Bailiffs & Debt Collection Agencies: Know Your Rights

Debt collection agencies are third-party interlopers interfering in your private affairs. A third party has no legal standing and therefore has no power or authority to compel you to do anything.

In most cases, these agencies are simply companies that have purchased your debt for pennies on the pound. They aim to make a profit by intimidating you into paying the full amount plus their own fees which, if successful, results in 100% pure profit for them.

However, because you have no direct agreement with the debt collection agency, you are under no legal obligation to pay them or even communicate with them. They are merely offering a service to collect money from you and you are not required to accept that service.

Think of it this way: imagine a stranger walks up to you and says, “You owe me £10, pay up!” You have every right to ignore him. Even if he claims that you owe someone else say, Bill across the street and that he’s collecting on Bill’s behalf, you still have the right to refuse. Your contract (if one exists) is with Bill, not the stranger, and he has no legal authority over you…

Unless you give him that power.

The following notice is a straightforward conditional acceptance a request for proof of a lawful contract between you and the debt collection agency.