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The various information on the costs of our debt recovery services are set out below and apply where you are a business and your claim relates to an invoice or invoices which you have rendered, are not disputed by your customer, and you have not been paid for. The invoices can amount up to £100,000 in total.
For further details of the debt recovery process, please see our Debt Recovery page.
Work prior to the issue of proceedings
- For a standard format letter of claim and written notification to you of its despatch – fixed fee of £185 plus VAT.
- Further emails, letters and telephone calls (both made and received) in connection with your claim prior to the issue of proceedings – fixed fee of £18.50 plus VAT each.
Court proceedings (for undisputed invoices)
Level of claim | Our charges to you for issue of proceedings until just prior to entry of judgment | Court issue fee payable by you for claims issued online | Fixed costs amount claimable from your debtor in addition to the court issue fee |
£25 to £300.00 | £75.00 | £35.00 | £50.00 |
£300.01 to £500.00 | £90.00 | £50.00 | £50.00 |
£500.01 to £1,000.00 | £150.00 | £70.00 | £70.00 |
£1,000.01 to £1,500.00 | £175.00 | £80.00 | £80.00 |
£1,500.01 to £3,000.00 | £200.00 | £115.00 | £80.00 |
£3,000.01 to £5,000.00 | £250.00 | £205.00 | £80.00 |
£5,000.01 to £10,000.00 | £300.00 | £455.00 | £100.00 |
£10,000.01 to £15,000.00 | £350.00 | 5% of the claim value | £100.00 |
£15,000.01 to £50,000.00 | £400.00 | 5% of the claim value | £100.00 |
£50,000.01 to £100,000.00 | 1% of the claim value | 5% of the claim value | £100.00 |
Notes:
- The court issue fee (see the third column above) and the fixed amount (see the fourth column above) are added to the amount being claimed by you and are recoverable from the debtor. For example, if the debt is worth £1,200, you will also be entitled to recover the £80.00 court fee and £80.00 in fixed costs making your claim worth £1,360.
- Should a claim become disputed/defended in whole or in part, any further work required will be discussed with you and will, unless otherwise agreed, be based on our standard hourly rates, details of which will have been provided to you in connection with you first instructing us.
Judgment
Our costs of entering judgment on your behalf are also based on fixed charges as detailed below. We will enter judgment, on your instructions, if the claim
Debt Value: | Default of acknowledgment of service | Default of defence: | Admission (where the Defendant’s proposal are accepted): | Admission (where the court determines the value): |
Up to £4,999.99 | £25.00 plus VAT | £40.00 plus VAT | £50.00 plus VAT | £70.00 plus VAT |
£5,000.00 and above | £35.00 plus VAT | £50.00 plus VAT | £60.00 plus VAT | £80.00 plus VAT |
Enforcement:
The costs of enforcing a
Enforcement
The costs of enforcing a judgment vary depending on the method used in each case. We will discuss these with you if we obtain judgment and the customer still does not pay you.
Depending on the option you choose, it is likely that our costs will be charged in line with our hourly rates. These are subject to review on 1 April each year and currently stand at the below rates:
Title: | Rate: |
Partners | £360 plus VAT |
Associates | £240-260 plus VAT |
Solicitors | £215 plus VAT |
Paralegals | £185 + VAT |
Trainee Solicitors | £185 + VAT |
When you instruct us, we will provide you with a letter of engagement setting out the hourly rates of the individuals who are likely to work on your matter. We will keep you informed if these change for any reason. If you are a new client, we may also ask you to complete an ID check before instructing us. The cost of this is £10 plus VAT and is not recoverable against your debtor.
Throughout the process of recovering your debt, we may advise you to obtain further information about your debtor, such as whether they own their own property. Any disbursements and expenses we incur as part of this process will be charged to you, plus VAT at the applicable rate.
VAT
VAT is charged at the then prevailing standard rate of VAT which as at 1 November 2023 is 20%.
Our debt collection team
The work is primarily carried out by Rachel Emmings, who is an experienced debt collection paralegal, with support from trainee solicitors in our dispute resolution and litigation team. The work is supervised by our litigation partner, Morgan Rees (solicitor, qualified 2007).
We will confirm with you who will have day-to-day conduct of your debt recovery matter on instruction and will provide you with the specific hourly rates of those likely to be involved in the work.
If there are any further costs points you would like to discuss, please do contact our debt recovery team on 01384 410410.