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RCS and Consumer Friend

RCS has for some time used Award winning Consumer Friend to help administer certain debt review accounts and payments.

This meant that, where consumers had RCS accounts included in debt review, Consumer Friend formed part of the process of managing those payments and related administration.

 

Confusion Begins

The situation suddenly seemed to change when a portfolio of RCS accounts was acquired by MBD Legal Collections.

At that time, MBD sent a strongly worded communication to Debt Counsellors telling them to immediately change the banking details used on the PDA system so that payments would be redirected to MBD/Capital Data.

This led to a lot of confusion and a behind the scenes dispute over whether those payments should be moved or whether the existing Consumer Friend arrangements should continue.

A Court Order Gives Clarity

After Consumer Friend and MBD were unable to reach agreement on the issue, it was decided that the matter should be taken to court for a ruling.

In March 2026, the High Court ruled that MBD was bound by the existing agreement relating to the affected portfolio. The order said that the existing Consumer Friend arrangements should continue and that payments should not be redirected away from Consumer Friend. 

‘The order said that the existing Consumer Friend arrangements should continue’

Debt Counsellors may have thought that would be the end of the matter, but MBD then decided that it wanted to appeal the ruling.

That left things somewhat up in the air again.

So Now What?

Normally, when a court ruling is appealed, the original order is basically suspended while the whole appeal process is dealt with.

In practical terms, this can leave everyone waiting to see which arrangement should be followed.

Consumer Friend therefore went back to court and asked for a special order allowing the March ruling to stay in force while MBD’s appeal continues. 

On 2 October, the High Court granted that request and specifically ordered that the March ruling would not be suspended while the appeal is being dealt with.

‘the High Court …ordered that the March ruling would not be suspended while the appeal is being dealt with’

This gives Debt Counsellors and PDAs some useful clarity about what to do for now. Once the appeal is eventually heard one day, there will be even more information about the longer term position. Court cases and appeals can, however, take quite some time, so having clear instructions about how the affected payments should be handled in the meantime is very helpful.

Consumer Friend has shared a helpful industry communication about this special arrangement.

Download that here:

CF Communication to the industry (s 18(3) application) (02.10.2026)

You can also read the court ruling here:

Court Order granted 19 March 2026 

No Stress For Consumers

Consumers in debt review who have RCS accounts do not need to worry or make any changes themselves.

These payment arrangements are all handled behind the scenes by their Debt Counsellor and Payment Distribution Agent.

Consumers can simply continue making their normal debt review payment as usual. If anything ever does need to change with any of your debt review payments, then your Debt Counsellor and your PDA will do all the hard work behind the scenes, so no need to worry at all.