Money Claims (Debt Recovery)

These pricing structures vary depending upon whether the instruction is at the:

1. Pre-action stage, or
2. If it is in respect to us conducting Court action on your behalf.

Debt recovery via a Letter of Claim and County Court Proceedings

The fees set out below are applicable to business clients in respect of debts of no more than £200,000. They apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed, the debtor is within England and Wales and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss the further work which will be required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary.

 

Debt Value	Court Fee	Our Fee
Up to £5,000	Scale between £35-£205	£350 – £750
£5,000.01 – £10,000	£455.00	£550 – £1500
£10,000.01 – £200,000	5% value of the claim	£750 + 2% value of claim

 

Pre-legal fees – Civil matters

• Pre-Action Protocol compliant letter of claim £350 – £550
• Letter before action to any limited commercial entity £350 – £550

Legal Proceedings (not including Court fees or other disbursements)

• Issuing a Claim to an undefended Judgment £350 – £450
• Writ of Control (High Court Enforcement) £250 – £350
• Consent Order £400 – £600
• Charging Order (following judgment) £350 – £550
• Settlement of Charging Order £350 – £550
• Statutory Demand £350 – £550
• Bankruptcy Petition (sole trader or guarantor) £750 – £1,050
• Winding Up Petition (limited commercial entity) £750 – £1,050

Non-standard and defended cases

• Small claims track cases fixed fee £950 – £1,450

Applications and Insolvency disbursements (external costs)

• Application by Consent or without notice £250 – £450
• Application for a Charging Order £250 – £450
• Application on notice where no other fee is specified £250 – £350
• Sealing a Writ of Control (High Court Enforcement) £150

Insolvency Proceedings

• Issuing and serving a Statutory Demand £250 – £350
• Issuing Bankruptcy / Winding up proceedings £750 – £950

Bankruptcy

• Official Receiver deposit (refundable if Order not made): £900 – £1,250
• Bankruptcy petition £950 – £1,250
• Agents fee for service £150 – £250

Winding Up

• Winding Up petition £1,600 – £2,000
• Agents fee for service £150 – £250
• Petition hearing attendance (Agent) £150 – £250
• Searches for Bankruptcy £50 – £150
• Advertisement in Gazette for Winding Up petition £150 – £250

 

Timescales

• We will acknowledge your instruction within 24 hours and send out the initial letter before claim to the debtor within 48 hours, for a standard debt recovery referral.

 

• A commercial (business) debtor will be provided with 14 days to make payment, proposals for payment or provide details of any dispute. An individual (person) debtor is provided with 30 days to enable them to seek independent advice, should it be needed

 

• Once legal proceedings are issued, a debtor has 21 days (7 days for service of proceedings then 14 days to respond) before we can enter a judgment (CCJ). Therefore, for an undefended claim, judgment may be obtained within 6 weeks of instruction for a business or 8 weeks for an individual.

 

• Defended legal proceedings depend on the debtor being engaging and attempting to settle, and the Courts’ capacity for track allocation and hearings. A defended small track claim (up to £10,000) could take 9-12 months to get to mediation or a trial, whereas a fast track claim (£10,000-£25,000) and multi-track claim (over £25,000) could take up to 18 months to get to trial.

 

• Throughout a defended claim process, we will endeavour to engage with the debtor to determine whether the settlement is an option. While settlement may mean you will have to be flexible in the sum you will receive, that sum will be in your bank sooner and legal/Court fees may not have been incurred.

 

• Typically for enforcement, we will instruct a High Court Enforcement Office on your behalf, for debts over £600. Once the judgment has been transferred to the High Court, a Notice of Enforcement letter is sent to the debtor (in accordance with compliance) providing them to pay or contact within 7 days. If no payment or response is received, an Officer will attend the debtor’s premises within 7 days to collect payment or levy on any assets for removal and sale at auction. If it gets this far (which isn’t often at all), the process could take 4-6 weeks.

 

• If you instruct us to serve a statutory demand on a debtor, once drafted, it needs to be personally served on them or for a business, at the registered office or last known business address. This can take 7-14 days, dependant on the debtor (individual) confirming their identity and being present. A debtor will then have 18 days to set aside the demand or 21 days to pay, failing which, you may petition for bankruptcy (individual) or a winding up order (business).

 

• The Courts will typically take around 14 days to seal the drafted petition, filed by us on your behalf, then list a petition hearing date in around 8-12 weeks. If payment or settlement is not agreed, and there is no further applications or adjournment, the order will be given at this hearing.

 

Disbursements

• Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees or the costs of a process server. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
• Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:
  • The VAT element of fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor.
  • Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
  • The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt.

Normal Procedure

• Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation
• Undertaking appropriate searches
• Sending a letter before action and complying with pre-action protocol
• Receiving payment and sending on to you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing claim (upon your instructions)
• Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgement in default (upon your further instructions)
• When Judgement in default in received, write to the other side to request payment
• If payment is not received within 30 days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs

 

Timings

Matters usually take 4 – 6 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. If a claim is issued then this can take 4 – 8 months depending on the date of a hearing. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve and can take up to a year.