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Find the current address of someone who owes you money
Individuals, sole traders and companies use Trace Bureau to locate a debtor before sending a letter before action, issuing a claim or instructing enforcement agents. You get the person’s current registered UK address, a confidence rating and a dated report you can rely on.
Who instructs this
Businesses with unpaid invoices, landlords owed rent, individuals owed money under a loan or agreement, credit controllers, debt recovery firms and solicitors.
How it works
- Tell us who the person is and where they last lived.
- Confirm the money owed and accept our terms.
- A private investigator traces and verifies the address, you are charged only when we find them, and your report is ready within 3 to 5 working days, or 2 to 3 working days on Priority.
Questions about this
Is it legal to trace a debtor?
Yes. Recovering money you are owed is a recognised legitimate interest under UK GDPR. We record the basis on every instruction.
What if the debtor has moved abroad?
We will tell you if the evidence points overseas. A UK trace is not charged in that case, and we can quote for an international enquiry.
Can you also give me a phone number?
Add a mobile number to any trace, charged only if one is on file and found.
Guides that go with this
Tracing a debtor before court: a creditor's guide
Trace the debtor before the letter before claim, not after judgment. Why the address underpins service, the Pre-Action Protocol and enforcement, from £150.
Read the guideFinding a defendant's address for a small claim (Money Claim Online)
Money Claim Online needs a current address for the defendant. What happens if it is wrong, what the rules allow, and how a £150 trace gets you one.
Read the guideEnforcing a CCJ when the debtor has moved
A CCJ does not enforce itself, and every enforcement route needs to know where the debtor is now. What each method needs and why to trace first.
Read the guideLent money to a friend or relative who will not pay, or has moved? What you can do
A personal loan to a friend or relative is still a debt. How to show it was a loan and not a gift, the letter to write, the small claims route, the six-year limit, and how to find their current address lawfully.
Read the guideA client will not pay your invoice and has vanished: how freelancers and small firms find them
For freelancers, contractors and small businesses owed an invoice by a client who has stopped answering: what you can add to the debt, the letter the court expects, Money Claim Online, and how to find the client's current address when it is a person rather than a company.
Read the guideA builder or tradesman took your deposit and disappeared: how to find them and get the money back
What to do when a builder, roofer or other tradesman takes a deposit and stops answering: who you actually paid, the card and bank routes, Trading Standards, a letter before claim, the small claims track, and how to find their current address.
Read the guide