Result! Have had no further communication from the trainer or the debt collection crowd, so the template letter you provided did the trick! Thanks very much to everyone who helped me out with this, very, very grateful to you all.

Hi Surfer01, Yes that was what we thought too - I know it was only a typo mistake, but a pretty dumb one!

Hi, Again thank you so much for the advice and template letter; I've rattled off the document pronto, and will send it by registered post first thing tomorrow. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything - I'm feeling ever so slightly smug, because if the trainer in question had been in any way sympathetic to my son's situation we were happy to meet him in the middle, and he would have received some payment...I fear he may well have shot himself in the foot as they say (which is quite an amusing analogy considering his job...) Thanks again

Hi slick132, I hope I was correct in calling them an online debt collection agency - they are called 'The Thomas Higgins Partnership', the emailed letter stated they were solicitors. I would be really grateful if someone could suggest where I go from here - i.e. do I respond to the letter pointing out that my son is under 18, or should I just ignore it? Thanks. (By the way this whole site is amazing, I'm astonished by the wealth of knowledge out there that people are happy to help with!)

Thank you so much for your rapid and helpful reply!

Hi, I hope someone can help me with this slightly complicated matter: Please bear with me as I give you some background information first: I live in the Republic of Ireland, and my son is a successful athlete. Last year he received private sponsorship and part of this was to provide funding for a personal training programme with a UK based sport-specific trainer. This was to cost £120 per month. In the meantime, my son's sponsor has become unable to provide further support, and my son is unable to fulfill the payments to the trainer. I contacted the trainer in question, explained the circumstances, and asked if we could come to some mutual agreement to resolve this. At this point, my son had received no plans or help that he hadn't already paid for, and I contacted the trainer (explaining that my son's funding had been completely withdrawn) to ask if we could send the him a sum of money as a gesture of good will, and that my son would receive no further plans or help. The trainer then emailed me back, pointing out that my son had signed a contract committing himself to a 12 month plan, and that we therefore still owed him £360 (3 months training.) He was insistent that we pay the amount in full. Sorry to be rather lengthy in my background information but I hope it helps to make the situation as clear as possible. So: Last Friday I received an emailed letter from a UK online debt collection service demanding payment in full of the £360 within the next 7 days or court action will ensue. My main questions: The contract was signed by my son when he was 16 - there were no parental signatures, so can this be legally binding? If it is legally binding, can it be pursued from the UK to the Republic of Ireland? I take no pleasure in not paying the amount, but firstly we can't afford it, and secondly I think the trainer is being unreasonable in demanding money for services he has not provided. As a final point the actual contract has a typographical error in it that states it runs from 1st of November 2011 until 31st of September 2011. Thank you in advance for any help or advice you can offer.