A letter arrives demanding payment on an account you do not recognise. Or a debt collector starts chasing for an amount that does not match your records.
Before you pay a single penny or pick up the phone, you have the right to ask the creditor to prove the debt exists and show you the paperwork behind it.
This page gives you a template letter for doing exactly that. It explains the statutory basis under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and walks you through what to expect while you wait for a response.
We have seen directors caught out by paying a disputed amount too quickly. Once the money leaves the account, your leverage goes with it.
One critical point before you send anything: this is a procedural tool, not a write-off. The debt may still be owed. What this letter does is put the creditor’s right to enforce it on hold while they gather and produce the correct documents.
If they cannot comply within twelve working days, they cannot take you to court. But that does not extinguish the debt.
When to Send the “I Need More Information About This Debt” Letter
Quick Answer: When This Letter Applies
Send this letter when you have received a demand for payment from a creditor or debt collector and you genuinely dispute whether the debt is valid, whether the amount is correct, or whether the creditor has the authority to collect it.
Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, any creditor pursuing a regulated consumer credit agreement must be able to produce a true copy of the original signed agreement on request. Until they do, the debt is unenforceable in court.
The letter works best at the point of first contact: before any admission of liability, before any payment, and before any telephone negotiation.
The moment you acknowledge a debt verbally or make even a token payment, you reset the clock on the Limitation Act 1980 and weaken your position considerably. Send the letter first. Talk later, if at all.
Who Should Use This “More Information” Letter
You should use this letter if you receive a demand for repayment and any of the following applies. You do not recognise the creditor or the account number. The amount claimed does not match your own records.
The debt has been sold on and you are now dealing with a debt purchaser rather than the original lender. Or you have not received a copy of the original credit agreement and are not certain what you signed up for.
The letter is written on behalf of a company director acting in the company’s name. You can adapt it for a sole trader or personal debt by adjusting the company references.
The statutory rights under sections 77 and 78 of the Consumer Credit Act apply to regulated consumer credit agreements, which covers most unsecured business overdrafts, credit cards, and personal loans that were used to fund the business.
When This Letter Will NOT Help
Do not treat this letter as a universal delay tactic. It does not work for debts that fall outside the Consumer Credit Act, such as commercial mortgages, trade invoices between companies, or HMRC liabilities.
Those operate under different statutory frameworks and sending this letter to an HMRC debt officer will not pause enforcement.
The letter also does not help if the creditor can produce the original agreement and a full statement of account quickly. In practice, many creditors can comply within the twelve-working-day window, which leaves you back where you started.
It will not help if the debt is clearly statute-barred under the Limitation Act 1980, in which case a separate limitation letter is the right tool, not this one.
If you are facing pressure from multiple creditors and unsure which route to take, our company rescue solutions page explains the broader options available before insolvency.
What Information You Are Entitled To Request Under the CCA
Under section 77 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (for fixed-sum credit such as loans) and section 78 (for running-account credit such as credit cards), you are entitled to request a true copy of the original executed agreement, a signed statement of account showing the current balance
and details of any default or arrears notices that have been issued.
There is a statutory fee of £1 for this request, which you should enclose with the letter as a postal order or cheque. Do not send cash.
The creditor or debt collector has twelve working days from receipt of your written request to comply.
If they cannot or do not comply within that window, they are in default of the statute and the debt becomes unenforceable for as long as the default continues.
They cannot apply to a court to recover the debt during that period. The debt is not wiped. It simply cannot be enforced in a court while the creditor remains non-compliant.
What the Creditor Must Provide When You Send This Letter
Statutory Basis: CCA 1974 Section 77 (Fixed Sum) and Section 78 (Running Account Credit)
Sections 77 and 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 give you the right to demand documentary evidence of a regulated credit agreement. Section 77 covers fixed-sum credit: personal loans, hire purchase, and similar one-off lending.
Section 78 covers running-account credit: credit cards, store cards, and revolving facilities. Section 79 covers hire agreements. Together they set out what the creditor must produce and the timeframe within which they must produce it.
