Our role as a trade association

The Credit Services Association (CSA) is the sole national trade association in the UK representing organisations active in the debt collection and debt purchase industry. The CSA, which has a history dating back to 1906, has over 250 member companies which employ more than 11,000 people. Our diverse membership serves a wide array of clients including major financial institutions (such as banks and building societies), utility companies and government departments, and it includes specialist entities such as tracing agencies and law firms.

Our members manage over £60 billion in consumer debt across almost 50 million accounts, returning more than £5.2 billion annually in collections. They also oversee £18.6 billion in commercial debts across approximately 1.9 million commercial accounts.

As the voice of the collections industry, our vision is to build confidence in debt collection by making the process clear, easy-to-understand and less stressful for all those involved. Further information on the CSA can be found on our website.

The functions performed by CSA members are vital to the operation of the various sectors in which they operate. Unpaid debts cause damage to lenders / suppliers and to borrowers by adding costs to the system which result in higher prices for credit or goods/services. Serious problems with unpaid debt may also lead to restrictions in the availability of credit, particularly to consumers who may otherwise find it difficult to obtain cost-effective credit and therefore have a detrimental impact on the overall growth of the economy.