Capquest: what a letter means and what to do

A letter from Capquest is not a court document. Because Capquest manages accounts for several owners, and because Arrow Global’s UK accounts changed hands in 2023, the first job is to work out who owns your debt now. Then check that it is yours and the balance is right. This guide covers England and Wales.

Who are Capquest, and why are they contacting you?

Letters come from Capquest Debt Recovery Limited (“CDR”), company number 03772278, incorporated in 1999 and active, with its registered office in Manchester. It has been authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority since 18 August 2016, firm reference number 721513. Its permissions include debt collecting, debt administration and exercising a lender’s rights under regulated credit agreements, and it cannot hold client money.

Its trading names on the FCA register are Capquest, Capquest Secure, CDR and, since November 2024, Erudio and Erudio Student Loans. If your letter is about an older student loan, our guide to student loans and debt solutions explains how those loans are treated.

Capquest says it helps customers repay both defaulted debts and active accounts that still have a current credit agreement, and that it is authorised by the FCA and a member of the Credit Services Association. It also manages some loans for other lenders: for example, it says it has serviced Koyo loans for Koyo Finance 1 Ltd since July 2023.

Capquest, Arrow Global and Intrum: what changed

For many years Capquest was part of Arrow Global. That changed in 2023:

• Companies House shows Intrum UK Group Limited took control of Capquest Group Limited on 31 May 2023, replacing the previous owner, Quest Newco Limited. Since 22 May 2025, Capquest Debt Recovery Limited has been owned directly by Intrum AB, the Swedish parent of the Intrum group.
• Capquest says it became part of the Intrum group on 1 June 2023, and that some customers were sent a notice of assignment or a “change of permissions” letter at the time. Its website footer says CDR is part of the Intrum group.
• Arrow Global says that as of 31 May 2023 it sold the vast majority of its UK accounts to new owners, that both the new owners and Arrow appointed Capquest to administer them, and that all queries and complaints about Arrow Global UK accounts should go to Capquest. The FCA register shows Arrow Global Limited (firm reference number 718754) as no longer authorised since 31 May 2023.

Arrow Global now describes itself as an investment manager in private credit and real estate. So if you had an account with Arrow Global, Arrow Global Accounts Management or Capquest Investments, Capquest is normally the company to deal with now, and your paperwork should say who owns the debt. Our guide to Intrum covers the wider group.

Letters about a Global Substitution Order

Some people with an old County Court Judgment have had a letter about a “Global Substitution Order”. Capquest says these letters are for information only and tell you the name of the company that now owns your judgment. The orders it publishes substitute Arrow DAC, and then Intrum DAC, for Arrow Global companies and Capquest Investments Limited as the owners of those judgments. The judgment itself does not change: it still stays on the register for 6 years from the date it was made.

What a notice of assignment means

When a debt is sold, the sale only takes full legal effect once you have been told in writing, usually in a notice of assignment. For a regulated credit agreement, the new owner counts as the creditor, so your Consumer Credit Act rights now apply against it. Keep every notice you receive: it tells you who to pay.

Is the debt yours, and is the amount right?

Check before you pay or admit anything.

1. Compare the letter with your records: the original lender, the account number, your address at the time and the balance.
2. Ask Capquest in writing who owns the debt now, the original creditor and account number, the default date and a breakdown of the balance. Firms must give you information on the arrears and the balance. See how to ask a creditor to prove a debt.
3. For a regulated credit agreement, ask the creditor that owns the debt for a copy of the agreement and a statement, with a £1 fee. It has 12 working days to reply and cannot enforce the agreement while it fails to do so.
4. Check your credit file with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
5. Many Arrow and Capquest accounts are old, so check whether yours could be statute-barred. In England and Wales most debts cannot be recovered through the courts once 6 years have passed from when the creditor could first sue, but a payment or signed written acknowledgement before then restarts the clock. A county court judgment is different: there is no general time limit on enforcing it, although court permission is needed to send bailiffs 6 years or more after the judgment.

