Walker Love is a firm of Sheriff Officers and Messengers-at-Arms that operates across Scotland. If you’re reading this, you might have heard from them regarding an outstanding debt.
Getting contacted by a debt collection company can be stressful, but it’s important not to panic. To find out more about Walker Love and their practices, keep reading this guide. We’ll help you to understand your situation and what you can do about it.
Who are Walker Love?
Operating throughout Scotland, Walker Love describe themselves as Messengers-at-Arms, Sheriff Officers and providers of a range of civil enforcement and debt recovery services. The firm dates back to 1946, and operates across all six Scottish Sheriffdoms.
Scottish Sheriff Officers hold a similar position to Bailiffs in England, and both sets of professionals enforce the payment of outstanding debts. As a result of their status, Walker Love’s Sheriff Officers have the authority to enforce court orders and civil warrants.
Walker Love also go by the following trading names:
- Walker Love Collections
- Walker Love Professional Investigations
- Walker Love Revenue Collections
- WL Payment Distributors
Why am I being contacted?
If Walker Love has gotten in touch with you, it’s probably because you owe money that they are trying to recover. They deal in the recovery of outstanding debts, and you might not recognise their name to start with since they become involved at the request of other companies who are owed money.
Are Walker Love debt collectors legitimate?
Walker Love is a legitimate partnership (operating under UK Company Number SC084578 and registered as W L Recoveries Limited). They act on behalf of other companies to collect outstanding debts and are a member of the Credit Services Association.
The firm is also a member of the following organisations of The Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers, and The Institute of Credit Management amongst others.
Are Walker Love regulated by the FCA?
Walker Love is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). They can be found on the FCA’s register at the following link, under reference number 716293.
You can also find their listing with The Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers (SMASO) on the organisation’s website.
Who does Walker Love collect debt for?
Walker Love collects outstanding debts for a range of companies and organisations, from local and national government bodies through to utility companies.
They are known to collect debts that arise from business rate arrears, along with other forms of taxation and even consumer debts.
How to deal with Walker Love?
The best course of action for dealing with Walker Love will depend on your own unique set of circumstances – such as whether you can afford to pay what you owe, or if you dispute the fact that you owe the debt at all.
In most cases, the options available to you will include: paying Walker Love debt collectors in full, agreeing to a payment plan with Walker Love, seeking to write off some or all of your debt via a Scottish insolvency solution such as the Minimal Asset Process or a Trust Deed.
If you have already received a charge for payment, you could also apply to the court for a ‘Time to Pay’ direction. This will provide you with a way to pay off what you owe in affordable monthly amounts, potentially making it easier to cope with your outstanding debts.
How to check if you owe money?
Whether you dispute a debt or not, you may wish to establish whether or not you actually owe the money that Walker Love are trying to collect. When asked, they should be able to confirm your total debt figure and name the company that they are collecting the debt on behalf of.
Any information provided can then be double-checked against your own personal records to make certain that all information is correct and that you owe the amount they are chasing.
What does the collection process look like?
As we’ll explain later, how Walker Love go about collecting an outstanding debt will depend on the individual circumstances of the matter. That being said, their debt collection attempts will usually follow a fairly regular process:
- Walker Love will contact you, either by telephone or by sending a letter, explaining that you have an outstanding debt.
- They will request that you pay what you owe, either in full or through a payment plan.
- If you do not reach an agreement to settle your debt, Walker Love could take legal action against you.
- If they succeed, the Sheriff Court could grant an order against you, enabling Walker Love’s Sheriff Officers to take further enforcement action to recover the outstanding amount.
How long can Walker Love legally chase a debt for?
It’s also important to establish whether a debt has expired, in which case it will become ‘statute barred’. The Prescriptions and Limitations (Scotland) Act of 1973 sets a time limit for creditors to collect money that is owed to them, and you cannot be chased for debts that are too old to be collected.
In Scotland, the limit is 5 years from the date of last written contact to you, the last payment you made in respect of the debt, or the date on which the creditor applied for or was granted a court order requiring you to pay what you owe.
In England and Wales, the Limitation Act 1980 gives creditors six years to chase most unsecured debts. This period starts from the date of your last payment of acknowledgement of the debt. In both cases, the following must be true for the limitation to apply:
- The debtor must not have acknowledged the debt.
- No decrees have been made in respect of the debt.
- The creditor hasn’t contacted the debtor.
