Empira: what a letter means and what to do

The first thing to work out is which kind of letter you have. If it is about a parking charge from a private car park, or a debt with no court order behind it, Empira is acting as a collector and cannot take anything from you. If it is a notice of enforcement for council tax, business rates or a High Court writ, a court order already exists and enforcement agents can visit once the notice period ends. This guide covers England and Wales.

Who are Empira?

Empira is registered at Companies House as EMPIRA LTD, company number 13256532. It is an active private limited company, incorporated on 10 March 2021, with its registered office in Warrington. Its only person with significant control is an individual who is also one of its directors, and Companies House shows no parent company. Empira’s website gives the same company number and describes the firm as providing nationwide enforcement of High Court and civil enforcement orders.

Is Empira regulated?

Empira Limited has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) since October 2023. It is a corporate member of CIVEA, the Civil Enforcement Association. Empira says one of its directors is an authorised High Court enforcement officer, and the High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) directory lists Empira among the firms that officer works with. Empira also says it is an accredited service provider of the International Parking Community, a trade body for private parking.

The ECB is independent but voluntary, and CIVEA, the HCEOA and the International Parking Community are trade associations: there is no statutory regulator for bailiffs yet. We found no FCA register entry for Empira.

Why are Empira contacting you?

Empira lists parking charge enforcement, council tax, business rates, High Court enforcement, commercial rent arrears recovery and lease forfeiture, removal of unauthorised encampments, and sundry debt. Its FAQs say it acts for various organisations collecting civil and High Court enforcement orders.

A private parking charge or other unpaid bill

A parking charge from a private car park, such as a supermarket or retail park, is not a fine and has no court order behind it. At this stage Empira is collecting a debt for the operator. It has no power to enter your home or take your goods. The operator would have to take you to court and get a County Court Judgment first, and only then could it use enforcement. Our guide to what bailiffs can and cannot do explains when bailiffs have legal authority.

If you think the charge is wrong, challenge it with the parking operator. If your challenge is rejected and the operator is a member of the International Parking Community, you can appeal to the Independent Appeals Service. For other debts, ask for the name of the creditor, what the debt is for and a breakdown of the amount, and see how to ask a creditor to prove a debt. Empira says it can pursue a County Court Judgment or writ of control for sundry debts if they stay unpaid, so do not ignore a court claim if one arrives: respond by the date on it.

Council tax or business rates

The council gets a liability order from the magistrates’ court, and can then instruct enforcement agents without going back to court. Our guide to council tax bailiffs covers this stage, including asking the council to take the debt back.

A High Court writ

A creditor with a County Court Judgment can transfer it to the High Court for enforcement. Judgments of £5,000 or more must be enforced there; judgments under £600 must stay in the County Court; between the two, the creditor can choose. Empira lists High Court judgments, County Court Judgments over £600, employment tribunal awards, possession orders and writs of delivery.

Any judgment on a regulated consumer credit agreement, such as a credit card, personal loan or catalogue account, can only be enforced in the County Court, whatever the amount, and the creditor needs the court’s permission to issue a writ 6 years or more after the judgment. See our guide to High Court enforcement officers.

Is the debt yours, and is it right?

Check the name, address, creditor, reference number and amount. Empira’s FAQs say enforcement continues until the court withdraws the order or the debt is paid, so if you dispute a council tax or court debt, raise it with the council or court directly. If a letter is for someone who does not live with you, Empira asks you to tell it, with any forwarding details you have. If you never knew about a court claim that led to a writ, you may be able to have the judgment set aside: see how to remove or set aside a CCJ.

What can Empira do, and what can they not do?

Notice

Before agents can take control of your goods, you must get a notice of enforcement at least 14 clear days beforehand. If a debt adviser asks on your behalf before those days run out, this extends to at least 28 clear days (not for some business debts). For cases that started before 1 May 2026, the old 7-day notice period still applies.

Fees

Empira’s FAQs say enforcement fees are set by law, not by the firm, and that the new rates apply depending on when it received the case. A parking charge or collection letter carries none of these fees. Council tax and business rates use the standard scale:

High Court writs use a higher scale:

The old scales apply to cases started before 1 May 2026, because the 2026 regulations do not affect enforcement action taken before that date. For example, on council tax arrears of £800 in a new case, the compliance fee takes the total to £879, and a visit adds £247, making £1,126. Ask Empira for a written breakdown if the charges do not match these tables.

