Intrum UK: Are They Bailiffs, and Do You Have to Pay?

They are not bailiffs. Intrum has no power to enter your home, remove goods, clamp a vehicle or add enforcement fees. Those belong to certificated enforcement agents acting under a court order or liability order.

Did your letter say 1st Credit?

If so, it is the same company under a newer name.

Companies House records Intrum UK Limited (03752940) as previously 1st Credit Limited, renamed on 1 March 2018. A related group company, Intrum UK Group Limited (03515447), was formerly Collector Services Limited.

Older correspondence in those names may concern the same account, so check the original creditor and account number before assuming you face two separate debts.

Which Intrum company is writing to you?

This matters more here than with most collectors, because several Intrum entities are on the registers and a complaint must go to the right one.

Separately, Intrum Mortgages UK Finance Limited appears under FRN 459016, also Authorised. If your account relates to a mortgage or secured lending rather than unsecured consumer credit, it may sit with a different entity and a different set of rules.

Check the company name and number printed on your letter, then confirm it on the Companies House and FCA registers.

Agent or owner? Ask, because it changes your options

Intrum operates both as a collector acting for others and as a purchaser of debt. You are entitled to know which applies to your account, and it changes what is worth doing.

If Intrum is acting as agent, the original creditor still owns the debt. The creditor can withdraw the account, agree a different arrangement, or resolve a dispute directly. It is often worth writing to both.

If Intrum owns the debt, they hold the rights the creditor had and no more. Your dispute and any defence go to Intrum, and the original creditor generally cannot help.

Either way, ask for the notice of assignment if it was sold, the balance at assignment, and the default date. The default date does not restart because an account changed hands, and it governs both the limitation period and how long the entry stays on your credit file.

If you are unsure whether you are dealing with a collector or an enforcement agent, our guide to bailiffs and debt collectors explains how to tell from the paperwork.

Two things that can make the debt unenforceable

Age. Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 provides that an action founded on simple contract *"shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued"*, normally the default for consumer debt. Beware section 29, under which a part payment or written acknowledgement restarts the clock, and section 30, which requires an acknowledgement to be in writing and signed. Paying a small amount to buy goodwill can hand back six years, so take advice first. See statute-barred debt. Scotland works differently again: under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 the obligation can be extinguished rather than merely unenforceable. If enforcement itself reaches that stage, our guide to who enforces debts in Scotland covers sheriff officers and diligence, which work differently from bailiffs in England and Wales.

Missing paperwork. For a regulated credit agreement, a written request under section 77 or section 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, with a £1 fee, requires production of the executed agreement and a statement of account. While the creditor is in default of that request they are *"not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement."*

Be precise about what that means. It suspends enforceability; it does not cancel the debt, and the default is cured if the documents appear later. It is still worth requesting, because it tests whether the account is properly evidenced.

What ignoring Intrum actually leads to

Not to bailiffs, at least not directly. A collector cannot instruct enforcement agents.

The realistic path is a County Court claim brought by whoever owns the debt. Respond to a claim form within the time limits: normally 14 days, or 28 with an acknowledgment of service. The outcome to avoid is a default judgment, because a CCJ opens the door to a warrant of control, an attachment of earnings, a third party debt order or a charging order.

Engaging early, even only to dispute the debt, is what keeps the matter out of that sequence. See our guides to County Court judgments and the warrant of control.

Disputes, affordability and vulnerability

Disputing. Put it in writing, ask for the account to be held while it is investigated, and attach what you can evidence. Under FCA rules a firm must investigate properly rather than continue chasing.

Affordability. Offer only what you can maintain, supported by income and expenditure figures. A free debt adviser can produce a standard financial statement. Ask for interest and charges to be frozen and confirm any arrangement in writing. Priority debts, rent or mortgage, council tax, energy and court fines, come ahead of consumer credit.

Vulnerability. Illness, mental health difficulties, disability, bereavement and recent trauma are all relevant. Disclose it, ask for it to be recorded, and expect adjustments.

Breathing Space gives a free 60-day pause on collection while a longer-term solution is arranged. See our guide to the Breathing Space scheme.

Complaining about Intrum

Write to the Intrum entity named on your correspondence, since sending it to the wrong company wastes weeks. They have eight weeks to issue a final response.

If the response is unsatisfactory, or none arrives in time, refer the complaint free of charge to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Grounds worth raising include contact that is excessive or continues after you asked for writing only, chasing a debt you disputed without investigating, disregarding a vulnerability disclosure, or suggesting enforcement action that a collector cannot take.

Use contact details you have obtained independently, verify the company and FCA numbers on the public registers, and keep a dated record of every call, letter and payment.

For what a collection agency can and cannot do generally, see what debt collectors can do.