Just to warn you, if you're going through Dubai (or Abu Dhabi) and it's within 15 years of the last acknowledgment of the debt you could find yourself arrested (this isn't always the case but it does happen). Out of all the banks, Emirates NBD go after defaulters the most and are the most persistent judging from one of my friend's recent experience upon return to Dubai.

This is what I'm thinking. From research it appears that they're allowed under German law but I do agree that for the original debt being around the £50 mark, it's unlikely that it would be called upon in the UK through British courts. I will be making an offer to the original company when I have an income once again as I think that's best as I'm not opposed to paying what's owed just the fees that I didn't think even the UK debt collectors charge.

So there's nothing they can do? Is there no way that it could escalate as while it's a small debt and the fees are outrageous I've never experienced this before in the UK and most certainly not abroad, I didn't realise that this was a done thing for a non-credit subscription. Thanks for your response.

Hi there, first post here and I hope this is the right place. I have a debt in Germany that I got from a mistake I made and it has since been sold on to a debt collector in Germany who are chasing the debt (from Germany). I spoke to them about the debt and said I couldn't pay however they talked me into 3 monthly payments which I can't afford at this time due to being unemployed (recently lost my job, hopefully will be back in employment soon) but I want to work out exactly what they can and can't do. The debt it's self is 68,40€ however they've added collection fees, (future) administration charges (I think it's what zukünftige Bezugsgebühren aus Verzug gem. §§ 280, 286 I BGB means), business fees and expenses which total 285€. I'll admit that it's my fault and if I had been informed I owed the 68,40€ I would've paid it however now I'm not in the position to pay the debt plus these expenses they've added. I unfortunately have no information on the original subscription nor any cancellation as I didn't receive any mail from the paper in Germany, just the subscription itself nothing else. I know I don't have a leg to stand on and it was a mistake that I'd like to rectify but I can't pay at this time and they haven't understood that. My main question is on the fees, what is and isn't enforceable from the UK standpoint as if I can pay the original debt which I believe is only 68,40€ then what should I do in regards to the rest or can I refuse to pay the rest on the basis of being unemployed at the moment? Thank you for reading and I look forward to all responses.