Moorcroft: what a letter means and what to do

Before you do anything else, check the letter is about a debt you recognise, and do not pay until you are sure the details are right. A collection letter is not a court document, and Moorcroft has no special legal powers. You have time to check, ask questions and get free advice.

Who are Moorcroft, and why are they contacting you?

The company is Moorcroft Debt Recovery Limited, registered at Companies House under number 01703704. It was incorporated on 2 March 1983, has its registered office in Stockport and is wholly owned by Moorcroft Group plc (company number 01704109).

It has been authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority since 10 May 2016, with firm reference number 714738. Its FCA permissions include debt collecting, debt administration and exercising a lender’s rights under regulated credit agreements. It is not allowed to hold client money. Trading names on the register include MDR and Moorcroft Group. Moorcroft Group plc had its own FCA registration, but that has been marked “no longer authorised” since 1 February 2018; the authorised firm is Moorcroft Debt Recovery Limited. Moorcroft’s website says it is a member of the Credit Services Association, a trade body for debt collectors, and follows its code of practice.

Moorcroft is a debt collection agency, not an enforcement agency. You may see it called “Moorcroft bailiffs” online, but we found no evidence that it acts as a bailiff firm. A separate company, Moorcroft Group Holdings Limited, was registered in Northern Ireland in September 2026 and is unrelated.

Why you might have had a letter

Usually, an account in your name has fallen behind or defaulted, and the company you owe has passed it to Moorcroft to collect. Sometimes a debt has been sold to another company, which then asks a collector to recover it. The letter should say which: anyone contacting you must explain who they work for, their role and why they are in touch.

Moorcroft’s website says it is authorised and regulated by the FCA for accounts formed under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (for example, loans and credit cards). The FCA’s debt collection rules apply to collecting debts under credit agreements. If your debt is something else, such as a household bill that is not a credit agreement, those rules may not apply, although the general law still does.

Is the debt really yours, and is the amount right?

Collection letters sometimes reach the wrong person: someone with a similar name, a former occupant of your address, or a victim of identity fraud. Check before you pay or admit anything.

1. Compare the letter with your own records: your name, your address at the time, the original creditor, the account number and the balance.
2. Write to Moorcroft asking for the name of the original creditor, the account number, the date of default, a breakdown of the balance, who owns the debt now and, if it was sold, a copy of the notice of assignment. FCA rules say firms must give you information on the arrears and the balance.
3. For a loan, credit card or other regulated credit agreement, you can ask the creditor that owns the debt for a copy of the agreement and a statement, by writing and paying £1. 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 to see if the account is listed.
5. If the debt is old, check whether it 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. A payment, or a signed written acknowledgement, made before then restarts the clock.

If you dispute the debt, say so in writing and explain why. Where a debt is disputed on valid grounds, or what appear to be valid grounds, the firm must suspend collection, investigate and tell you the outcome. It must not pursue someone it knows, or believes, might not be the person who owes the money. If you tell it the debt is statute-barred, it must not keep demanding payment.

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

These rules come from the FCA’s CONC 7 rules on contact, visits and misrepresenting authority. FCA guidance also says visiting you at your workplace, or in hospital, would normally be inappropriate.

If a credit debt ever reached the stage of bailiffs, the creditor would first need a County Court Judgment and then a warrant of control. Judgments on regulated consumer credit agreements can only be enforced in the County Court, by county court bailiffs.

What should you do at each stage?

When the first letter arrives

Open it and read it, even if you cannot pay. Check the details as set out above and reply in writing. If you are going to get debt advice, tell Moorcroft: when a firm is told that you, or someone helping you, is working out a repayment plan, it must pause active collection for a reasonable period.

If they phone you

You do not have to agree anything on the phone. You can ask to be contacted in writing only, and firms must pay due regard to reasonable requests about when, where and how you are contacted. Note the date, time and the name of anyone you speak to.

If someone visits

You do not have to let them in. Ask to see identification. If you want them to go, ask them to leave: they must not refuse when reasonably asked, and they must leave if it becomes clear you are unduly distressed. They must not visit when they know or suspect you may be particularly vulnerable, or visit without your agreement when the debt is disputed.

If you want to offer a payment

Work out a budget first, so you know what you can afford after rent or mortgage, council tax, energy and food. Priority debts come before a debt like this one. The firm must give due consideration to a reasonable offer and, if it refuses, explain why. If it accepts a reduced settlement, it must confirm that clearly; get this in writing before you pay.

If you get a Letter of Claim or court papers

A Letter of Claim is the last step before court. You have 30 days from the date on it to reply using the reply form, and saying you are getting debt advice should hold off court action for at least 30 days after the creditor receives your reply. If a court claim arrives, respond by the date on it; if you are not paying in full, you can ask for another 14 days. Ignoring a claim usually leads to a County Court Judgment, which stays on the public register for 6 years unless you pay in full within one month.

Is this letter or call really from Moorcroft?

Scammers sometimes use the names of real collection agencies. Genuine contact should name the original creditor and give you an account reference you can check.

• Use the contact details on your own paperwork, the original creditor’s official website, or the details listed for Moorcroft Debt Recovery Limited on the FCA Financial Services Register (firm reference number 714738).
• Do not rely on a phone number found through a search engine or given in an unexpected text, email or call.
• A genuine firm must not make you call a premium rate number.
• Be wary of anyone who pushes you to pay immediately into an account you do not recognise, or asks for your online banking passwords. If in doubt, stop and ring the original creditor on a number you trust to confirm the account was passed to Moorcroft.

How do debt solutions affect Moorcroft?

A formal or informal debt solution can change how Moorcroft deals with you, depending on which one you use:

• 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: you make one monthly payment, shared between your creditors. It is informal: creditors do not have to agree, freeze interest or stop action. Free plans are available from StepChange, PayPlan and through National Debtline’s partner.
• 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 run for 5 or 6 years, fees are taken from your payments, and it usually stays on your credit file for 6 years from the start date.
• A debt relief order: 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. Creditors cannot ask for payment of listed debts during the order.
• Bankruptcy: after a bankruptcy order, creditors owed debts in the bankruptcy have no remedy against your property or you personally for those debts.

Each option has costs, conditions and long-term effects, and none is right for everyone. The debt solutions comparison sets them side by side. If you live in Scotland, IVAs, DROs and Breathing Space are not available: see debt solutions in Scotland.

How do you complain about Moorcroft?

1. Complain to Moorcroft in writing. Say what happened, with dates and names if you have them, and what you want done. Keep copies.
2. If you are unhappy with its final response, or 8 weeks have passed since it received your complaint, you can take a complaint about collecting a credit debt to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You normally have 6 months from the final response to do this.
3. If Moorcroft is collecting on behalf of the original creditor, you can complain to the creditor as well.

Harassing someone with payment demands calculated to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or falsely claiming official authority to collect a debt, can also be a criminal offence. Our guide to dealing with debt collectors explains your rights in more detail.

What to do next

1. Check the letter against your records and reply in writing, asking for any details you need.
2. If you cannot pay, tell Moorcroft you are getting debt advice so collection is paused while you work out a plan.
3. Get free, impartial debt advice from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline. See where to get free debt advice.
4. Keep copies of every letter, and notes of every call and visit.