Pastdue Credit: what a letter means and what to do

Check which company the letter is for before anything else, because Pastdue works for energy and water companies, phone providers, lenders and government departments, and the rules differ between them. A letter from Pastdue is not a court document, and it gives the firm no special legal powers. You have time to check the details, ask questions and get free advice. Pastdue is based in Scotland but collects across the UK, so this guide covers England and Wales, with notes for Scotland.

Who are Pastdue (Past Due) Credit Solutions, and why are they contacting you?

Pastdue Credit Solutions Limited is registered in Scotland at Companies House under number SC287794. It was incorporated on 21 July 2005, is active, and has its registered office in Clydebank, near Glasgow. Its registered business activities include collection agencies and call centres.

It has been authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority since 22 March 2016, firm reference number 703411, with permission for debt collecting and debt administration. It cannot hold client money. Its trading names on the FCA register are Past Due Credit Solutions and PDCS, and it previously also traded as Pastdue Customer Solutions. Its website says it is a member of the Credit Services Association, the trade body for debt collectors.

Who owns Pastdue?

Firstsource Solutions, a business process services company, announced on 18 July 2025 that it had agreed to buy Pastdue, subject to FCA approval. Companies House shows Firstsource Solutions UK Limited took control on 11 December 2025, replacing the two individuals who had previously owned the company. Pastdue still trades under its own name, and describes itself as “a Firstsource company”.

Who Pastdue collects for

Pastdue says: “We do not own any of the accounts we service.” It collects for energy, water, telecoms and financial services companies and for government departments, and names HMRC tax debts including VAT, Self Assessment, Corporation Tax, Class 2 National Insurance and PAYE. Its complaints page has separate procedures for HMRC customers and for United Utilities (water) customers. GOV.UK lists it among the agencies HMRC may use for unpaid tax, and among those the DWP may pass benefit overpayment cases to.

Is the debt yours, and is the amount right?

Energy and water debts often follow a house move, so letters can reach a new occupant or be addressed to someone who has left. Check before you pay or admit anything.

1. Look at the “on behalf of” details: the creditor, the account or reference number, the address the account was for and the balance.
2. If the named person does not live with you, say so. Pastdue’s website has a form for this, or you can return the letter.
3. If you do not recognise the debt, write to Pastdue asking for the name of the creditor, the account number, the supply address and dates, and a breakdown of the balance. For an energy bill, ask for the final statement and the meter readings used. See how to ask a creditor to prove a debt.
4. For a loan or credit card, you can ask the creditor that owns the debt for a copy of the credit 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.
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. In Scotland, most debts are extinguished after 5 years without a payment, a clear written acknowledgement or a court claim.

Energy bills: two things to check

• Prepayment meters: Pastdue points out that “even if you pay for your energy through a pre-payment meter, you can still owe money to your current or former energy supplier when you change your supplier or move address.” Ask the supplier for the final statement so you can see how the balance arose.
• Catch-up bills: if your supplier did not bill you correctly, it cannot bill you for energy used more than 12 months before the bill, unless you blocked access to the meter or acted unreasonably.

If you dispute a credit debt, say so in writing with your reasons: the firm must suspend collection while it investigates and tell you the outcome. For an energy or water bill, raise the dispute with the supplier as well, because it holds the account records.

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

For HMRC debts, GOV.UK says its agencies only contact you by letter, text message or phone and will never visit your home or place of work. For credit debts, FCA rules stop collectors pressuring you, contacting you at unreasonable times, or pretending to have powers they do not have.

Most of what Pastdue collects, such as energy, water, phone and tax debts, is not credit, so those FCA rules may not strictly apply, although the general law does. Ofgem’s rules still require energy suppliers to work with you on a payment plan you can afford, which can include payment breaks or reductions, more time to pay, and access to hardship funds. In England and Wales, a water company cannot disconnect your household water supply because of arrears.

What should you do at each stage?

When the letter arrives

Read it and check who it is for. If you owe the money but cannot pay yet, reply anyway. Pastdue warns that ignoring its letters “may lead to further contact from us and other debt collection agencies”. If you are getting debt advice, tell Pastdue: for credit debts, a firm told that you or an adviser are working out a repayment plan must pause active collection for a reasonable period.

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. Some of the debts Pastdue handles, such as tax and energy, can be priority debts. For HMRC debts, you can pay the agency or discuss a Time to Pay arrangement; if you cannot do either, the agency passes the case back to HMRC. For energy and water debts, ask the supplier about hardship funds or social tariffs too.

If you pay by continuous payment authority (regular payments from a debit card), you can cancel it through your card issuer. Pastdue’s website also explains how to ask it to cancel or change one.

If court action follows

Pastdue does not own the accounts it collects, so any court action would be taken by the creditor. In England and Wales, a business should normally send a Letter of Claim before suing and give you 30 days to reply. If a claim form arrives, respond by the date on it; if you are not paying in full, you can ask for another 14 days. A county court judgment stays on the public register for 6 years unless you pay in full within one calendar month.

For benefit overpayments, GOV.UK says the DWP can ask your employer to take deductions from your pay, and its Debt Enforcement Team can make a court claim if you do not respond. In Scotland, debt claims go to the sheriff court, and enforcement is carried out by sheriff officers, not collection agencies.

How do debt solutions affect Pastdue?

The effect depends on which debt it is:

• Breathing Space pauses contact, interest, charges and enforcement on included debts for up to 60 days (England and Wales only).
• A debt management plan is informal: creditors do not have to agree to it, freeze interest or stop action.
• 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, but not every debt can be included. 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. See does an IVA stop debt collectors?
• A debt relief order is for 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.
• After a bankruptcy order, creditors owed debts in the bankruptcy have no remedy against your property or you personally for those debts.

Each has costs, conditions 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: see debt solutions in Scotland.

How do you complain about Pastdue Credit Solutions?

1. Complain to Pastdue by email or in writing, using the details on your letter or its website, with your reference and what went wrong. It says it follows the FCA’s dispute handling rules, and it publishes separate complaints procedures for HMRC customers, United Utilities customers and everyone else.
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, normally within 6 months of the final response.
3. For other debts, complain to the organisation that passed the debt on. If it is an energy supplier and the complaint is not sorted within 8 weeks, or the supplier says it can do no more, you can go to the Energy Ombudsman.
4. Because Pastdue says it is a Credit Services Association member, you can also use the CSA’s complaints procedure if you feel a member has treated you unfairly.

Harassing someone with payment demands calculated to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or falsely claiming official authority to collect a debt, can be a criminal offence. Our guide to dealing with debt collectors sets out your wider rights.

Is this letter really from Pastdue?

• Check Pastdue Credit Solutions Limited on the FCA register (firm reference number 703411). Letters may use Pastdue, Past Due Credit Solutions or PDCS.
• For tax debts, GOV.UK lists the agencies HMRC uses. They ask security questions, and they will never visit you.
• Use contact details from your own paperwork, the creditor’s official website or the FCA register. Do not rely on a number or link in an unexpected text or email.
• Be wary of anyone pushing you to pay at once into an account you do not recognise. If in doubt, contact the creditor directly to confirm it has passed your account to Pastdue.

What to do next

1. Check which organisation the debt is for, and the address and dates it relates to.
2. If you owe it, offer an amount you can keep up. If you do not, say so in writing and ask for a final statement.
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 letters, and notes of calls with dates and names.