I will not lead with what you should have done, only what you need to do now. Firstly you need to talk to a solicitor who understands these matters; “strict proof” is the key word. By that you need the claimant to prove how they arrived at the sum they claimed. Also why they have waited this long to formally request payment. Disclosure (previously known as Discovery) is the best course of action. Please sit down and read the site and the do’s and don’ts, believe me a few hours looking at the site and generally “gening up” is much better than 20 years paying an old debt. At this stage mentally prepare yourself to having to pay between 5 and 20% of the claimed amount, as they have issued a CC summons they mean business. Do not make an offer, get advice, remember the old adage “someone who legally represents himself has a fool for a client”, I am not trying to say you are incapable of defending yourself, just that if someone else defends and advises you it takes some of the “personal” interfaces out of the equation.(posted 7301 days ago)So a staged plan of attack 1, Talk to a good legal advisor if he says lets make an off to pay the full amount either as a lump sum or over a period of time he is of no use, find someone else. 2, You need to turn the negotiating tables in your favour, eg show that you are going to fight this, and make the other party work hard (and spend a lot of cash in doing so) this always works in your favour. 3, Once you have created sufficient response and indicated you mean business then you need to get your advisor to make an offer, do not do this yourself, he will know the best time to slide in the offer, and the best way to do this. 4, Unlike the letters you received previously, the County Court Summons will not go away, you must react, but not over react.
Please keep the site up to date with your case, if you are unsure or anxious post it, there are a lots of people who are here to help, remember you are not alone, most of us have been where you are now, and survived.