This doesn’t mean that you can just wait for this time to elapse, however, as Walker Love may continue to chase you for the outstanding figure and perhaps even seek a decree from the courts, or a County Court Judgment (CCJ) if you live in England or Wales.
Can Walker Love take you to court?
If you fail to pay outstanding debt, Walker Love could take you to court to seek a court judgment against you requiring you to settle what you owe. In Scotland, this is often called a decree, whilst it’s more commonly known as a County Court Judgment (CCJ) in England and Wales.
Generally speaking, debt collectors are more likely to work with debtors if they communicate clearly and are keen to find a solution to their problems. If you work with Walker Love and engage with them constructively to discuss your debt issues, they may be less inclined to take you to court. When it comes to debt, ignoring the problem simply doesn’t cut it.
Will Walker Love come to my house?
If you do not respond to the attempts to contact, they could send a debt collector to your house. As Walker Love operate as Sheriff Officers as well as debt collectors, they could attend your property to serve you with court papers or to carry out orders set down by a Sheriff Court.
Whether or not they can enter will depend on if they have a court order allowing them to do so. As with any debt collection agency or court-appointed bailiff, Walker Love cannot enter your house without a court order or, alternatively, your consent.
Do you have to let debt collectors from Walker Love in?
Debt collectors (also known as field agents) are quite different from Bailiffs and Sheriff Officers, and they cannot enter you home unless you give consent for them to do so. Walker Love’s agents can only enter your property if you permit them to, or if they have the court’s permission.
If a Sheriff Officer does come to your home, you can ask them to show you the document that allows them to enter. In the case of evictions and debt enforcement matters, Sheriff Officers will often write to you in advance to inform you that they will be coming.
In some circumstances they may also be permitted to use ‘necessary and reasonable force’ to enter your dwelling, and this might include forcing open a door, breaking a lock, or breaking a window.
How do Walker Love collect debts?
How Walker Love go about collecting money from you will depend on the kind of debt that you owe. Walker Love’s debt collection process usually begins with a letter that explains what you owe, who to, and how you can pay.
If you owe Council Tax or Business Rate arrears, your local authority could apply to the Sheriff Court for a court order known as a ‘Summary Warrant’. This will set out the money that you owe and you will be legally obliged to pay.
If you receive a summary warrant and do not pay, Walker Love may send you a Charge for Payment, which in most cases will give you 14 days to pay what you owe. If you fail to pay at this point, your creditors can use a debt collection procedure known as ‘Diligence’ – which effectively means that Walker Love could take the money from you in other ways.
Diligence can take various forms, including:
- An earnings arrestment – allowing them to take repayments directly from your wages.
- A bank arrestment – allowing them to freeze your bank account until you give permission for a lump sum to be deducted in order to settlement of what you owe. If you refuse permission, your bank will automatically release the funds after 14 weeks.
- An attachment of property outside your home – allowing Walker Love’s Sheriff Officers to seize property that you own. Under such an attachment, Sheriff Officers could enter garages, outbuildings, or business premises (but not your home) in order to seize goods which can then be sold at auction to raise money in lieu of repayment. Before an attachment of property outside your home can be carried out, the Sheriff Officer must show you the summary warrant and give you the opportunity to pay the debt and any expenses owed.
- An exceptional attachment order – permitting Walker Love’s Sheriff Officers to seize property from inside your home. Note that in such cases, Sheriff Officers are unable to take certain items that are deemed essential for day-to-day living, including clothes, bedding, cooking equipment, basic furniture, and fridges.
Can I stop Walker Love from contacting me?
You won’t ordinarily be able to stop Walker Love from contacting you altogether unless you engage with a formal debt solution. Despite this, FCA rules make it clear that debt collectors stop contacting people who ask them to cease communications. Keep in mind that even if you ask them not to contact you, they can still get in touch to inform you that they or the creditor may take further action such as taking the matter to court.
In addition to this, you are within your rights to express contact preferences to Walker Love, for example having all communications in writing rather than receiving phone calls.
How to write off my debt with Walker Love?
Walker Love aren’t likely to just write your debt off, and in any case, this would probably require the agreement of the organisation you owe money to. Despite this, they may consider any full and final settlement figures that are put to them even if they are less than the total figure owed. If a full and final settlement offer is accepted, debtors may wish to request written confirmation that no further action will be taken against them prior to making the payment.
Generally, it is only possible to write off debt via a formal insolvency solution. In Scotland, these include debt management plans, the Minimal Asset Process, Scottish Trust Deeds, the Debt Arrangement Scheme, and bankruptcy or sequestration.
