Debt Collectors: What They Can and Cannot Do

GOV.UK lists the kinds of bailiff as certificated enforcement agents, high court enforcement officers, county court and family court bailiffs, and bailiffs who enforce magistrates' court fines and warrants for arrest, and debt collectors are not on that list.

The FCA's CONC 7 rules apply to a firm with respect to debt collecting, and firms must ensure that their employees and agents comply. A firm's visitors must not enter your property without your consent or an appropriate court order.

Only an enforcement agent may take control of goods and sell them under an enforcement power in England and Wales. A debt collector is not one of the kinds of bailiff that GOV.UK lists.

If someone makes a court claim, you must respond by the date on the email or letter, and you might have to pay more or get a county court judgment if you do not respond in time. Court action is the route a creditor has to follow to reach your goods, your wages or your home, and the sections below say what each step allows.

Yes, a firm can arrange a visit, but the FCA's rules limit what its visitors may do:

• Unless it is not practicable, the visitor must clearly explain the purpose and intended outcome of the visit and give you adequate notice of the date and likely time, at a reasonable time of day
• They must not enter your property without your consent or an appropriate court order
• They must not act in a threatening manner towards you
• They must not refuse to leave your property when reasonably asked to do so
• They must not visit when they know or suspect you are, or may be, particularly vulnerable, or at an inappropriate location unless you have expressly consented
• They must not visit or threaten to visit without your prior agreement when a debt is deadlocked or reasonably queried or disputed
• It would normally be inappropriate to visit you at your place of work or at a hospital where you are a patient

Debt collectors are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and must follow its rules in CONC 7. A firm cannot:

• ✗No: Enter your property without your consent or an appropriate court order
• ✗No: Act in a threatening manner towards you
• ✗No: Refuse to leave your property when reasonably asked to do so
• ✗No: Take control of your goods and sell them under an enforcement power, because only an enforcement agent may do that
• ✗No: Misrepresent its authority or legal position, for example by claiming to work on instructions from the courts as bailiffs
• ✗No: Pressurise you to pay in one single or very few repayments or in unreasonably large amounts when that would have an adverse impact on your finances, or within an unreasonably short period, or by selling your property or borrowing
• ✗No: Threaten court action in order to pressurise you to pay more than you can reasonably afford
• ✗No: Contact you at unreasonable times, or require you to call a premium rate or other special rate number
• ✗No: Unfairly disclose or threaten to disclose information about your debt to a third party, or act in a way likely to be publicly embarrassing to you
• ✗No: Pursue you if it knows or believes you might not be the borrower
• ✗No: Ignore your claim that a debt has been settled or is disputed and keep demanding payment without clear justification or evidence
• ✗No: Keep recovering a debt you dispute on valid grounds
• ✗No: Attempt to recover a statute barred debt in England, Wales or Northern Ireland if the lender or owner has not been in contact with you during the limitation period
• ✗No: Continue to demand payment after you have said you will not pay because the debt is statute barred

Keep a record of calls, emails and events, and a note of any information or evidence that you think will support your complaint.

Nothing, without a court order. Only an enforcement agent may take control of goods and sell them under an enforcement power in England and Wales. A debt collector is not one of the kinds of bailiff that GOV.UK lists.

Your car and your goods. A creditor with a judgment can ask the court to send bailiffs to collect the money, which is called a warrant of control, and the bailiff will ask for payment within 7 days. Until then there is no power to take a car or anything else.

Your pets. Regulation 4 of the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 exempts assistance dogs, sheep dogs, guard dogs and domestic pets from being taken by an enforcement agent.

Your home and your wages. A creditor with a judgment can also ask the court to take money from your wages (an attachment of earnings), to freeze money in your bank account (a third party debt order), or to charge your land or property (a charging order). If the land or property is sold, you must pay the charge before you get your money. Our CCJs guide covers each of these and how to apply to vary or cancel a judgment.

Most debt collector contact happens by letter or phone. Some points to check:

• A person contacting you must explain who they work for, their role and the purpose of the contact
• A firm must not make a statement which may induce you to contact it misunderstanding the reason, for example a calling card that states or implies you have missed a delivery
• A real court claim arrives as a letter or email with instructions, and you must respond by the date on it
• Valid grounds for disputing a debt include that you are not the true borrower, that the debt does not exist, or that the amount being pursued is incorrect
• If you do not recognise the debt, a firm must not pursue you if it knows or believes you might not be the borrower, and where the dispute is about who you are or how much is owed it is for the firm to establish it
• You can ask the creditor under a regulated agreement for fixed-sum credit, in writing with a fee of £1, for a copy of the executed agreement and a statement of what has been paid and is payable
• The same right applies to running-account credit, such as a credit card, where the statement shows the state of the account
• If a firm accepts your offer to settle, it must communicate formally and unequivocally that your offer with payment has been accepted as settlement of your liability
• If the debt may be statute barred, check when you last made a payment or acknowledged it

If the debt is yours, is correct and is within the time limit, the firm is entitled to ask you to pay it, and the rules then govern how. A firm must not pursue you if it knows or believes you might not be the borrower. Where you dispute a debt on valid grounds, a firm must suspend recovery steps, investigate and provide details of the debt in a timely manner.

You can ask the creditor under a regulated agreement for fixed-sum credit, in writing with a fee of £1, for a copy of the executed agreement and a statement of what has been paid and is payable. Where servicing arrangements change when a regulated credit agreement is assigned, notice must be given to you as soon as reasonably possible.

A firm must give due consideration to a reasonable offer of repayment and, if it rejects it, explain why. You can get free help or advice from Citizens Advice, MoneyHelper, National Debtline and StepChange Debt Charity.

If someone takes you to court for a debt you will get a letter or email, and you must respond by the date on it.

• You can pay the full amount, offer to pay a different amount if you think you owe less, or defend the claim if you do not think you owe any money
• You can ask for another 14 days to respond if you are not paying the full amount
• The court rules' general rule is 14 days after service of the particulars of claim to file a defence, or 28 days if you file an acknowledgment of service
• If you do not respond in time you might have to pay more or get a county court judgment
• A record of a judgment is kept for 6 years unless you pay the full amount within a month, which can make it hard to get credit
• If you cannot afford a judgment you can ask to vary it or pay in instalments, and you can apply to have it cancelled if you do not owe the money or you did not receive or respond to the original claim
• If you do not pay as ordered, the creditor may threaten you with bailiffs or ask the court to take action against you

In England and Wales an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued. In Scotland, an obligation is extinguished after five years without a relevant claim or relevant acknowledgment. In Northern Ireland an action founded on simple contract may not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.

A firm must not attempt to recover a statute barred debt in England, Wales or Northern Ireland if the lender or owner has not been in contact with you during the limitation period. A firm must not continue to demand payment after you have said you will not pay because the debt is statute barred. A firm that sells debts must identify to prospective purchasers those it knows or ought to know are statute barred.

Our statute barred debt guide explains what counts as acknowledging a debt and how to reply to a firm chasing an old one.

When a debt or a credit agreement is passed to someone else, the FCA's rules still apply to the firm collecting it:

• Where servicing arrangements change when a regulated credit agreement is assigned, notice must be given to you as soon as reasonably possible
• A firm that sells debts must identify to prospective purchasers those it knows or ought to know are statute barred
• If you dispute a debt and the firm is not the lender or owner, it must pass the information you provide to the lender or owner
• You can still ask the creditor for a copy of the agreement and a statement of the account
• If a firm accepts your offer to settle, it must confirm formally and unequivocally that your offer with payment has been accepted as settlement