Debt collection help and advice

You have many rights. Don't allow yourself to be bullied by debt collectors:

• Never let a debt collector into your home. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and bullied, so it’s vital to know your rights and understand what you can do to protect yourself. They can only enter your home if you, or a family member over 16, invites them in. They are not allowed to force their way past you or put their foot in the door.
• Debt collectors have no rights to contact you at work or visit you at work.
• Debt collectors have no enforcement power to take goods or enter your property. The most they can do is ask for the money. They sometimes pretend to have bailiff powers and this is a criminal offence.
• Call 999 if you're being threatened by a debt collector.
• Tell the debt collector to leave and say you’ll speak to their head office to discuss matters further, if the debt collector won't leave the doorstep then you have a case for harassment.
• Debt collectors do not have the same powers as bailiffs. Debt collectors come from private firms and don’t have the same powers to enter your property or seize goods.
• Video your interaction. A debt collector or police officer cannot object to being filmed on your property.
• Debt collectors have no powers of entry or arrest, and neither do police community support officers (PCSO).
• Debt collectors cannot discuss your details with neighbours and cannot watch your house or loiter outside, as they are not acting in the execution of duty. Record the collector on video and report him to the police (Protection from Harassment Act 2007).
• The creditor is liable for debt collectors acting on their behalf and you can bring an action for any unlawful actions. Send the creditor a "Letter Before Action" which contains how much is owed, why it is owed, how to pay, a deadline and what will happen if they do not pay. Wait for the deadline and then start the claim at your local county court using Form N1.
• Most high street companies are good at lending money or selling goods on credit but they shy away from the dirty business of debt collection. This is why debts are often sold on, or larger retailers may use a subsidiary with a different name to collect the debts. Most unsecured debts; such as credit cards, loans and overdrafts are regulated by the Consumer Credit Act, which allows them to be sold on after you have stopped paying. You will be notified by letter by the original company and the new debt collection company if your debts have been sold on.
• A debt collection agency may put a claim into court and seek a CCJ to be registered against you. A CCJ orders you to make payments towards the debt, such as using an attachment to earnings. If a CCJ is issued the associated debt can be included in an IVA. The debt is repaid within the IVA in the same way as all the other debts which have been included.
• There have been how many documented cases of coercion and underhand tactics by debt collectors. You are not obliged to confirm your identity or give any details to a debt collector. Simply ask them to leave and threaten them with an official complaint and legal action.