What is a letter before action?

A letter before action (LBA) is a formal notice sent before starting court proceedings. It sets out your claim, the legal basis (e.g. Consumer Rights Act 2015, Housing Act 1988), the remedy you seek, and a deadline to respond — typically 14 days. Civil Procedure Rules require this step before most court claims, and courts take a dim view of parties who skip it.

Can I write my own legal letter?

Yes. You do not need a solicitor to write a legal letter. What matters is citing the correct legislation, stating your claim with precise dates and amounts, and giving a clear deadline. A well-drafted letter citing the right Act and section often resolves disputes without court proceedings — and costs nothing extra to send.

Does a legal letter actually work?

In many cases, yes. Most businesses, landlords, and employers respond when they receive a formally worded letter that cites specific legislation and mentions court or tribunal proceedings as the next step. It signals you know your rights and are prepared to escalate — which is often enough to get a resolution.

What UK legislation covers consumer complaints and refunds?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the primary law. Section 9 requires goods to be of satisfactory quality; section 20 gives you the right to a full refund within 30 days if goods are faulty. For services, section 49 requires reasonable care and skill. For distance/online purchases, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you a 14-day cooling-off period.

25 July 2026

Debt Collectors Harassing You? Your Rights — and How to Make Unlawful Contact Stop (UK)

Being chased for money you cannot easily pay is stressful on its own. But there is a point where a collector's behaviour stops being lawful recovery and becomes harassment — repeated calls after you have asked them to stop, contact late at night or at your workplace, threats of action that is not actually coming, or letters designed to look like official court documents. When a collector crosses that line, you are not powerless: several different bits of the law sit behind you at once.

This guide is general information for the UK, not legal advice on your specific situation. It focuses on consumer debts. Where the rules differ in Scotland this is flagged below.

Where the Line Falls: Lawful Contact vs Harassment

A creditor or debt collector is allowed to contact you about a genuine debt. Occasional reminders and demands for payment, at reasonable times and by reasonable means, are normal and lawful — even if you would rather they stopped. What tips it over into harassment is conduct that is excessive, oppressive, misleading or threatening. As a rough guide, the following are the kinds of behaviour that cross the line:

Contacting you an unreasonable number of times, or continuing at the same intensity after you have made a reasonable request to reduce or change how they contact you.
Calling at unreasonable hours, or repeatedly at your workplace after being asked not to.
Falsely claiming they can send bailiffs, have you arrested, or take legal action that is not actually available — including chasing a debt they know is statute-barred.
Pretending to have official or legal authority they do not have, or sending letters dressed up to look like court documents.
Discussing your debt with your family, employer or neighbours.
Any pressure calculated to cause you alarm, distress or humiliation.

The Three Legal Backstops

When a collector behaves this way, three separate legal frameworks may apply:

FCA conduct rules (CONC). The Financial Conduct Authority's Consumer Credit sourcebook sets out how regulated firms must handle arrears and contact customers. CONC 7.9 requires firms not to contact you at unreasonable times and to have due regard to reasonable requests about when and how you are contacted; CONC 7.3 prohibits disproportionate and oppressive treatment. These rules are backed by the Financial Ombudsman and the FCA's own supervisory powers.
Administration of Justice Act 1970, section 40. It is a criminal offence to harass someone with demands for payment that, by their frequency or manner, are calculated to subject them or their family to alarm, distress or humiliation — or to falsely claim that non-payment is a crime, or to falsely claim official authority to enforce the debt.
Protection from Harassment Act 1997. A course of conduct amounting to harassment is both a criminal offence and something you can sue over — for an injunction to stop it and for damages, including for the anxiety it caused.

An important point about the criminal route: section 40 of the 1970 Act is rarely prosecuted in practice. Its real value is usually as leverage — a firm reminded in writing that its conduct may be a criminal offence, and that you are keeping records, tends to fall back into line quickly. Treat it as legal backing for a firm letter, not as a criminal remedy you can rely on being enforced.

