A man has hit out at debt collectors and court staff after a seven-year saga over a faulty product ended in a hefty bill.

Gary Bones was locked in a dispute after purchasing a laptop on finance only to find the dongle which came as part of the deal would not work.

The 56-year-old roofer, of Princes Road, Dartford, repeatedly complained to Vodafone, who made the dongle, and Carphone Warehouse, who sold him the package, but says neither would take responsibility.

Eventually the father-of-five switched to Sky to get access to the internet.

He then took matters into his own hands and stopped paying off his bill after he had covered the cost of the laptop.

Lowell Portfolio Ltd bought the debt and have been asking Mr Bones for the remaining £186 ever since, which led to a court hearing being scheduled for September at Dartford County Court.

The firm says it “made every effort” over three years to resolve the situation.

Mr Bones said: “I paid for the laptop but the dongle never worked and despite repeatedly complaining nothing was ever done. Why should I pay for a product that never worked?

“I was ready to go and fight it but the day before the hearing it was postponed and I was asked for dates I couldn’t make. I told them I was away for five days in October but they scheduled it for then anyway.”

"I'm not paying it. It's the principle" - Gary Bones

Lowell notified Mr Bones of the outcome of the hearing by post and told him he now owes £484.

He said the court has never responded to his calls and letters. Staff claim he never let them know he would be unavailable.

He added: “I’m not paying it. It’s the principle.

“Because they didn’t register that I would be away I didn’t have a chance to have my say and now I have a £500 bill. I’m looking into whether I can make a claim against the court.”

Carol Ord, a spokesman for Lowell, said: “Our aim is to resolve matters directly with customers.

“We only use litigation as a last resort. Mr Bones was insistent that the matter be heard in court.

“Over a period of three years we have made every effort to engage with Mr Bones with minimal response from him.

“We consider we have always been polite, professional and reasonable with Mr Bones in attempting to manage his debt repayment, including an offer to settle at a discount.

“We investigated Mr Bones’ dispute with the companies involved and provided him with a full explanation in 2016.

“We explained that the mobile phone contract was valid, and, by not paying, he breached their terms and conditions and incurred the debt.

“Mr Bones has already received a credit from the service provider for the period during which he had no service.

“We understand from the court that they didn’t receive notification from Mr Bones that he couldn’t attend the hearing. The court entered judgement in his absence.

“An application can be made by Mr Bones to set the judgement aside if he would like to make his case in person and we would not oppose this application. Mr Bones may wish to seek legal advice on this.”