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

They are not bailiffs. They have no right to enter your home, take goods, clamp a vehicle or add enforcement fees. Those powers belong to certificated enforcement agents acting under a court order or liability order. Our guide to bailiffs and debt collectors explains how to tell them apart from the paperwork.

The purchase model shapes almost everything about how PRA Group behaves, and understanding it puts you in a much stronger position.

Did your letter say Aktiv Kapital?

If your paperwork carries an older name, it is the same company.

Companies House records PRA Group (UK) Limited (04267803) as previously Aktiv Kapital (UK) Limited, renamed on 5 November 2014, and before that Active Capital (UK) Limited.

So an old file mentioning Aktiv Kapital and a current PRA Group letter may be one debt, not two. Match the original creditor and account number before treating them separately.

Company and regulatory details

FCA authorisation is practically useful: it binds PRA Group to the FCA's consumer credit rules and gives you the Financial Ombudsman Service as a free escalation route. Bailiff companies have no equivalent.

What buying the debt changed, and what it did not

When a debt is assigned, the buyer steps into the original creditor's shoes. They take the rights the creditor had, and no more.

What did not change: the default date, the limitation clock, your right to dispute, and any defence you had against the original creditor. A sold debt is neither more nor less enforceable than before.

What did change: who you deal with, and the commercial incentive. PRA Group bought the account at a discount, which is why settlement discussions are sometimes possible where the original lender would not have entertained them.

Establish four things in writing: the notice of assignment; the balance at assignment against the balance now, with any difference explained; the default date; and the original creditor and account number.

Settlement, and why the discount matters

Because purchasers buy at a discount, a reduced full-and-final settlement is more realistic here than with an original lender. There is no entitlement to one, and you should not budget on the assumption.

If you do negotiate:

• Get the offer and acceptance in writing before paying.
• Establish whether the account will be marked "satisfied" or "partially satisfied" on your credit file. The difference is visible to future lenders for six years.
• Confirm the agreement covers the whole account, so no residual balance is pursued later.
• Never pay from an account you cannot afford to leave short, and never borrow to settle.

Is the debt still enforceable?

Two independent tests. Failing either is fatal to enforcement, and they are worth checking before discussing payment at all.

Limitation. 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"*, which for most consumer debts means the default. But section 29 restarts the six years on a part payment or a written acknowledgement, and section 30 requires such an acknowledgement to be in writing and signed. A single payment can revive a nearly time-barred debt, so take advice before paying anything. In Scotland the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 operates differently, extinguishing the obligation rather than merely barring the remedy. Our guide to statute-barred debt explains the limitation rules in full, and our guide to who enforces debts in Scotland covers sheriff officers and diligence, which work differently from bailiffs in England and Wales.

Documentation. For a regulated credit agreement you can request the paperwork under section 77 (fixed-sum) or section 78 (running-account) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, on payment of £1. The Act provides that a creditor in default of that request *"is not entitled, while the default continues, to enforce the agreement."* That is unenforceability while the default lasts, not a write-off: producing the documents later cures it.

Where this ends if you do nothing

PRA Group cannot instruct enforcement agents. What they can do is litigate.

An unresolved account can become a County Court claim. A claim form must be answered: normally 14 days, extendable to 28 by filing an acknowledgment of service. A default judgment entered because nobody replied is the outcome that matters, because a CCJ can then be enforced by a warrant of control, an attachment of earnings, a third party debt order or a charging order.

That is the only route by which a purchased consumer debt reaches a bailiff, and it runs entirely through the court. See our guides to County Court judgments and the warrant of control.

Disputing, affordability and vulnerability

If the balance or liability is wrong, dispute it in writing and ask for the account to be placed on hold while it is investigated. FCA rules require a proper investigation rather than continued chasing. Send what you can evidence: payments made, a settlement already agreed, dates you did not hold the account.

If it is unaffordable, offer what you can sustain and support it with figures. A free debt adviser can produce a standard financial statement, which carries more weight than an unsupported offer. Ask for interest and charges to be frozen, and get it in writing. Remember that rent or mortgage, council tax, energy and court fines are priority debts and come first.

If you are vulnerable, serious illness, mental health difficulties, disability, bereavement, recent trauma, say so, ask for a note on your file, and expect it to be taken into account under FCA rules.

Breathing Space pauses collection for 60 days and is free. See our guide to the Breathing Space scheme.

Complaining about PRA Group

Complain to PRA Group first, in writing. They have eight weeks to give a final response. If you are unhappy with it, or hear nothing in time, escalate free of charge to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which can direct the firm to put things right.

Worthwhile grounds include excessive or persistent contact, continuing to chase a disputed debt without investigating it, ignoring a vulnerability disclosure, or implying that bailiffs can be sent when they cannot.

Before paying anyone, check the company number and the FCA reference against the public registers, and use contact details you have found yourself rather than those in an unexpected message.

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