Debt Recovery Fees

• Claims for sums of less than £10,000 are highly likely to be allocated to the small claims track where only nominal fixed costs are recoverable from the other party;
• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor if you are VAT registered;
• VAT is a government tax that we are required to charge, and will usually be added at 20% to our fees and disbursements, except where we indicate the disbursements are outside the scope of VAT.
• Interest and costs may take the debt into a higher banding, with higher Court fees;
• The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt.
• The standard, undefended debt recovery process does not include, Tailored Particulars of Claim, defended actions & complex letters before claim.
• A standard letter before action/letter before claim costs £50 (+20% VAT of £10.00).
• Applying for Judgment is charged at a fixed rate of £22 (+20% VAT of £4.40)

• Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation;
• Undertaking appropriate searches;
• Sending a letter before action;
• Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing claim;
• Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgement in default;
• When Judgment in default in received, write to the other side to request payment;
• If payment is not received within 21 days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs.

Matters usually take 2-12 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 Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.

• The amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider;
• Whether the debt is paid upon receipt of initial correspondence from us;
• The response received (whether the debt is defended or not);
• The level of disclosure that is to be provided;
• The amount of expert evidence (if any) which is required;
• The amount of days that any final hearing is listed for;
• The conduct of the other party.

If you are able to provide sufficient evidence at our first meeting, the cost is likely to be at the lower end of this range. If the claim is defended or a counterclaim is submitted then the fees may be in excess of these figures.

The work will involve:

• Discussing your circumstances in detail and confirming whether this is the most appropriate action for you to make and what other options may be available to you;
• Giving you advice about the requirements of the Civil Procedure Rules and whether you meet the criteria;
• Considering the supporting evidence you have provided, which we anticipate will take 1-5 hours;*
• Where necessary, helping you to obtain further evidence, such as expert reports or obtaining witness evidence;
• Preparing your claim and submitting it on your behalf, which we anticipate we anticipate will take 3-5 hours;
• Attendance at court, we will give you clear advice (and discuss the possibility of us attending with you) at the appropriate time or arranging representation for you by a barrister. This could be between 5-30 hours of work;
• Giving you advice about the outcome of the claim and any further steps you need to take; and
• Advising of any enforcement options available following a successful outcome.

*the amount of hours depends on the number of documents, whether anything is missing and how long it will take to obtain the missing documents.

The costs quoted above do not include:        

• Enforcement costs;
• Any additional application that may be required; 
• The costs of other parties which you are ordered to pay;
• Where the court dismisses your claim, any advice and assistance relating to an appeal.

We cannot guarantee how long the court will take to process any claim that you make. 

We will normally be able to submit this type of application within 8-16 weeks of you instructing us, but we will let you know at the earliest opportunity if it is likely to take longer than this. There are Pre-Action Protocols which have to be followed before proceedings can be issued to ensure that there are no penalties in respect of the recovery of costs and these can take time. Also if mediation is requested by the responding party then this should be entered into as there are penalties of up to 30% reductions to legal costs for unreasonable refusal to mediate.

Please note the anticipated number of hours and fees are an estimate based on the facts above. All applications are likely to vary and of course, we can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case.