How to Complain About a Debt Collection Agency or Bank (UK)

A debt collection agency, bank or lender that treats you unfairly has to answer a written complaint, by a deadline set in the FCA’s rules. Owing the money does not take that right away, and a calm, dated letter usually does more than an angry phone call.

This is general information about the rules in the UK. We don’t give financial advice.

Can you complain about a debt collection agency?

Yes. Debt collection is regulated by the FCA, so the same complaint rules apply to a debt collection agency, a debt purchaser that has bought your debt, and the bank or lender you first borrowed from.

Complain to the firm whose behaviour you are unhappy with. If an agency is collecting on behalf of your lender, you can complain to the agency, and send a copy to the lender as well.

The Financial Ombudsman’s debt collecting page says it can look at the collection of most types of credit, but not debts such as “council tax, utility bills, court fines or rent arrears”.

The complaint timeline at a glance

Complaints about payment services, such as a bank transfer or a direct debit, have a shorter deadline: usually 15 business days (DISP 1.6.2AR).

Prefer to watch first? This video covers who you can complain about, the complaint timeline, how to dispute a debt, the 8-week rule and when the Financial Ombudsman can step in.

Watch · 13 min

When is a complaint worth making?

You do not need to quote any rules to complain. It is still worth knowing which behaviour the FCA’s debt collection rules forbid, because it turns “this felt wrong” into a clear point the firm has to answer. A firm:

• “must not contact customers at unreasonable times” (CONC 7.9.4R);
• must not pressurise you “to raise funds to repay the debt by selling their property, borrowing money or increasing existing borrowing” (CONC 7.3.10R);
• “must not unfairly disclose or threaten to disclose information relating to the customer’s debt to a third party” (CONC 7.9.6R);
• “must not use official looking documents which are designed to, or are likely to, mislead a customer as to the status of the firm” (CONC 7.11.3R);
• must not threaten court action “in order to pressurise” you to pay more than you can reasonably afford (CONC 7.3.18R);
• “must treat customers in or approaching arrears or in default with forbearance and due consideration” (CONC 7.3.4R).

Other common reasons to complain: you were chased after you disputed the debt, the firm ignored health or vulnerability information you gave it, charges were added that nobody explained, or you were pushed into payments you could not keep up.

If contact has become relentless or threatening, our debt collector harassment guide sets out the rules in more detail, and keeping a dated log of every call and letter turns a feeling into evidence.

How to dispute a debt with a collection agency

Disputing a debt is different from complaining about how you were treated, and the rules are on your side.

In plain English: if you say, with a real reason, that the debt is not yours, does not exist or is the wrong amount, the agency must stop chasing while it investigates, and it has to prove the debt, not you. The FCA gives those three as examples of valid grounds (CONC 7.14.2G).

Put the dispute in writing and say which of the three it is. If you want the paperwork behind the debt, the Useful Documents page has free letters asking for a copy of the credit agreement and for the personal data the firm holds about you. If the agency carries on chasing while your dispute is open, that is a complaint in its own right.

How to make a complaint, step by step

1Work out exactly what you are complaining about

Write one or two sentences that sum it up, for example “You kept phoning me at work after I asked you to write instead.” A firm cannot investigate what it cannot follow.

2Gather the evidence

Collect the letters, emails, texts, call log and statements, in date order. Send copies, never originals.

3Write it down, in order

Say what happened, when, why it was unfair, how it affected you (including your health), and what you want the firm to do. The free letter below is set out in that order.

4Send it in a way you can prove

Email the complaints team if the firm names one, and keep the sent copy. If you post it, keep proof of postage. Keep the complaint separate from any payment discussion, so it is clear what you want investigated.

5Keep the acknowledgement and note the dates

Put a reminder in your diary for eight weeks after the firm received it. Keep a note of any calls: the date, the time and who you spoke to.

6Check the final response, then decide

If the answer puts things right, you are done. If not, the Financial Ombudsman is the next step, within six months.

Free complaint letter

Copy this into an email or a letter, replace the highlighted parts and delete any lines that do not apply.

The 8-week rule

In plain English: the eight weeks run from the day the firm receives your complaint, not the day you wrote it. By then it must either give you its answer or write to explain why it cannot yet, and either letter must tell you that you can now go to the Ombudsman.

