Intrum poplar designated activity company - What to do?

DankVielen

I started digging after receiving letters alleging a statute barred debt had been sold to "intrum poplar designated activity company" according to Capquest (an Intrum) subsidiary.
The debts alleged to be owed were "assigned" from Arrow Global Guernsey, the company Capquest had previously been instructed as a Debt Management Company.

Arrow Global had plenty of time to enforce their debts, one for example defaulted in Q3 2012, they appointed Westcot, Debt Managers (Services) Ltd, ARC Europe Ltd, AIC (Allied International Credit UK Limited).  Each sending numerous letters, doorstep threats and the usual enforcement behaviour.

There was also a fake letter from Parkgate Investigation Bureau who did not exist and were a scare tactic of Debt Managers (Services) Ltd,  this was in the period when Debt Collectors used to pretend to be Law Firms. 

It did not stop there, In 2017 AIC sent me an offer just before the debt became Statute Barred, ironically called an EARLY Settlement Offer.

Then around a year later in 2018 I got a letter from Capquest, no letter from Arrow Global that I used to receive telling me they had appointed a new debt collector or debt manager. Just Capquest saying they were looking after the debt on behalf of Arrow Global.  It said I needed to make any future payments to them (Capquest). 

It is important to note that by this time the debt was Statute Barred, still Capquest sent quite a lot of enforcement letters in a short period.
Then a letter from Arrow Global 6 months later in 2019 saying they were trying to contact me, the debt was still Statute Barred.

Fast forward from from 2019 to 2024 (over 5 years) and I get a letter from Arrow saying the debt ownership was now assigned to Intrum, the debt was now 12 years old, there had never been a CCJ, the debt was not enforceable as they knew or should have known.  Arrow wrote to me in 2012 and regularly throughout, are we to believe that they somehow forgot the date of the debt or that they deliberately withheld the date.  Did Intrum buy debt without a date, that seems inconceivable to me, if they did then they could not enforce a debt they did not know the date of and it would be disingenuous to their investors.

Advisors on this forum says Intrum bought Capquest and had a trawl through debts they knew were statute barred., so one wonders whether there was a breach of GDPR, but I will leave that for the ICO to determine.

I had never heard of this Intrum company so I starting digging.
I think the issues discussed herein are important because under numerous legislation there is a requirement to be transparent and to list things prominently, there are also Financial Conduct Authority rules and just how much has to happen before the FCA takes a serious look into Intrum and associated companies.
First of all there is no Intrum Poplar designated activity company in the UK, there IS one in Ireland, it was incorporated in November 2022
https://www.solocheck.ie/Irish-Company/Intrum-Poplar-Designated-Activity-Company-729605

although the letters I have received all have this address

The Omnibus Building, Lesbourne Road, Reigate, England, RH2 7JP
It should be noted that calling something designated activity company can be a way to hide a company with over 200 pages of listings on companies house.  So I did a Google search found the Intrum website, yes it is a debt collection company and here is where I got my first laugh or should I call it misinformation, it says

"Helping millions achieve financial recovery"


"We’ve helped nearly 5 million people become debt-free in the last 12 months"
So buy a lot of statute barred debt and then allege that they have helped the millions achieve financial recovery, perhaps by the debtor telling they that the debt can't be enforced under FCA Conc Rules.
To be fair to them here is how they explain it

https://www.intrum.com/sustainability/our-ways-of-working/we-help-people-and-businesses-pay-off-their-debt/

However, considering so many people being contacted by Intrum regarding statute barred debt I think it is important to note that not everything is rosy and despite the nice website, if Intrum chase you for a debt the debt may not be enforceable.

I also noticed that Intrum described on the website are effectively in administration

https://www.intrum.com/recapitalisation/intrum-s-recapitalisation-process/
Yet their companies are listed as Active on companies house but long overdue accounts have not been filed for several of their companies.

I imagine that there will be a number of people on this forum who will not be sad to see them fail in this "recapitalisation".

If I were an investor I would take with a pinch of salt any alleged assets Intrum alleges to own, when you recapitalise one has to ask what is the capital, where is the equity.  Are investors happy investing in a company that misleads thousands of people about the validity of debt? 

How they can call it recapitalisation when this website and others show many people being chased for 20 year old debt that can't be enforced under FCA Conc rules.
What about the FCA Consumer Duty?  
"Delivering good outcomes for retail customers is the new 12th principle in the FCA’s handbook and is described as the overarching principle."

How can it be a good outcome to be chased for a debt that is not allowed to be enforced?

Products and support should be designed to avoid foreseeable harm; well debt causes anxiety and mental health problems, so that is foreseeable harm.

Products should provide “fair value” to customers, you owe £0.00 but we will ask for £15,000+ does not seem fair value to me and it is misleading.

