Do I have to pay?

DUTR

fragal123 said:

@car_54 and @MEM62 Thanks for your reply. I was willing to go to court. When they contacted me, I explained to the legal firm I was already living abroad. They told me in that case, as they wouldn't cover my expenses to return to the UK to appear in court, it would be closed. 

It was closed with a conclusion of split liability, sometimes folk have to realise the world does not stop for them. Going to court does not automatically mean you will win, in the grand scheme of things £250 is a small price to pay due to the other consequences, your call.....

[Deleted User]

fragal123 said:

@car_54 and @MEM62 Thanks for your reply. I was willing to go to court. When they contacted me, I explained to the legal firm I was already living abroad. They told me in that case, as they wouldn't cover my expenses to return to the UK to appear in court, it would be closed. 

Ah, then unfortunately you did agree to take whatever settlement they came to because you wouldn't appear in court.

You could have recovered the cost of your trip back to the UK by adding it to the cost of the claim (should you win), but apparently they didn't advise you of that. You might be able to complain that the advice you were given was unclear, i.e. they said the case would be dropped but didn't explain that you would end up 50% liable as a result. It's a bit of a stretch but you can only try.