Solicitor Letters

If you are in arrears with debts, it’s likely you’ll eventually receive Solicitor Letters about the debt.

Why am I getting solicitor letters?

There are several reasons why you could receive a letter from a solicitor (or seemingly from a solicitor) about your debts:

If you are not sure what something means on the letter, ask the sender or contact Swift.

• In-House Collection Department
  The Solicitor may be part of the creditor’s collection department using a different trading name and style name, but is in fact the same company. Check to see if the letter mentions the original creditor, or compare the addresses to see if they’re similar. This is less common practice than it was as it can be considered to be misleading and not treating a customer fairly.
• Debt Collection Agencies
  Some Solicitors and Legal Practices also act as debt collection agencies. Your original creditor may by using their services or may have sold the debt to them.  If you’re asked to pay the solicitor directly, then the latter is likely to be the case.
• You Are Being Taken To Court?
  The creditor can be using a solicitor because they’re taking you to court, but this is less common than the above reasons for receiving a solicitors’ letter about a debt.

The Wonga Scandal
Payday lender Wonga were sending letters to its customers using the name and branding of various legal firms who did not even exist. This was unacceptable in the eyes of the regulator who fined them and referred the matter to the Police, although criminal proceedings did not follow.

What can solicitors do to collect debt?

A letter from, or seemingly from, a legal practice cannot make any additional demands from you than if it were sent directly from your creditors, they have no extra powers.

I’ve received a letter from a solicitor, what should I do?

Read it carefully; it may be an informal request for payment or it may be a formal letter such as a Default Notice or Statutory Demand or some other formal notification.

Solicitor letter and calls about your debts are usually a sign that your financial situation is getting worse; so you need your options explained.