I'm actually with you on the debt comment - not ignoring them, but going to CAB, getting a proper assessment of your outgoings/in comings and send a summary of these along with a letter requesting something like a freeze on interest and a nominal payment of £1 a month for x months or years.
I did this 5 years ago, the companies readily agreed. You get the company calling you every once in a while asking if your circumstances have changed, but that's it. When I inherited some money this year I was able to finally pay them off - by this point they had been registered as a default, which will sit on my credit rating for a few years, but I had interest-free, affordable debt for 5 years, so a fair deal IMO.
Perhaps 'don't pay your debt' is rather dramatically phrased, and of course 'don't get into debt' is even better if not always followable advice. But actively managing your debt, rather than running scared and allowing it to escalate, is just sensible. It is a business transaction, and businesses only make money on it as long as you're scared. Once you face them down and discuss sensibly, 9 times out of 10 it's better business-wise for them to go along with your request...