The firm must also send you a prompt written acknowledgement on receiving the complaint, and keep you informed of progress (DISP 1.6.1R).

If it is “resolved” within three days

Many complaints are settled on the phone in a day or two. If the firm resolves it by the close of business on the third business day after receiving it, it sends a shorter summary resolution communication instead of a final response (DISP 1.5.4R). It must still tell you that if you are later unhappy, you may be able to refer the complaint to the Ombudsman. The six-month window runs from that letter, so keep it.

Check your final response

A final response must either accept your complaint, offer to put things right without accepting it, or reject it “and gives reasons for doing so”. Under DISP 1.6.2R it must also:

• enclose the Financial Ombudsman’s explanatory leaflet;
• give the Ombudsman’s website address;
• tell you that you “may now refer” the complaint to the Ombudsman;
• say whether the firm agrees to waive the Ombudsman’s time limits.

Then check it against your complaint:

• Has it answered every point, or only the easy ones?
• Has it dealt with the evidence you sent?
• If it rejects the complaint, does it give reasons?
• What is the date on it? That date starts your six months.

A final response that leaves out what the rules require is a point to raise in its own right.

Taking it to the Financial Ombudsman

In plain English: you can go to the Ombudsman once you have the firm’s answer, or once eight weeks have passed without one. You do not have to wait for a final response that never comes. Once you have the final response, you have six months. The longer limits (six years from the event, or three years from when you knew) do not count against you if you complained to the firm in time and kept its acknowledgement, which is why that letter matters.

The Ombudsman can still look at a late complaint if the delay was due to exceptional circumstances, or if the firm agrees to it.

You can complain online through the Financial Ombudsman Service’s website, by phone on 0800 023 4567 (8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday) or by post to Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR. Our Useful Documents page has a free referral letter if you prefer to write.

What the Ombudsman can award

The Ombudsman decides what is fair and reasonable in your case. Its maximum money award for complaints referred from 1 April 2026 is £455,000, or £205,000 where the problem happened before 1 April 2019 (DISP 3.7.4R). Most debt complaints are about putting an account right, not large sums.

Who pays for a complaint?

Not you. The Financial Ombudsman Service’s own complaints page says: “Our service is free and easy to use. You don’t need to pay anyone to represent you, for example, a lawyer or claims management company (CMC).”

In plain English: if a claims firm charges you a fee or a share of what you get back, you are paying for a process you can use for free. A friend or family member can help you instead.

If your health or circumstances make things harder

If debt contact is affecting your mental or physical health, say so in the complaint: what you told the firm, when, who you told, what you asked it to do differently and what happened next.

The FCA’s Consumer Duty is blunt about the standard: “A firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers” (PRIN 2.1.1R, Principle 12). Framing your points as outcomes keeps the focus on what the firm did, for example “I explained my situation twice and the same demand was repeated.”

In England and Wales, someone receiving mental health crisis treatment can get a mental health crisis breathing space, which pauses most creditor action and can last until 30 days after the treatment ends (Debt Respite Scheme Regulations 2020). It is applied for through what the regulations call a “debt advice provider”, not directly.

If you are struggling with the payments too

Many complaints start with a payment demand you cannot meet. A complaint about affordability is far stronger with your real figures: what comes in, your priority bills and essential costs, and what is genuinely left.

What to ask for

A complaint is much stronger when it ends with a specific ask. Vague complaints get vague answers. Depending on what happened, you might ask the firm to:

• correct the balance or remove charges you dispute;
• pause collection while it checks a disputed debt;
• confirm in writing who owns the debt and what it holds;
• change how it contacts you, for example in writing only;
• correct what it has reported to your credit file;
• explain a decision in plain English;
• pay compensation for the distress or inconvenience caused.

Your complaint checklist

1. Decide exactly what you are complaining about.
2. Write it in date order, briefly.
3. Attach copies of your evidence.
4. Say what was unfair, how it affected you and what you want.
5. Send it in a way you can prove.
6. Keep the firm’s acknowledgement.
7. Diarise eight weeks from the day the firm received it.
8. Check the final response against the rules and your points.
9. If you are unhappy, refer it to the Ombudsman within six months.

FAQs · Complaints