PRA Group Complaints: Build the Case on Their Paper Trail

Bailiff oversight bodies play no part, because PRA Group employs no enforcement agents and holds no warrants.

Getting the complaint to PRA Group

The firm you are complaining about is PRA Group (UK) Limited, company number 04267803, FCA firm reference 718645, the UK arm of PRA Group Inc, a US-listed debt buyer. Its published routes for complaints are a dedicated form inside the online customer portal, the freephone line 0808 196 5550, and post to PRA Group (UK) Limited, Halo Enterprise and Innovation Centre, Hill Street, Kilmarnock, KA3 1HA.

Quote the reference from their letters, list what happened with dates, attach copies rather than originals, and state the remedy you want. A complaint that asks for something specific, a corrected figure, a mark removed from a credit file, contact by letter only, is easier to uphold than a general expression of unhappiness.

What their published complaint data suggests

PRA Group publishes its FCA complaints reporting on its own website, and the report it displays names general administration and customer service as the main cause of the complaints it receives. That is useful intelligence for a complainant: the recurring weakness is records and handling, so build your complaint on the paper trail. Ask for the notice of assignment, the balance at assignment against the balance now, and the default date, and complain about the specific mismatch or the specific failure to supply them, rather than about the debt in the abstract.

Eight weeks, then a free referee

FCA complaint-handling rules give PRA Group up to eight weeks to issue a final response. Once you have that response, or once the eight weeks pass in silence, you can refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service, normally within six months of the final response. The ombudsman costs you nothing, does not require a lawyer, and where it upholds a complaint it can direct the firm to repay money, fix your credit file and pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.

If your paperwork says Aktiv Kapital

PRA Group (UK) Limited traded as Aktiv Kapital (UK) Limited until late 2014, so an old file or credit report entry in that name usually concerns the same company and, often, the same account. A complaint about something that happened under the old name still goes to PRA Group now. Match the original creditor and account number across the old and new letters before you write, so the complaint describes one account consistently.

A complaint does not stop a court claim

Because PRA Group owns the debts it collects, it can litigate in its own name, and complaining does not suspend that. If a letter of claim arrives, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims gives you 30 days from the date at the top of the letter to reply, and ticking the box to say you are seeking debt advice obliges the creditor to allow a reasonable period before issuing proceedings. If a claim form arrives, the deadline on it is the one that matters. Run the complaint and the court response in parallel, never the complaint instead of the response.

Where this page fits

What PRA Group can actually do, whether an old account is still enforceable, and how settlement negotiations work are covered in the full PRA Group profile. If you have had a letter of claim, a claim form, or a final response you are unsure about, get help while the deadlines are still open.