How to contact Walker Love?
Effective communication is essential when you’re dealing with debt. For customer enquiries, use any of the details below to get in touch with Walker Love.
Full Company Name: W L Recoveries Limited – also trading as Walker Love and George Walker & Company
Phone number: 0141 212 6121
Email address: [email protected]
Website: www.walkerlove.com
Head office address:
Walker Love
16 Royal Exchange Square
Glasgow G1 3AB
How to complain?
There are various ways to go about making a complaint about Walker Love, and the method you choose will depend on the issues involved.
In the first instance, you may wish to complain directly to the firm. To do so, you can contact Walker Love via phone on 0141 248 8224, by emailing [email protected], or by sending a letter to their complaints department at the following address: The Complaints Manager, Walker Love, 16 Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow, G1 3AB.
If you are not satisfied by Walker Love’s conduct, you can also complain to the Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers (SMASO) by calling 0131 292 0321, emailing [email protected], or by writing to the address below:
Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers
Forth House
28 Rutland Square
Edinburgh, EH1 2BW
As Walker Love is a member of the Credit Services Association (CSA), complaining customers can request that the CSA act as a mediator for their complaint. They can be contacted via telephone (01912 17 0775) and more information is available on this course of action at www.csa-uk.com.
Finally, if you feel that your complaint has not been deal with in a satisfactory or fair way, you may wish to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Not all complaints fall within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, but those that do must be brought to their attention within six months of the company issuing their own response. The Financial Ombudsman Service can be contacted via telephone (0300 1239 123) or email (mailto:[email protected]), and more information is available on their website at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
Bottom Line
Walker Love is one of Scotland’s most prominent firms of Sheriff Officers and Messengers-at-Arms. Working across all six Sheriffdoms of Scotland and indeed across Europe, you may come across them if you owe money to your local authority or even to a private business.
If you have been contacted by Walker Love, you don’t need to panic. With the information contained in this guide, you should have a better understanding of the company and can make more informed decisions about your position.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is W L Recoveries Limited?
It is the registered company name of Walker Love Debt Collectors. The firm is registered with Companies House under Scottish company number: SC084578.
Does HMRC use Walker Love Debt Collectors?
HMRC do not currently list Walker Love among the debt collection companies that they use. For a complete list of the debt collectors used by HMRC, visit their website.
Walker Love are, however, known to collect outstanding debts on behalf of Scottish local authorities and operate across all six Sheriffdoms. Some of the debts Walker Love are known to collect include business rates and council tax.
Who owns Walker Love?
Walker Love is a private limited company based in Scotland, United Kingdom. The company is independently owned by its shareholders. Further information can be found by visiting their Companies House page at the following link.
Do Walker Love accept credit card payments?
Walker Love no longer accept credit card payments, however they continue to accept debit card payments and a variety of other payment forms.
Walker Love hosts an online payment portal on their website at the following link.
Can Walker Love take my car?
Walker Love may seize your vehicle in cases where they have an attachment of property outside your home. Note that they may still seize a vehicle even if it is owned jointly with somebody else.
It is worth noting that Sheriff Officers cannot take your vehicle if you have a blue disabled badge, or where your vehicle is owned through a hire purchase or similar agreement.
Can they prevent me from selling my home?
Yes – if you fail to pay what you owe, Walker Love could seek an inhibition against you. This is a court order which prevents you from selling your home, property, or business premises.
Can Walker Love issue a warrant?
No, they cannot issue a warrant, or a decree. A Sheriff Court may do so, however.
Can I ignore Walker Love Debt Collectors?
You could choose to ignore them, but this could prompt them to escalate the matter. Their interest is in recovering what you owe, and they could send a debt collector to your home.
If these tactics don’t work, Walker Love could take the matter to court. In the event that the court makes an order against you, Walker Love could take further action to recover the debt and even go as far as removing your property to be sold.
Can Walker Love recover debts during the coronavirus?
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the way we all live our lives, and many people are struggling to cope financially. Debt collectors, Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers are still operating, however.
Ultimately Walker Love can still pursue unpaid debts during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they may be more willing to consider individual circumstances and to work with debtors who are struggling to make ends meet.
What if I can’t afford to pay?
If you’re struggling to cope with your financial situation, help is on hand. In the event that you’ve received a letter or another communication from Walker Love, don’t feel that you have to pay up without taking time to consider your position. The organisations listed below provide free and impartial advice to Scottish debtors, and could help you to make sense of your situation: