Thanks for the reply. I certainly agree that it's 100% my fault, I missed payments, it's obviously their money (I've always wanted to pay it back), etc. I don't know, I just thought it wasn't right for them to not contact me and just issue a court claim. I've since found out that 7 days notice is all you need to give legally. I find that a bit strange, as people are often away from home for longer than that. It seems like that's another thing tilted in the favour of debt collectors. Anyway, I just got off the phone with them and they've agreed to waive the interest but not the fees. I will take that! Phew

Hello, Firstly, I am a regular poster on the forums here but feel the need to use an alt account for this post. A debt collector has issued a county court claim against me for the amount of ~£2,500. And I don't agree with the full claim. Please hear me through In late 2009, I left my job to start a business. My old employers, "Company X", accidentally continued to pay me for 3 months, totalling ~£3,600. A few months later they wrote to me to obviously ask for the amount back. By this point, I'd spent the money. I had so much coming in and out of my account at the time that I didn't notice. Terrible organisation, I know, and not a mistake I would make today! So I offered to pay a nominal £20 back per month until I could afford to pay more, to which Company X agreed. That was fine, and then in October 2012 I agreed to up it to £300 per month over 10 months to clear the remaining £3,000. Note that they also stated the usual blurb of "if you don't keep up payments, you will be liable additional costs" etc. All fine. I paid the first 3 payments, but then missed the next 3. Totally my mistake - I had removed my calendar entry telling me to pay it. Company X then instructed a solicitor / debt collector to sort it out. A few weeks ago the Solicitor wrote to me advising that my account is in arrears, and that if I do not pay the outstanding £900 within 7 days they may issue court proceedings. 13 days later, they did so, for the outstanding balance, plus 8% interest dating back to 2009, plus court and legal fees, totalling £2,500. At this point, you're probably wondering what I have to complain about. Here's what it comes down to: Company X at no time informed me that I had missed payments. The first contact I received, having kept up with the new payment schedule, was from the Solicitor, with only 7 days to act. I was working away from home for two weeks which spanned the entire period between the Solicitor's letter and the court claim. In other words, I didn't see it until the court claim was already issued. Both Company X and the Solicitor had my email address (and possibly my telephone number), but made no attempt to contact my through those channels, which I would have been able to respond immediately to. As I said above, I was away when the Solicitor's letter was sent. When I opened it (which was 13 days after its date), I paid the £900 immediately. The very next day I was opening the letter of the court claim! Then, I paid the remaining £900. I told the Solicitor this but they basically ignored it entirely and want the remaining £700 interest and fees. I think their lack of effort to contact me and go straight to a court claim is ridiculous. I'm tempted to pay the £700 fees, because I'm buying my first house this year and simply can't have a CCJ registered against me. Do I have a case to not pay? Thanks a lot in advance