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Below sets out our Debt Recovery pricing information, including legal fees, disbursements and VAT. We have also detailed what our pricing includes, the assumptions about your case that these guideline fees are based on, timescales and key stages.Â
We have included this information for the following services:
• Debt Recovery Pre-Action
• Debt Recovery Court Claims
It is a requirement in nearly all cases to send a Letter of Claim to your debtor so that they know about the debt and, hopefully, with a view to recovering the monies due to you without the need to issue court proceedings. We always recommend this as a first step, as if you fail to do so, you could incur unnecessary cost and the Courts take a very dim view on such action, meaning that you are likely to be penalised in future costs recovery (as may be available to you).
Below sets out our legal fees, any associated disbursements, and associated VAT.
Level of Debt
Fixed Fees
Up to £1,000
£150 plus £30 VAT (Total £180)
£1,001 – £5,000
£350 plus £70 VAT (Total £420)
£5,001 – £10,000
£650 plus £130 VAT (Total £780)
£10,001 – £25,000
£1,500 plus £300 VAT (Total £1,800)
(to include meeting and bespoke advice)
£25,001 +
£2,500 plus £500 VAT (Total £3,000)
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A more bespoke service for any level of debt, which will include a meeting with you, a full review of all papers, advice to you on your position in writing, discussion on potential tactics regarding initial steps and a bespoke initial letter to the debtor can be undertaken and the costs associated with this service can be discussed with you. These will be based on the Fee Earner’s standard hourly rate which is currently £350 + VAT (£420) and the total anticipated fees will be discussed with you in advance.
Subject to the specific case, the facts of the matter and / or the relevant Pre-Action Protocols may require us to give the debtor up to 30 days to respond to this letter, although in a lot of cases, this can be less. We aim to send the letter within 5 working days of receiving your instructions, and we would typically suggest a response within 14 days is appropriate. Our experts will guide you through what is most relevant for your case.
Our Standard Letter of Claim key stages are outlined below and are included in the legal fee outlined above:
• An initial telephone discussion with you to understand the facts
• An initial review of the outstanding invoices
• An initial review of any preliminary papers which may be relevant
• Our Standard Letter of Claim being sent to your debtor (we aim to do this within 5 working days of receiving your instructions)
If no response is received then Court action may be appropriate and we will guide you through this process too.
The below costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs.
Debt value
Court fee (no VAT payable)
Our fixed fee
Total
£35 – £70 (dependant on value)
£395 plus £79 VAT (Total £474)
£509 – £544 (depending on value and Court Fee payable)
£1,001 to £5,000
£80 – £205 (dependant on value)
£595 plus £119 VAT (Total £714)
£794 – £919 (depending on value and Court Fee payable)
£5,001 – £10,000
£455
£2,255
£10,000 – £25,000
5% value of the claim
£2,495 plus £499 VAT (Total £2,994)
£3,494 – £4,244 (depending on value and Court Fee payable)
£25,001 – £50,000
£3,995 plus £799 VAT (Total £4,794)
£6,044 – £7,294 (depending on value and Court Fee payable)
Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:
• The VAT element of our fee cannot always be reclaimed from your debtor – our experts will advise whether this is possible in your case.
• Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
• The costs quoted above are not for matters where a defence is filed, the matter becomes contested or enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt.
The above fee does not include:
• Any disbursements (with the exception of Court fees which are outlined above). The most likely disbursements are detailed below, however these are not relevant to every case, and in any event we will discuss any likely disbursements with you prior to incurring these cost once we know more about your individual case:
• Barristers fees (costs vary significantly depending on the nature of your case and the expertise of the Barrister concerned)
• Bailiffs fees (average cost of £150 plus VAT at 20% (£30))
• Process server fees (average costs range from £150 – £250 + VAT at 20% (£30-£50)
• High Court Enforcement Officers (average cost of £150 plus VAT at 320% (£30)
If the claim is defended, then we will discuss next steps with you, but in contested matters, your costs will increase. Depending upon the complexity of the matter and the issues involved, you could be looking at legal costs of between £10,000 – £35,000 + 20% VAT + disbursements such as barristers fees, as outlined above. The costs charged by a barrister will vary upon the best barrister for your case, their seniority, the complexity of your matter, the level of their involvement just by way of simple example.
Matters usually take 4-12 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgment in default. If a defence is filed or enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve. We aim to send papers to court within 10 workings days of receiving your instructions to proceed.Â
If the matter becomes fully contested to a final hearing and enforcement action is required, the matter could in some more complex matters take up to 2-3 years to resolve, although the standard timescales are much less in more simple cases.
The key stages are outlined below and are all included in the legal fee stated above:
• Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation
• Undertaking appropriate searches
• Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing a claim
• Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgment in default
• When Judgment in default in received, write to the other side to request payment
• If payment is not received within 14 days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs
If the claim is defended, we will guide you through each step of the process and offer bespoke advice, including on the likely costs to be incurred, to each client.
Once Judgment is obtained, we will discuss appropriate next steps regarding appropriate enforcement with you on – this will be different in each case.
We will advise if we feel that the issue of proceedings is inappropriate, for example in the context of affording you the best chance of recovery. Other options are available, such as statutory demands, liquidation options or Alternative forms of Dispute Resolution. If we feel another option is more appropriate we will let you know.