff or court official, or suggesting legal action can be taken when it cannot.

• You can ask a collector to contact you only in writing
• You can ask them to contact you only at certain times
• Keep a record of calls, letters and messages
• You can complain to the firm and report harassment to the FCA or Trading Standards

Statute-barred debt

For most unsecured debts in England and Wales, if a creditor has not taken court action and you have not made a payment or acknowledged the debt in writing for six years, the debt may become "statute-barred". This means the creditor can no longer use the courts to make you pay, although the debt technically still exists.

The rules can be complex, and making a payment or acknowledging the debt can restart the clock. If you think a debt may be statute-barred, get free advice before responding to a collector.