Communications should be tailored to the customers receiving them – what information do customers need to make good decisions?   For a start they should be informed that the debt can't be enforced, this was already in Conc Rules.  So tailoring a letter to the customer should perhaps include the date of default and to be honest Intrum know the debt is statute barred.  A fit and proper company would not sent a letter at all except one to say the debt has been written off.

It should be as easy to close a product as it is to open it – I have lost count of the number of different times I have called these companies telling them the debt was statute barred. They stop writing, it gets passed on to the next "have a go" company.  So I should be able to close the debt down, end it forever, via email, via phone or by Royal Mail.

Firms should take extra care where customers are more likely to be vulnerable, for example high-cost credit, debt collecting, second charge mortgages, and debt advice.  Intrum make no effort to determine the mental health status of the customer, but most people who have debt are suffering from stress, anxiety and depression.  Resurrecting a debt long dead and rotted will inevitably bring back all those feelings along with the self harm associated with it. I can quote posts on here from this week confirming same.

A fit and proper company would check the validity of their right to chase aged debt that is Statute Barred. It should NOT be for the consumer to have to demand Prove It Letters or send Statute Bar Letters and even if they do the same thing happens over and over again with the new owner, the new Debt Management Company, the latest Debt Collectors.

Intrum it needs to be open with the consumer about whether a debt is enforceable, this is also a Conc Rule

Am I the only one that things the FCA should be looking into whether this is a fit and proper company to be licenced by the FCA to work in the financial services sector? Sourcrate posted below that Intrum were only granted their license if they cleaned up their act.

I certainly plan to encourage Companies House to strike them from the Register for failing to provide accounts
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03752940
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04140507
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03515447
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04325074
To be fair Accounts have been filed for

INTRUM UK HOLDINGS 2 LIMITED

Company number 01356148

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01356148

but not for

INTRUM UK 2 LIMITED

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01918920
There are a plethora of dissolved companies with intrum in the name and same address

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/search?q=intrum

I do wonder whether INTRUM Investor relations have fully explained and declared to investors that they have acquired out of date debt?
I will keep this thread updated on any further details I find.
Meanwhile if you are contacted by Intrum or any of the companies they own (Capquest) or instruct (OPOS, ACI, VERIFY, TM LEGAL (Perch Group) do start a thread for your particular concern as to the viability of any alleged claim that you owe them money.

sourcrates said:

Cashmygiro said:

fatbelly said:

Cashmygiro said:

I received a letter out of the blue yesterday too from Intrum for an old Lloyds Bank debt which went statute barred 10 years ago. I really can't believe I'm receiving this letter especially considering I sent them the prove-it letter many years ago when they were called 1st Credit. The last correspondence I had from them was in 2015!

Are they actually asking for payment or is it info-only?

Asking for payment. Included was a "Resolvecall" letter saying they would visit if I don't pay or call them. Which I'm not.

You could front it out with Resolvecall, if they knock on your door, otherwise keep on ignoring them, if they get too annoying send the statute barred letter (again).

I`m quite surprised actually as when 1st Credit remodelled itself into Intrum, one of the pre-requisites set by the FCA in order to keep there operating licence was that they played by the rules, or face further sanctions.

Chasing a ten year old clearly statute barred debt doesn't fall into that category now does it.

sourcrates

Intrum used to go by the name of "1st Credit" at the same address, and as mentioned in one of my old posts you have quoted above.

Getting these companies to play nicely and within the rules has always been a struggle for the FCA, and its predecessor, the FSA.

1st Credit and Motor mile Finance (also since rebranded) were hauled over the coals, fined, had all management re-placed, and agreed to a comprehensive re-training schedule for all its front line staff, after been found guilty of systemic mis-management of customer accounts, along with an historic long list of failures in dealing with customers fairly.

However it would be foolish to assume, that since they all became so touchy feely with their collection activity, that these leopards have changed their spots, I very much doubt that to be the case, they still sail very close to the wind, and will look at any loophole that gets them a payday.

bcs7

Can I just ask what happens to any debts owed to Intrum if they go pop?

I have a single debt which I'm trying to get a F&F offer discounted down at the moment. They've so far reduced it to 60%, but I'm pushing for it to be a lot lower and have sent another offer a couple of days ago.

RAS

Sorry but sounding keen on a F&F is unlikely to result in a reduced offer. Staying stumm for a year is more likely to get one from the creditor.

As for what happens to debts. The portfolio gets sold on, at whatever price can be achieved, and the new owner tries to extract value. So the same old round of naff letters demanding payment, vague suggestions of "further" action, perhaps discount offers.

bcs7

RAS said:

Sorry but sounding keen on a F&F is unlikely to result in a reduced offer. Staying stumm for a year is more likely to get one from the creditor.

Think it depends on the creditor and the amount.
I've managed to get some offers down to 55%-60%, but I'm looking for more like 30%-40%.