What to do about letters from creditors

What types of debt letter can I get?

Regular Statements

Regular statements show how much you owe and what you have paid.

For most common types of debt, your creditors are legally obliged to send a statement at least once a year.

Reminder letters

You get reminder letters when you miss payments. These will ask you to bring payments up to date.

This contact can also be by:

• Email
• Phone
• Texts

Collection letters

Your account is passed to the collection department after a few reminder letters.

Collection letters can sometimes threaten:

• To take court action or
• Send debt collectors to your home

You may get:

• A default notice or
• Letters from debt collection agencies

These may also threaten to take further action if you do not pay.

Letters of Claim

You get a letter of claim in the post if your creditors want to take you to court.

Contact us straight away for help if this happens.

You may receive court summons if you do not respond to the letter of claim.

What should I do with letters from creditors?

1. Open and read your letters straight away

The people you owe must tell you about anything important in writing.

Some important letters have a deadline to respond, like court forms.

You may be too late to reply if you do not open them straight away.

2. Hang on to all letters from your creditors

You may need these in future.

Keep them together in date order in one place.

A ring binder is ideal for this.

Am I being taken to court?

These letters often make it seem like court action is just around the corner.

They are written this way so you feel pressure to pay.

Letters will commonly mention:

• Court action
• Bankruptcy
• Enforcement agents
• Sheriff officers
• Bailiffs

But they often say these ‘might or ‘could’ happen, not that they will happen.

Letters may also:

• Give you very short timescales to reply
• Use legal language
• Use a sender name that sounds like a solicitors

The people you owe are not allowed to:

• Lie or mislead you about what can happen if you do not pay
• Send letters designed to look like court forms
• Send letters addressed to ‘the occupier’ – they must be to you specifically
• Send letters telling other people about your debt

Need help now?

Can I stop letters from my creditors?

You can apply for Breathing Space, which stops the people you owe from writing to you while you deal with your debts.

You cannot stop creditor contact completely.

Some letters must be sent to you by law, like regular statements.

Complain to the creditor if you think their letters are misleading.

Can I send creditor letters to StepChange Debt Charity?

Letters could get lost or delayed if you forward them to us.

It is better to contact us if you are worried or confused and we will help you.

You can also use our online debt advice tool for free and impartial debt advice.