The creditor must supply a true copy of the executed agreement, meaning a document that reproduces the terms of the original agreement you entered into.
They must also provide a statement of account showing the total sum paid, the total sum outstanding, and any arrears.
Where there is a default or a notice of assignment (meaning the debt has been sold), they must provide those documents too. These are not courtesy disclosures.
They are statutory obligations, enforceable by the Financial Ombudsman Service if the creditor refuses.
The Twelve Working-Day Response Window for This Debt Information Request
The clock starts on the working day the creditor receives your written request and the £1 statutory fee. Count twelve working days from that point, excluding weekends and bank holidays. Mark it in your diary.
We suggest sending the letter by recorded delivery so you have proof of the delivery date. Keep the receipt.
If the creditor does not respond within twelve working days, they are in breach of the statute. The breach itself does not cancel the debt.
But it does mean the creditor is committing a criminal offence if they continue to pursue enforcement while in default, and any court action they attempt during that period will fail.
You can also report the non-compliance to the Financial Conduct Authority under its Consumer Credit sourcebook (CONC 7), which requires lenders to investigate disputes and suspend collection activity while a valid dispute is outstanding.
Consequence if the Creditor Cannot Comply: Unenforceable Until Compliance
Unenforceable is not the same as extinguished. This distinction matters enormously. If a creditor cannot produce the original agreement, they cannot take you to court to recover the money while the default continues. The debt sits in legal limbo.
The moment they produce the required documents, the right to enforce revives.
Some debts are unenforceable because the original agreement was poorly documented or lost. This is not uncommon with older credit card accounts or debts that have changed hands several times.
In those cases the creditor may never be able to comply, which leaves you with genuine grounds to negotiate a significantly reduced settlement or to challenge enforcement altogether.
Others will comply quickly and you will need to decide how to respond to the documented debt. Either way, you are better off knowing where you stand before you pay.
The Template Letter: Requesting More Information About This Debt
Copy the letter below and adapt the fields in double curly brackets to your situation. Send it by recorded delivery or Special Delivery. Keep a copy.
Enclose a £1 postal order or cheque made payable to the creditor. Do not send cash, and do not sign in ink that matches your usual signature on bank documents if you are concerned the creditor may attempt to reconstruct it.
The letter is written for a company director. If you are acting personally, adjust the references to remove the company name and sign in your own name only.
Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing to you as director of {{Name of your Company}} and in response to your request for payment on behalf of {{Name of Creditor}}.
This is to inform you that {{Name of your Company}} will not be paying this debt until we receive more information because we are disputing whether we have liability.
Please supply the following details:
1. The name and address of the creditor to whom the debt is owed, the account number relating to the creditor and the amount owed and when this creditor believes this debt became overdue.
2. If this is the original creditor or if the debt started with a different creditor and if so, their name, address and account number details need to be supplied.
If this debt has been sold to yourselves, provide the details of when this occurred. Explain why you have the authority to attempt to collect this debt and details of your FCA authorisation.
3. Provide verification and a copy of the document (such as the last billing statement) that shows there is a valid basis for this debt and of the written agreement showing the requirement to pay.
Ensure the original bill/invoice contains the date it was first issued and the address to which it was sent.
4.
If there has been any extra interest fees or charges sent since the original bill/invoice was sent to ourselves – this must be itemised to show the dates and the amounts added and an explanation as to how these were calculated and your justification for this under UK law.
I wish also to draw your attention to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Consumer Credit sourcebook which states:
A firm must not ignore or disregard a customer’s claim that a debt has been settled or is disputed and must not continue to make demands for payment without providing clear justification and/or evidence as to why the customer’s claim is not valid. 7.5.3
A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds. 7.14.1
Where a customer disputes a debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds, the firm must investigate the dispute and provide details of the debt to the customer in a timely manner. 7.14.3
(Name of your company) is willing to cooperate with yourselves in answering any questions you may have and we look forward to achieving a prompt resolution of this matter.
However, until this matter is settled, please note that this debt is currently disputed.