If you think Capquest has the wrong person, or the account belongs to someone who used to live at your address, Capquest asks you to contact it so it can correct its records. If you dispute the debt, put it in writing with your reasons. Where there are valid grounds, or what appear to be, the firm must suspend collection, investigate and tell you the outcome. It must not keep demanding payment once you say a debt is statute-barred.

What can Capquest do, and what can it not do?

These limits come from the FCA’s CONC 7 rules. Capquest says any company it uses to manage your account must meet its standards and be FCA regulated. Harassing someone with payment demands designed to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or falsely claiming official authority, can also be a criminal offence.

What should you do at each stage?

When the first letter arrives

Check who owns the debt and whether the details are right, and reply in writing if anything is wrong. If you are getting debt advice, tell Capquest: a firm told that you, or an adviser, are working out a repayment plan must pause active collection for a reasonable period.

If you can pay something

Budget first so priority bills such as rent or mortgage, council tax and energy come first. The firm must consider a reasonable offer and explain clearly if it refuses. Get any settlement in writing before you pay. Capquest also says it contacts people who may be due a refund because they overpaid or have a credit balance on a closed account.

If you get a Letter of Claim or court papers

Capquest says that if you do not get in touch, it may escalate collection, which could mean a default on your credit file and legal proceedings. A Letter of Claim should come with a reply form and give you 30 days to reply; saying you are getting debt advice should hold off court action for at least 30 days after the creditor receives your reply. If a claim form arrives, respond by the date on it; you can ask for another 14 days if you are not paying in full.

If you already have a CCJ

A county court judgment is removed from the register if you pay it in full within one calendar month. Otherwise it stays for 6 years from the judgment date and is marked satisfied once paid. To get a certificate of satisfaction, apply to the court on form N443; the fee is £19.

How do debt solutions affect Capquest?

• Breathing Space: creditors cannot contact you about included debts, add interest or charges, or take enforcement action, for up to 60 days (England and Wales only).
• A debt management plan: informal, so creditors do not have to agree, freeze interest or stop action.
• An IVA: a legally binding agreement under the Insolvency Act 1986. Creditors bound by it cannot take further action to recover the debts included in it. Protocol IVAs usually last 5 or 6 years, fees come out of your payments, and it usually stays on your credit file for 6 years from the start. Capquest says that if an insolvency firm is negotiating an IVA or trust deed for you, it will take the details and deal with them directly. See does an IVA stop debt collectors?
• A debt relief order: for debts under £50,000, less than £75 a month spare, assets under £2,000 and a vehicle worth less than £4,000.
• Bankruptcy: creditors owed debts in the bankruptcy have no remedy against your property or you personally for those debts.

Each has costs and long-term effects, and none suits everyone. The debt solutions comparison sets them side by side. IVAs, debt relief orders and Breathing Space are not available in Scotland.

How do you complain about Capquest?

1. Complain to Capquest using the complaints page on its website or the details on your letter. This also applies to accounts that used to be with Arrow Global: Arrow says complaints about those accounts go to Capquest.
2. For a credit debt, if you are unhappy with the final response, or 8 weeks have passed, you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You normally have 6 months from the final response.
3. If another company is acting for Capquest, you can complain to that company as well.

Our guide to dealing with debt collectors explains your wider rights.

Is this letter really from Capquest?

• A genuine letter gives a Capquest reference and explains who owns the account.
• Use the contact details on your letter, Capquest’s official website or the FCA register (firm reference number 721513). Do not rely on numbers or links in unexpected texts or emails.
• If unsure, ask the original lender, using details you already trust, what happened to your account.
• Be wary of anyone who rushes you to pay into an account you do not recognise.

What to do next

1. Find out who owns the debt now, and keep any notice of assignment or Global Substitution Order letter.
2. Check the details and ask in writing for anything missing.
3. Get free, impartial debt advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline. See where to get free debt advice.
4. If a Letter of Claim or court claim arrives, reply by the deadline.