Merligen Investments: checking a debt and responding to collection

If Merligen Investments contacts you about a debt, verify the sender, creditor and account before deciding whether to pay or dispute it.

This article will help you to:

•  Understand who Merligen Investments are.
•  Find out if the debt they are asking for is really yours.
•  Learn what happens if you can’t pay the debt.
•  Discover how to stop them from visiting your home.
•  Know your options, including writing off some debt.

This guide explains the checks to make and the options if a valid debt is unaffordable.

Let’s get started!

What Do I Do When I Receive a Letter From Merligen Investments?

Here are some simple steps to take as soon as you receive a letter or phone call from this debt collection agency:

1. Check whether the debt is yours

Check the original agreement, statements and any assignment notice. A credit report can help, but not all debts appear on one and a listed entry is not conclusive proof of liability. See related guidance.

2. Ask them to prove the debt

Explain any dispute and request an itemised balance, the original creditor’s details and evidence of liability and authority to collect. A signed original credit agreement is not required for every type of debt.

Explain a dispute and request an itemised balance and evidence of liability. A valid or potentially valid dispute within FCA consumer-credit rules must be investigated with recovery paused, but a generic evidence request does not cancel a debt, override a court order or extend a court deadline.

Use a verified contact and share only information reasonably required to identify the account. This article has no evidence that Merligen would forge your signature; that allegation should not be inferred from an evidence request.

3. Check if the debt is Statute Barred

Many ordinary contract debts in England and Wales have a six-year limitation period; Scotland has separate prescription rules. The starting point and the effect of payments, acknowledgements or court proceedings depend on the debt. See related guidance.

Age alone does not establish that a debt is time barred or extinguished. Judgments and specialist liabilities need different analysis.

If you believe the debt is time barred, get advice and explain the position in writing. Do not ignore court papers: a limitation defence normally needs to be raised through the relevant procedure.

Should I Pay Merligen Investments Straight Away?

Check an unfamiliar demand before paying. If the debt is valid and affordable, payment or an agreed arrangement may be appropriate; if you dispute it or cannot afford it, get advice rather than following a blanket “never pay” rule.

General debt statistics do not show whether your demand is genuine or how much you owe.

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Fill out the short debt form

Should I Ignore Letters from Merligen Investments?

Verify a suspicious letter through independent official contact details. Ignoring it does not prove it was a scam, and repeated contact does not prove it is genuine.

State accurately what you dispute and request evidence. Do not deny a debt you know is yours; seek advice before acknowledging or paying an old disputed balance.

What Do I Do if I Can’t Afford to Pay Merligen Investments?

If you’ve done the checks above and found that:

• The debt is registered in your name
• Merligen have provided evidence of the debt
• The debt is not statute barred

Then you are required to pay the debt owed. However, if you can’t afford to do this, you do have some options:

1. Agree on a payment plan with Merligen Investments

Come to come to an agreement with Merligen Investments Debt Collection on an affordable monthly repayment plan.

Ask for an explanation of added interest or fees. Charges need a lawful basis and must comply with applicable fairness and forbearance rules.

2. Negotiate a final settlement

You may ask whether the creditor will accept a reduced full-and-final settlement, but there is no guarantee it will agree. See related guidance.

Base any offer on what you can afford and obtain written acceptance specifying the account, remaining balance treatment and credit-file reporting before paying.

Can I Write Off My Debt?

If Merligen Investments Limited are not willing to offer you an affordable repayment plan or a lowered settlement, you might be able to get your debt written off.

An IVA is a formal insolvency arrangement supervised by an insolvency practitioner, not a consolidation loan. Creditor approval, fees, assets and completion conditions matter. See related guidance.

It is only one possible option. Ask a free debt adviser to compare it with alternatives and explain the effects on your home, employment and credit record.

How Do I Stop Merligen Investments Coming to My Home?

An ordinary collector may request a visit, but has no power to force entry or seize property. This is different from authorised bailiff enforcement. See related guidance.

You can decline to admit an ordinary collector and ask them to leave. Request an appropriate contact method and take time to consider any affordable offer.

