No two matters are exactly the same. Our fees will reflect the particular aspects of your case and we will discuss these and your requirements at the start of each matter.
Read More
A number of factors can affect the costs including the complexity, the number of witnesses and documents, expert evidence (if required) and Court time required/number of Court hearings. As such we cannot give you a reliable estimate of the costs of us helping you until we have details of your particular case.
The prices shown below are average prices for standard undefended and defended debt recovery cases that do not have unexpected complications. The complexity of a case and the factors affecting costs would be discussed with you at the start. If unexpected complications arise during a matter you will be informed immediately and we would fully discuss the potential consequences of that before additional charges are incurred.
Initial letter before action fee:-
| For debts up to £400.00 | £150.00 plus VAT of £30.00 |
| Between £400.01 and £100,000.00 | £250.00 plus VAT of £50.00 |
Hourly rate applicable thereafter:
| For claims under £5000.00 | £175.00 plus VAT of £35.00 |
| Between £5000.01 and £10,000.00 | £215.00 plus VAT of £43.00 |
| Over £10,001.00 | £250.00 plus VAT of £50.00 |
| Debt up to £5000.00 | £650.00 plus VAT of £130.00 |
| £5000.01-£10,000.00 | £800.00 plus VAT of £160.00 |
| £10,000.01 to £100,000.00 | Between £800.00 and £3,500.00 plus VAT (20%) |
| Up to £10,000.00 | £2,500.00 plus VAT of £500.00 |
| £10,000.01 to £100,000.00 | Between £2,500.00 and £12,500.00 plus VAT (20%) |
We are obliged to inform you of the main characteristics of the services that we will provide. As such, a broad outline of the work we will undertake on your behalf is as follows:
The average undefended should result in a request for judgment within approximately 14 weeks.
If defended the average case will take approximately 12 months from the Pre-Action Protocol letter to trial but this may vary depending upon the availability of the Court, number of witnesses and time estimate for the trial.
If defended Key Stages:-
Small Claims matters (for debts up to £10,000.00) will normally be dealt with by a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives who became a Fellow in 1995. The fee earner has specialised in debt collection since qualifying and has experience in dealing with Small Claims Mediation and attending Court for Small Claims hearings. Their charging out rate is £190.00 per hour plus VAT (20%).
On some occasions the matter may be dealt with, under supervision, by trainee solicitors at a charging out rate of £110.00 per hour plus VAT (20%).
Matters over £10,000.00 and, in some cases under £10,000.00 depending upon the complexity will be dealt with by a Partner in the firm who qualified in 1999. The Partner has specialised in debt collection/litigation and contractual disputes since 2001 and has vast experience in attending Court, Tribunals and dealing with dispute resolution. Their charging out rate is £280.00 per hour plus VAT (20%).
Court fees on issue, on allocation and the hearing fee together with any court fees/disbursements in respect of enforcement.
Travel costs. Average £15.00 plus VAT (20%)
| Court hearing fee if defended (paid prior to trial) | Between £27 to £1175 depending on the value of the debt claimed |
| Enforcement fees (e.g. to instruct the Court bailiff) | Between £66.00 to £322.00 depending on action to be taken (excluding insolvency/bankruptcy) |
| Court fee on issue of claim | From £35.00 to 5% of the value of the claim. The Court fee will depend on the value of the debt claimed as follows: | |
| Claim amount | Court fee | |
| Up to £300 | £35 | |
| £300.01 to £500 | £50 | |
| £500.01 to £1,000 | £70 | |
| £1,000.01 to £1,500 | £80 | |
| £1,500.01 to £3,000 | £115 | |
| £3,000.01 to £5,000 | £205 | |
| £5,000.01 to £10,000 | £455 | |
| £10,000.01 to £100,000 |
5% of the claim
|
Dealing with litigants in person as extra assistance has to be provided to those parties.
Cases where expert evidence needs to be obtained or where there are multiple witnesses who need to be interviewed.
Interim hearing to deal with unexpected applications made by a party within the Court proceedings.
Any counterclaim raised in correspondence and/or issued in Court by the debtor which claims money from you
If enforcement action is required pursuant to a judgment following non-payment by the debtor.
In certain, but not all cases, you may also be required to pay further monies such as expert fees, tracing and process server fees, Land Registry fees and Companies House fees.
The fees for each of the above will be unique to the case. We will usually be able to give you clear indication of the monies that will be required to be spend on your behalf at the outset of the matter.
A barrister may be instructed in complex cases for assistance with drafting court statements of case and/or attendance at Court. These costs depend on the experience of the barrister instructed and the complexity of the case and/or the length of the Court hearing. The costs for a barrister to draft statement of case start from £400 plus VAT of £80. The average barrister’s fees for this service is around £750 plus VAT of £150.
Fees for a barrister to attend a hearing start from £500 plus VAT of £100. The average fee for a barrister to attend a one-day hearing at Court will be £1500 plus VAT of £300.
