County Court Claim Form from drydensfairfax for an old credit card debt

turbojazzman

I have tried to do as much research as possible before posting, but having now read reviews on Trustpilot (probably foolishly!) about drydensfairfax solicitors I am now concerned about dealing with them, so writing on here for some last minute advice before I do.
I have a very old credit card debt from MBNA from around 13 years ago. I have had a payment agreement with Capquest for a very small amount going out monthly, which I have kept up for a long time. The debt is down from around £2100 to around £1200. Capquest passed it to Arrow who passed it to drydensfairfax and I foolishly ignored their letters asking for a financial staement payment plan, then a Letter of Claim (I now know what that is!) followed by the inevitable County Court claim form, as I just don't generally deal with life very well.
I do owe this money and I can afford to pay this, although I can't really aford to pay any other creditors that I owe a total of around £10,000 to if they all use this tactic.
So my question is, firstly, is it too late to ask for a copy of the credit agreement as proof? Shall I just pay this as soon as possible?
If so then how wary should I be of dealing with these people? I avoid speaking on the phone to any of them as a rule, but I feel like I have left ot too late this time around. Can I be sure this will all be settled and go away?
I have not spoken to any debt collectors in a very long time and have ignored them for years with little consequence. I realise that because I have been paying this one off it won't be statutary barred, or whatever.

Thank you hive mind, for any help and advice you give.

(Looks like I have about 9 or 10 more days to respond to the claim form so I am keen to resolve this asap

sourcrates

EDIT......
I see you still have time to respond to the claim, in which case complete the court forms and return them swiftly.

You don`t need to communicate with the creditor at all, just fill in the paperwork and always correspond in writing only.

Advice here -
What to do if you get a Claim from the county court about a debt (debtcamel.co.uk)

turbojazzman

Thank you for your advice and links, much appreciated.
Just read the forms again and it says if I agree to pay then I do just send it direct to the claiment, quoting referneces.
I have also just noticed that the reason they say that they sent it is that I "failed to maintain payments" which is untrue. Although perhaps Capquest have not transferred payments over. Frustrating. Does this give me any reason to defend it at all? I am guessing not!
I guess I shall just ring them and see what they say? As the worst that is going to happen is that I just pay the full amount anyway! Expensive lesson learnt!

sourcrates

The only defence to a claim is either -

You don`t owe the money,
The amount they are asking for is incorrect, 
The debt has been paid
Or the debt is statute barred or otherwise unenforceable.

Unfortunately, messing you around does not constitute a defence, although on occasion it should lol.

turbojazzman

Yes, totally understand. Annoying that this has all happened on one of the debts that I have actually been paying! Oh the irony!
At least I know the stages leading up to this now and hopefully won't get caught unawares again.

Thanks again for the advice