verbal contract

It sounds like a situation where you need legal advice. Go and post your case on this website, bidsfromlawyers.com. Lawyers get to review your case and bid on your case. You can chose the best lawyer for your case.

If you have no written contract then it will be your word against the lenders, unless of course either of you has a witness who supports one of you. If you have been paying back the same amount each month and have the receipts or some means to prove that you have paid the money, then you shouldn't have any problems. Perhaps you should talk to a Solicitor/Lawyer for some advice before you have to attend the court. Good luck. :)

I believe that a verbal contract is as binding as a written contract, although it's obviously harder to prove what was actually agreed upon. Do you have proof of what you were paying? Do you have receipts? If you and the person you borrowed money from didn't agree that you would pay X amount of money per month, I doubt that they have grounds to sue you, as long as (until now) you were indeed making the effort to repay the loan. Does anyone else know of your verbal agreement (was anyone else there)? I'd round them up so they can act as a witness for you.