Got a letter from Intrum? Here's how to respond.

No. Intrum UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA (FRN 718918) and registered at Companies House under company number 03752940. They have been trading in the UK since 1999, originally as 1st Credit Limited, before being acquired and renamed by the Swedish Intrum group in March 2018. The parent group Intrum AB is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and operates in 24 countries. None of that means every Intrum letter is correct: balance disputes, statute-barred claims, and missing documentation are all reasons to demand proof of the debt before paying.

1st Credit Limited was a UK debt purchase and collection company. The Intrum group acquired 1st Credit and rebranded it as Intrum UK Limited on 1 March 2018. The same Companies House entity (registration number 03752940) handles both names. If you have an old letter that still references 1st Credit, it relates to the same UK company that now trades as Intrum. Your rights are identical regardless of which name appears on the letter, and 1st Credit-era documentation is sometimes incomplete, which can work in your favour when demanding proof of the debt.

Under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980, most consumer debts become statute-barred six years after the date of last payment or last written acknowledgement, whichever is later. Once statute-barred, Intrum can still write to you but cannot enforce the debt through the courts. Intrum's portfolios include some older 1st Credit-era debts that may now be statute-barred. Do not phone Intrum to confirm or deny anything, because any acknowledgement restarts the clock. Send a statute-barred letter instead.

Unlike Lowell (which uses Overdales Solicitors) or Cabot (which uses Mortimer Clarke Solicitors), Intrum does not have an in-house legal arm. They use an external network of panel solicitor firms for litigation work. So a Letter Before Claim or county court claim form on an unfamiliar solicitor's letterhead is normal if Intrum has decided to escalate. The solicitor is acting as Intrum's agent. Your rights against the solicitor are the same as your rights against Intrum: demand proof of the debt, demand a copy of the Notice of Assignment, and respond within the 30-day PAPDC window.

Yes, via one of their external panel solicitors. In England and Wales the typical sequence is: Intrum demand letters, then a Letter Before Claim from one of Intrum's panel firms under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, then, if no response, a county court claim form (N1). In Scotland the process runs through the Sheriff Court and produces a Decree rather than a CCJ. You have 30 days to respond to a Letter Before Claim. Defending an Intrum claim is realistic where the documentation is incomplete or the debt is statute-barred.

The Swedish parent Intrum AB went through a court-supervised financial restructuring in 2024 and 2025, including a Chapter 11 process in the United States and a parallel Swedish company reorganisation. Both were confirmed by the courts and are now complete. Intrum AB emerged from the process in July 2025 with a restructured balance sheet. UK operations continued normally throughout, and Intrum UK Limited remains an active, FCA-authorised company. The restructuring does not affect your legal rights when responding to an Intrum debt letter.

Only if the debt is valid, enforceable, and not statute-barred. Intrum must be able to evidence: the original credit agreement signed by you (under section 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for regulated agreements), a Default Notice from the original creditor under sections 87 and 88 of the same Act, and a Notice of Assignment under section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925 confirming the debt was lawfully sold to Intrum. If any of these cannot be produced on request, the debt is not enforceable through the courts. Send a Prove the Debt letter before agreeing to anything.

No. Under section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 and FCA CONC 7.9, debt collectors and their appointed agents cannot use threats, frequent unreasonable phone calls, contact your employer, or contact you at unsociable hours. Intrum operates a partner network of debt collection agencies, panel solicitors, and specialist firms. The same rules bind all of them. If you are getting repeated calls, write to demand cessation of all phone contact and correspondence by post only. You can complain to the FCA and escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they do not comply.