How to deal with debt collectors

Debt collectors, or debt collection agencies, can contact you to ask for payment and discuss your options.

But they cannot:

• Enter your home
• Take your belongings
• Force you to pay
• Pretend to be bailiffs or mislead you

They’re there to recover the debt, but they must follow rules about how they treat you.

It’s easy to confuse the two, but they’re very different.

Debt collectors:

• can contact you by phone, letter or email
• ask you to repay the debt
• don’t have enforcement powers

Bailiffs (also called enforcement agents):

• are only usually involved after court action
• can have legal powers in certain situations

If you’re being contacted by a debt collector, it hasn’t reached that stage.

If you’re hearing from a debt collector, the key is to deal with it early rather than avoid it.

1. Check the details

Make sure the debt is correct and that you recognise it.

You can ask for:

• who the debt relates to
• how much is owed
• a breakdown if anything isn’t clear

2. Don’t ignore it

It might be tempting, but ignoring contact can lead to more pressure over time.

Responding — even just to explain your situation — can help keep things manageable.

3. Offer what you can afford

If you can’t pay in full, you can offer a payment based on what you can realistically manage.

This might mean:

• setting up a payment plan
• making reduced payments

What matters most is that it’s affordable and sustainable.

4. Get support

Acting early can make a real difference here. We’ll help you understand what’s realistic for your situation, speak to your creditors if needed and put a plan in place that helps you stay on track.

It’s about getting control back now, before things build into something harder to manage.

Debt solutions may affect your credit rating. Fees may apply depending on the solution. Individual circumstances vary.