Proserve: what a letter means and what to do

A notice of enforcement from Proserve gives you a short window before an agent can visit, and a visit adds at least £247 to what you owe. Use that time to check the debt with the creditor and get free advice. This page covers England and Wales.

Who are Proserve?

The company is PROSERVE DEBT RECOVERY & BAILIFF SERVICES LTD, company number 07458475. It is an active private limited company, incorporated on 2 December 2010, with its registered office in Colwyn Bay, Conwy. Companies House lists one individual as its current person with significant control, holding more than 25% but not more than 50%; a second person stopped being listed on 29 July 2026. Proserve says the business was established in 1994, before the current company was formed.

Companies House also lists PROSERVE DEBT RECOVERY & PCN SERVICES LIMITED (10298465), an active company incorporated in July 2016 and also registered in Colwyn Bay. Check the full company name on your letter.

Proserve Debt Recovery & Bailiff Services Ltd has been accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) since October 2023. It is not on the CIVEA members list. There is no statutory regulator for bailiffs yet.

Why are Proserve contacting you?

Proserve’s website lists:

• Penalty charge notices for councils. It has pages on its work for Gwynedd, Anglesey, Denbighshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Hull, Mid Devon and Torridge councils. After an order for recovery, bailiffs can be sent under a warrant of control.
• Business rates, which councils can only enforce through agents after getting a liability order.
• Commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR) for landlords of commercial premises, which needs no court order.
• Trade debts, employment tribunal awards and High Court enforcement, which it says it offers through its associates, Millbank Ltd. See High Court enforcement officers.
• Tenant evictions, tracing and process serving.

Proserve offers a bilingual Welsh and English service.

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

Proserve’s agents follow the same law as every bailiff in England and Wales:

• Notice. At least 14 clear days before an agent can take control of goods, or 28 if a debt adviser asks (not for some business debts). Cases started before 1 May 2026 keep the old 7-day period.
• Fees. For cases started from 1 May 2026, fees are fixed by law at £79 for compliance, £247 plus 7.5% of the debt above £1,900 from the first visit and £116 plus the same percentage for sale, with a separate High Court scale in our guide to what bailiffs can and cannot do. When we checked, Proserve’s fees page showed the scale for older cases.
• Entry. You usually do not have to let an agent in, and they cannot force entry to a home for a parking penalty, business rates or a court judgment.
• Clamping. An agent who clamps a car must leave a notice with a 24-hour contact number. Removing the clamp yourself can be a criminal offence of interfering with controlled goods.

What should you do now?

1. Check the notice. Confirm the creditor, the penalty or account reference and the amount.
2. Count the days until the notice period ends, leaving out Sundays and bank holidays.
3. Contact the creditor as well as Proserve. Only the council or other creditor can withdraw the case.
4. Offer an amount you can keep up before a visit, and get a receipt for every payment.
5. Get free debt advice. See where to get free debt advice and the debt solutions comparison.

How do you complain about Proserve?

1. Complain to Proserve in writing. It says it acknowledges complaints on the day they arrive, or the next working day, and decides within 14 days. You can ask its Managing Director for a review, preferably within 7 days of the decision, and it aims to reply within 7 days.
2. Complain to the creditor. For a council, you can then go to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, or in England the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
3. The ECB investigates complaints about accredited firms. Complain within 3 months of becoming aware of the problem, or within 1 month of the firm’s final response.
4. For serious misconduct by a certificated agent, you can complain to the court on form EAC2.

See also dealing with debt collectors.

Is the letter really from Proserve?

Ask the council or creditor, using contact details you already trust, whether it has passed your case to Proserve. This page does not list Proserve’s phone numbers or payment details. Ask any agent for identification and check the certificated enforcement agent register.