I received a summons for debt. What proof should I collect?

How to use this guide

Proof is not simply the material that supports your preferred answer. Include records that contradict you, expose a missing fact or show an acknowledgement. A lawyer can address a difficult document; hidden evidence tends to surface after strategic choices have already been made.

Prove the service event

Retain the complete summons and annexures in their received order. Keep the envelope, sheriff's notice or return information, delivery email and file properties. Write down the recipient, location, time and words used when the papers were handed over or left.

If another person received them, ask for a signed factual note and contact details. Do not coach the person about what valid service requires. The aim is to preserve an event for comparison with the court rules, not to create a legal conclusion.

The summons response checklist provides a neutral place to record the service facts without editing the source documents.

Prove how the obligation started

Gather the signed agreement and every version of its terms, application records, quotations, invoices, delivery notes, suretyships, guarantees and amendments. For a telephone or online agreement, preserve confirmation messages, verification records and the account-opening trail available to you.

Where identity is disputed, keep police or fraud reference numbers, specimen signatures and messages showing when you first learned of the account. Avoid distributing identity documents beyond verified recipients.

Prove the amount line by line

The plaintiff may claim capital, interest, fees and costs. Collect complete statements, not only the closing balance. Match each payment or credit using bank statements, receipts, debit-order results, cash-deposit slips and transaction references.

Create a reconciliation that links every challenged line to a source file. Write “unmatched” where the evidence is incomplete. Do not alter the creditor's statement or present your spreadsheet as if it were an official bank record.

Prove what was disputed before summons

Export full email and messaging threads about faulty goods, cancelled services, incorrect rates, affordability, settlement, identity theft or account queries. Include attachments and surrounding messages. A single favourable screenshot can be misleading if a later message accepted the balance.

Preserve call logs and contemporaneous notes. If a recording exists, retain the original without editing or public posting and obtain advice about lawful use and relevance.

Prove payment arrangements accurately

Keep every settlement offer, acceptance, acknowledgement of debt and repayment schedule, plus proof of performance. Mark clearly whether a document is unsigned, draft, cancelled or final. Evidence that discussions occurred is not always evidence that litigation was suspended.

Record any promise that the summons would be withdrawn or placed on hold, then look for written confirmation and court-file action. A creditor's informal assurance should not be substituted for the required response.

Prove the statutory sequence where credit law applies

For a credit agreement covered by the National Credit Act, preserve the section 129 notice, proof of delivery, debt-counselling application, proposals, court or Tribunal order, termination communication and distribution statements. Sections 129 and 130 regulate enforcement prerequisites, but not every alleged debt falls within them.

Do not assume an NCR or ombud complaint resolves issued proceedings. Keep the reference and outcome as evidence while separately protecting the court timetable.

Preserve dates relevant to prescription

The Prescription Act requires more than the age of the earliest invoice. Collect the date performance became due, the last payment, each possible oral or written acknowledgement, previous service of process and facts that may have delayed the running of prescription.

Write the timeline from documents wherever possible. Avoid phoning to confirm that you “still owe” an old balance before advice, because the new communication may itself become part of the dispute.

Authenticate rather than decorate

Save files in their native format when available. Use date-led file names, keep read-only backups and record the source. For paper records, scan every side at legible resolution and keep the physical originals safe.

Do not crop dates, add text to the source image, backfill a diary or recreate a lost invoice. A separate note can explain what you remember and identify that it was prepared after service.

Organise proof around issues

Create folders for court papers, contract, account, payments, communications, statutory notices and identity. Then prepare an index showing filename, date, author and issue. The debt-defence consultation pack provides a practical cover structure.

Use the summons response guide to connect the evidence to the immediate court step. The notice of intention to defend glossary explains why the initial procedural notice is not itself the place to attach every proof item.

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