Applicable rules restrict harassment, inappropriate visits and disclosure of debts to other people. A workplace contact is not governed by a universal ban in every circumstance; the rules depend on the activity and facts.

Know Your Rights

To protect yourself against bad debt collector practices, you must know your rights and those of the people visiting /contacting you for payment. Please check out the table below to better understand what debt collectors can and can’t do.

Debt collectors may	Limits and protections
Contact you to seek payment	For regulated consumer credit, contact must be at reasonable times and respect reasonable requests about when, where and how you are contacted.
Ask to discuss the debt at a home visit	A collector has no bailiff powers, cannot force entry or take goods, and should leave when asked.
Explain possible court action	They must not mislead you about their powers or threaten action they cannot lawfully take.
Discuss an affordable repayment or settlement	Get agreed terms in writing and obtain free advice if you dispute the debt or cannot afford payments.
A creditor may seek a separate court enforcement order	A CCJ alone does not give a collector access to your bank account. A third-party debt order requires a separate court process.
A creditor may assign a debt	Check who owns it and who is authorised to collect; do not disclose payment details to an unverified caller.
Make proportionate follow-up contact	Harassment is prohibited. Requests about contact must be considered; necessary legal notices may still be sent.

What Legal Action Can Merligen Investments Take?

The possible steps depend on the account and legal procedure. There is no automatic escalation sequence that applies to every Merligen debt.

1. Send letters and call your home

You’ll receive letters stating that your debt is now under their management, how much you owe, and how to pay it.

The following is a historical example referring to an assignment in 2017. Its contact details and payment instructions should not be used for a different or current account without independent verification:

“We give you notice that Money Junction Limited assigned to Merligen Investments Limited all of Money Junction Limited rights in and under the above detailed account on 30 November 2017.

As a result of this assignment the full amount outstanding on the accounts is now due to Merligen Investment Limited.

Following the assignment of these accounts Merligen investments limited is the data controller of your information in respect of these accounts and has the same rights to give information to credit referencing agencies about the personal debt that you owe in respect of these accounts, for example if you have fallen behind with your payments.

Your accounts are now being managed by Moriarty Law Limited and all communications and payments should now be directed through Moriarty Law Limited.

Please ensure that you or your 3rd party representative who is advising you, contacts Moriarty Law Limited following receipt of this letter.

They can review your circumstances and agree an affordable repayment amount. The process can be dealt with quickly over the telephone. Please contact 02031264544 and their advisors will be pleased to assist you further.

Yours faithfully

signed: Merligen investment ltd.”

2. Send more letters

A creditor or its representative may send reminders and discuss repayment. It must follow applicable conduct rules and cannot use misleading threats.

A small balance does not make court action impossible or necessarily unlikely. Do not ignore a letter of claim or claim form because of the amount.

Can Merligen Investments take me to court?

A creditor with a valid claim may take court action, including for a relatively small debt. Whether it will do so in a particular case cannot be predicted here.

The required pre-action steps depend on the debt. The Debt Claims Protocol usually gives an individual at least 30 days to reply to a business’s letter of claim. A Consumer Credit Act default notice is a separate requirement for specified enforcement steps on relevant regulated agreements, not a universal letter sent after every letter of claim.

How Do I Stop Merligen Investments From Contacting Me?

Unfortunately, you can’t stop them from contacting you altogether. They are within their rights to contact you either by phone or post.

What they’re not allowed to do is harass you and pressure you into paying back debt you either don’t recognise or can’t afford.

If they do, you should lodge a complaint with Merligen Investments Debt Collection directly:

For a complaint, use the verified creditor or servicer contact in your current correspondence and ask for its published complaints procedure.

Do not rely on an old telephone number or address in a historical example. Check the current business details independently before sharing information or paying.

Merligen Investments Contact Information

Address	Verify the current correspondence address for the creditor or servicer named on your account documents.
Telephone	Use a current independently verified contact; this article cannot substantiate the former 0845 number as current.
Website:	https://merligen.com/

References

1. InDebted, Debt Collectors Survey
2. StepChange, Scotland in the Red

CONC 7.3 Treatment of customers in default or arrears (including repossessions): lenders, owners and debt collectors

CONC 7.9 Contact with customers