Letter from Mason Law? Read this before the deadline runs out

A letter from Mason Law is one of the more serious pieces of correspondence in the UK debt-collection space. Mason Law are debt-recovery solicitors — not contingent collectors — and their letters typically arrive either as a Letter Before Claim (a formal pre-action notice) or as part of an active county-court action. The deadlines printed on those letters matter: they govern whether the matter ends in a default CCJ or in something more manageable.

This guide covers who Mason Law are, what their letters can do, the deadlines that matter, and how an IVA can legally stop their action.

Who Mason Law are

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Mason Law are solicitors regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), authorised to conduct litigation in the county courts. Their work is concentrated in consumer-credit debt recovery for a range of debt-purchaser and original-creditor clients, including credit-card, personal-loan and short-term-credit balances.

Because Mason Law are a firm of solicitors, their letters carry more weight than a routine collector’s reminder:

• They can issue Letters Before Claim that start a formal pre-action timer
• They can issue and serve county-court claim forms (often through the Northampton or Salford bulk-processing centres)
• After a CCJ, they can apply for an attachment of earnings, charging order on a property, or instruct High Court Enforcement Officers

They are bound by the SRA Code of Conduct — including not misleading recipients of correspondence and not pursuing unfounded claims — and (where consumer credit is involved) the FCA’s Consumer Credit Sourcebook (CONC).

What Mason Law can and cannot legally do

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Mason Law are solicitors, not bailiffs. They can:

• Send Letters Before Claim and other pre-action correspondence
• Issue and serve county-court claim forms
• After a CCJ, apply for any of the standard enforcement options on behalf of the client
• Negotiate settlements, including discounted “full and final” settlements

They cannot force entry to your home, take goods, threaten arrest (the matter is civil, not criminal), or invent fees and post-default interest beyond what the original credit agreement and the court allow.

What to do when Mason Law write to you

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The single most important number on the letter is the deadline:

• Letter Before Claim — typically gives you 30 days to respond
• Claim form (N1) — you must file an acknowledgement of service within 14 days to keep your defence options open. Defence is then due within 28 days of service, extendable to 28 + 14 by acknowledging
• Missing the deadline is the most common cause of an avoidable default CCJ.

Within the window, decide whether to dispute, defend or settle:

1. Section 77/78 CCA request — for the original signed credit agreement, current statement of account, and notice of assignment. Until those documents are produced the debt is legally unenforceable in court.
2. Statute-barred check — six years in England and Wales (five in Scotland) since the last payment or written acknowledgement, with no court action in that window, blocks enforcement under the Limitation Act 1980.
3. Disputed balance or wrong person — challenge in writing on the relevant court form (acknowledgement of service, then defence).

Submit any dispute or defence on the right form, on time, with proof of postage.

Routes out if the claim is enforceable

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• Settle in full with a written discount agreement and a clear “full and final” clause.
• Tomlin Order — agreed settlement terms recorded by the court but only converted to a CCJ if you default.
• Affordable instalment plan through the court’s online process or directly with Mason Law’s client.
• IVA to bring all your unsecured debts under one 5-6 year arrangement — once the IVA is approved Mason Law must stop the litigation on the included debt and the unpaid balance is written off at the end.
• Debt Relief Order for total debt under £50,000 with very low spare income.
• Bankruptcy where no realistic monthly contribution is possible.

Pitfalls when Mason Law are involved

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• Never ignore a claim form. Default judgments are entered automatically when no acknowledgement of service is filed by day 14.
• Never accept liability over the phone. Stay in writing.
• Never make a part-payment before checking limitation status — it can reset the statute-barred clock.
• Don’t assume the case is hopeless. Many of these claims are won by default; well-prepared defences regularly result in withdrawn claims or favourable settlements.
• Don’t miss the difference between a Letter Before Claim and a claim form. A LBC is pre-action, a claim form starts a court claim — the deadlines and consequences are different.

Frequently asked questions

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Are Mason Law bailiffs? No. They are solicitors. They can take legal action and obtain a CCJ on behalf of the client, but enforcement at your home would require a separate enforcement officer acting on the CCJ.

Can Mason Law take me to court? Yes. They are a regulated solicitors firm with rights of conduct of litigation. Letters from them often precede or accompany a county-court claim.

Will an IVA stop Mason Law pursuing me? Yes — once the IVA is approved, Mason Law and their client must stop proceedings on the included debt and cannot enforce for the included balance.

The debt is from years ago — can Mason Law still claim? If the last payment or written acknowledgement was more than six years ago in England and Wales (five in Scotland), and there has been no court action, the debt is statute-barred and cannot be enforced. Raise this in writing as a defence.

Related guides

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• BW Legal — debt-collection solicitors
• Lowell Financial — major debt purchaser
• How long can I be chased for a debt?
• Can debt be written off?
• How do I apply for an IVA?