Entry and goods

You usually do not have to let an enforcement agent in. They cannot come in by pushing past you, when only children under 16 or vulnerable people are present, between 9pm and 6am, or through anything except a door. They can only force entry to a home to collect criminal fines, Income Tax or Stamp Duty, and only as a last resort. Council tax, business rates and ordinary High Court money judgments are not on that list.

If you let them in, they can take control of goods you own that are not protected. They cannot take essentials such as clothes, beds, a cooker or fridge, a washing machine, work tools and equipment together worth less than £1,350, or anything belonging to someone else. They could clamp or take a car you own from outside, unless it displays a valid Blue Badge and is used to carry the badge holder. Empira’s FAQs describe removing goods as a last resort.

Vulnerable people

Empira says its staff are trained in welfare and can point you to support organisations. Tell Empira and the creditor about illness, disability, mental health problems or anything else that makes things harder, with evidence if you have it. For council tax, only the council can take the case back, so tell it directly too.

What should you do at each stage?

If you get a parking charge or collection letter

Reply in writing. If you dispute the charge or debt, say so and ask for evidence. If you owe it, offer what you can afford after your priority debts, such as rent, council tax and energy.

If you get a notice of enforcement

Note the date and work out when the notice period ends (Sundays, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day do not count). Paying in full before a visit avoids the enforcement fee. If you cannot, offer an amount you can keep up. For a High Court writ, you can also ask the court to stay (pause) it if you cannot pay; your witness statement must set out your finances.

If an agent visits or leaves a note

Empira’s FAQs say that if an agent leaves a handwritten note, you should contact them straight away. Ask for identification, and check whether the person is a certificated enforcement agent on the official register. If you sign a controlled goods agreement, only agree to payments you can keep up; if you break it, the agent must give you at least 2 clear days of written notice before coming back.

Is this letter or call really from Empira?

• Empira says its letters always carry a reference number, which you can use to register an online account and see the details of your debt. If you are unsure about a call, it says you should hang up and ring the number on its official website.
• Use the contact details on your own paperwork, or on the creditor’s or Empira’s official website. This page deliberately does not list the firm’s contact details.
• Be wary of pressure to pay at once into an account you do not recognise.

How do debt solutions affect Empira?

• Breathing Space pauses enforcement action and stops creditors contacting you about included debts for up to 60 days. Council tax is only covered once arrears have built up.
• A debt management plan is informal. Creditors can still take action even if you keep up the payments.
• An IVA is a legally binding agreement under the Insolvency Act 1986. Creditors bound by it cannot take further action to recover the debts included in it; secured debts, and debts that cannot be included, are outside it.
• During a debt relief order, a creditor owed a listed debt has no remedy for it without the court’s permission. DROs are free, for people with debts under £50,000, less than £75 a month spare, assets under £2,000 and a vehicle worth less than £4,000.
• After a bankruptcy order, creditors owed debts in the bankruptcy have no remedy against your property or you personally for those debts. Bankruptcy costs £680 to apply for.

Each has costs, conditions and long-term effects on your credit file. The debt solutions comparison sets them side by side.

How do you complain about Empira?

1. Complain to Empira first, in writing, using its consumer complaints procedure, which is linked from its website. Give your reference number and any evidence.
2. The Enforcement Conduct Board: because Empira is accredited, the ECB can review an enforcement complaint about events from 1 January 2025 once you have been through Empira’s process. Complain within 3 months of becoming aware of the problem, or within 1 month of the firm’s final response.
3. The creditor: complain to the council, parking operator or other creditor as well. If you are unhappy with a council’s response, you can go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, or in Wales the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. For a High Court officer, you can also complain to the HCEOA.
4. The court: for serious misconduct by a certificated enforcement agent, you can complain to the court on form EAC2. GOV.UK explains how to complain about a bailiff.

Our guide to dealing with debt collectors covers your rights with collection agencies in more detail.

What to do next

1. Work out whether you have a parking charge or collection letter, a court claim, or a notice of enforcement. Each needs a different response.
2. Check the debt, reply in writing, and keep copies of everything. If a notice period is running, act before it ends.
3. Get free, impartial debt advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline. An adviser can ask for more time, help with a court application and look at all your debts together. See where to get free debt advice.