Yours faithfully,
{{Include your Full Name*}}
What to Expect After You Send the “More Information” Letter
Once the creditor receives your letter, one of three things happens. They respond within twelve working days with the documents, they fail to respond in time and fall into statutory default, or they challenge your right to make the request.
The third scenario is rare and usually wrong. A creditor trying to bully you past your statutory rights is itself a breach of CONC 7 and worth reporting to the FCA.
A True Copy of the Original Credit Agreement
If the creditor complies, they must send you a true copy of the original agreement. Read it carefully.
Check that your name and address are correct, that the terms match what you understood you were signing, and that any interest rate or fee structure shown matches what has been charged.
If there are discrepancies, those are legitimate grounds for a further formal dispute before you pay anything. Do not assume the figure on the demand letter is correct simply because a document now exists.
A Statement of Account Showing the Debt
Alongside the agreement, the creditor must provide a current statement of account. This should show the original advance, every payment you have made, every interest charge applied, and the current balance. Check this against your own records.
Debt purchasers sometimes inflate the figure by adding charges that were not part of the original agreement. You have the right to challenge any line item that cannot be traced back to the original contract terms.
The Notice of Default (If Relevant to This Debt)
If the debt includes a default, the creditor must also provide a copy of the default notice they issued under section 87 of the Consumer Credit Act.
A default notice that does not comply with the statutory prescribed form (wrong dates, missing prescribed wording, insufficient remedy period) may itself be defective.
A defective default notice is a defence to enforcement. This is technical territory. If you receive documentation that looks incomplete or incorrect, take advice from a regulated debt specialist before responding.
Mistakes to Avoid With the “More Information” Letter
Do Not Acknowledge Liability in Your Wording
The template is carefully worded to dispute liability without acknowledging it. Do not deviate from this. Do not add phrases like “I accept I owe you something but…” or “I know we had an account with you…”
If you need to provide context, do it separately and carefully. Any written acknowledgement of the debt resets the Limitation Act clock under section 29 of the Limitation Act 1980.
A debt that might have been statute-barred in a few months can suddenly become live again. We have seen this happen. It is avoidable.
Do Not Send Without Proof of Posting
The twelve-working-day window starts when the creditor receives the letter, not when you send it. Use Royal Mail Recorded Delivery or Special Delivery and keep the tracking reference.
If the creditor later claims they never received it, you need that evidence.
An email is not sufficient. Creditors will argue the email went to spam, was received by the wrong person, or does not constitute the formal written notice required by the statute. Send a physical letter.
Our strong recommendation is Special Delivery: you get a timestamp and a signature.
Do Not Pay While Awaiting Documents
This is the most common mistake. The creditor rings, the pressure builds, and the director pays something “in good faith” to stop the calls. That payment has consequences. It may restart the limitation period.
It may be treated as an admission that the debt is valid.
And if the debt turns out to be unenforceable because the creditor cannot produce the agreement, you have just voluntarily handed over money they could not legally have taken from you in court. Hold the line. Wait for the twelve working days.
If calls continue during that window, log them and reference CONC 7.14.1. The firm is obliged to suspend recovery activity while your dispute is outstanding. If they persist, that is itself reportable to the FCA.
Your Next Step If the Creditor Cannot Comply With Your Information Request
If the creditor fails to respond within twelve working days, or responds but cannot produce a valid copy of the original agreement, you have options.
You can write to them citing the default and stating that you consider the debt unenforceable in its current state. You can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they continue to pursue enforcement.
And if the debt is old enough, you may want to check whether it is also statute-barred under the Limitation Act 1980. The standard limitation period for a simple contract debt is six years from the date it became due.
What you should not do is assume the problem is gone. The creditor can revive enforcement at any point after they produce the required documents.
If you have genuine concerns about the underlying debt, take advice before the creditor complies.
That includes whether you owe it, whether the amount is right, or whether you have grounds to challenge. Once the creditor documents the debt, you may be left with a fully enforceable sum and less room to negotiate.
If the debt situation is part of broader financial pressure on the company, our HMRC debt collection page covers enforcement procedures when HMRC is the creditor pursuing your business.
