@ Sbrinz & Doctor - I think the chronology of the thread lost you a bit. All the first ones were "what should I do", but the last one was "this is the outcome". I didn't have the meeting and THEN found the demand

@Minimia - yes, i did collect it. I figured that collecting it and saying i'd challenge was a safer route

On a related issue, is it possible for a Swiss based company to issue a Betreibung against a non resident?

Yes.

Eg: a tourist leaves a hotel without paying the bill, the hotel can issue a Betreibung against the tourist

Thanks for that. But how would it be enforced? If, as per your example, the tourist is not a resident of Switzerland but lived in Kiwi-Land, how would the debt be collected if the person ignored the bills?