The Myth to Get Straight First

A letter telling a collector to stop harassing you does not make the debt disappear, and does not block lawful recovery. This is the single most important thing to understand. You can shape how a firm contacts you and put a stop to conduct that has crossed the line — but if the debt is genuine and not statute-barred, the creditor is still entitled to pursue it through lawful means: proper letters, a court claim, and enforcement if they win. The law specifically protects reasonable steps taken to recover a debt through the legal process. Anyone selling you a "stop all contact" letter as a way to wipe out a debt is misleading you.

What You Can Actually Ask For

You cannot demand total silence on a genuine debt. But you can make reasonable requests about how you are contacted, and a well-run regulated firm is expected to respect them:

Ask for contact in writing only, rather than by phone.
Ask them not to call you at work, or at particular hours.
Ask them to route everything through a named person or a debt adviser acting for you.

Be realistic about how far this goes. For an FCA-regulated firm, ignoring a reasonable request like this is a breach of the conduct rules and becomes strong evidence in a complaint. But a "written contact only" request is not an absolute, universally enforceable legal right that binds every kind of creditor — it is a reasonable request that reputable firms should honour, and a paper trail that strengthens your hand if they do not. Always make the request in writing and keep a copy, along with a log of calls, texts and letters, dates and times. That record is what turns "they keep bothering me" into a provable complaint.

Not Every Debt Collector Is Covered by the FCA Rules

The FCA's CONC rules — and the Financial Ombudsman route that backs them — generally apply to regulated consumer credit debts (credit cards, loans, catalogue and store cards, most car finance) collected by FCA-authorised firms. They generally do not cover debts like council tax, court fines, child maintenance arrears, or most rent and ongoing utility bills — these are chased under their own separate rules. Solicitors pursuing a debt through litigation are also typically outside FCA regulation for that activity.

The good news: the Administration of Justice Act 1970 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 apply regardless of who the creditor is. So even where the FCA rules and the Ombudsman cannot help, the criminal and civil harassment protections still stand behind you.

How to Make It Stop — Step by Step

Put your request and complaint in writing. Set out the conduct, the dates, and what you want (contact in writing only; the harassment to stop). Keep a copy.
Complain to the firm first. For an FCA-regulated firm this triggers a formal process. The firm generally has up to 8 weeks to give you a final response.
Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service. If you are unhappy with the final response, or 8 weeks pass with no proper answer, you can refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman — free of charge. You normally have 6 months from the firm's final response to do so. The Ombudsman can look at regulated firms only.
Report serious harassment to the authorities. Behaviour that may breach section 40 of the 1970 Act can be reported to Trading Standards (via the Citizens Advice consumer service); harassment under the 1997 Act can be reported to the police. For persistent harassment you can also take civil action for an injunction and damages.
Report the firm to the FCA. The FCA takes reports of firm misconduct as intelligence and can act on patterns of bad behaviour. Note, though, that the FCA does not resolve your individual complaint or get your money back — that is the Ombudsman's job. Use both: the FCA to flag the conduct, the Ombudsman to resolve your case.

Scotland

The criminal offence under the Administration of Justice Act 1970 and the FCA's CONC rules apply across the UK. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 works differently in Scotland, however: instead of the England-and-Wales criminal and civil provisions, Scotland has its own route under section 8 of the Act — a civil "action of harassment" allowing you to seek damages and an interdict (Scotland's equivalent of an injunction). The practical protection is similar; the legal mechanism is different.

Getting the Letter Right

The step that changes things is almost always a clear, firm letter that does four things at once: sets out the specific conduct and dates, makes a reasonable request about how you are contacted, puts the relevant law on record, and makes clear you are keeping evidence and will complain and report if it continues. A vague "please leave me alone" is easy to ignore; a precise letter that shows you know exactly which rules apply is not.

That is what WriteMyLegalLetter builds for you — a properly-structured harassment letter tailored to your situation in minutes, citing the right rules and putting the collector formally on notice.

Sources: FCA Handbook, CONC 7 (arrears, default and recovery); Administration of Justice Act 1970, section 40; Protection from Harassment Act 1997, sections 1–3 and 8; Financial Ombudsman Service complaint time limits. Current as at July 2026. General information for the UK, not legal advice.