Our company rescue solutions guide sets out the formal procedures available when a single disputed debt is not the only problem you are navigating.
Frequently Asked Questions About the “I Need More Information About This Debt” Letter
Does sending this letter mean I am admitting the debt exists?
No. The template is specifically worded to dispute liability. Sending a request for information under sections 77 or 78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is not an acknowledgement that the debt is valid. You are exercising a statutory right. Keep the letter close to the template wording and do not add anything that concedes the underlying obligation.
What happens if the creditor ignores my letter completely?
If the creditor does not respond within twelve working days and has not provided the required documents, they are in breach of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The debt becomes unenforceable for as long as they remain in default.
You should log the non-compliance and, if they continue to pursue payment, report them to the Financial Conduct Authority under CONC 7. Do not assume that silence means they have given up. It may simply mean they are looking for the documents. The default period can end the moment they produce the paperwork.
Can I send this letter to a debt collection agency rather than the original lender?
Yes. If the debt has been sold to a debt purchaser or passed to a collection agency, you direct the letter to whoever is currently claiming payment. The agency must either produce the original documentation or obtain it from the original lender.
Either way, the twelve-working-day obligation and the unenforceability consequence apply equally to the debt purchaser as they do to the original creditor. The letter specifically asks the collector to confirm whether they are the original creditor or a subsequent assignee, and to provide details of their FCA authorisation to collect.
Does this letter work for HMRC debts or trade invoices?
No. This letter is designed for regulated consumer credit agreements under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. HMRC debts (VAT, PAYE, Corporation Tax, Self Assessment) are not regulated consumer credit and HMRC has its own statutory enforcement powers that operate entirely separately.
Trade invoices between businesses are also outside the Consumer Credit Act framework. If you are dealing with HMRC enforcement, see our dedicated HMRC debt collection page for the appropriate routes and response options.
What is the £1 fee for and do I have to pay it?
The £1 fee is the statutory charge for making a section 77 or 78 request under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. It must accompany your written request for the clock to start running. Without it, the creditor can argue your request was not valid and the twelve-working-day period has not begun.
Send a postal order or a cheque payable to the creditor. Do not send cash, and keep a copy of what you sent. The fee is nominal: it exists to confirm the request is formal and intentional, not to create a financial barrier.
If the debt is unenforceable, can I just ignore it permanently?
Not safely. Unenforceable means the creditor cannot currently take you to court. It does not mean the debt has been cancelled or written off. The moment the creditor produces the required documentation, their right to enforce revives.
The creditor can also register the debt with a credit reference agency, which will affect your credit file regardless of enforceability. If the debt is genuinely disputed or you believe it should not be paid, take proper legal advice rather than simply ignoring it and hoping it goes away.
What if the creditor provides documents but they look incorrect or incomplete?
This is where the situation becomes more technical. A defective agreement, a default notice that does not comply with the prescribed form under section 87 of the Consumer Credit Act, or a statement of account that cannot be reconciled to the original contract may all provide grounds to challenge enforceability further.
We recommend taking advice from a regulated debt specialist (a solicitor or an FCA-authorised debt adviser) before responding to documents you believe are defective. Do not assume that receiving documents automatically means you must pay.
Methodology and Disclosure
This template letter and the accompanying editorial guidance were prepared by the Company Debt editorial team and reviewed by a qualified insolvency practitioner.
The statutory framework references (Consumer Credit Act 1974 ss.77, 78 and 79; FCA Consumer Credit sourcebook CONC 7; Limitation Act 1980 s.5) have been verified against the current legislation at legislation.gov.uk as at April 2026.
Company Debt is a commercial insolvency and debt advisory service. We may recommend speaking to a member of our team where that is the appropriate next step. This page does not constitute legal advice and does not create a client relationship.
If your situation involves complex or disputed consumer credit documentation, you should take independent legal advice.
We test the editorial points in this guide against case files we triage through our insolvency-practitioner referral network in England and Wales.
Where our reading of a statute is novel, or where our recommendation cuts against industry default, we say so explicitly and we tell you why we hold that view.
