PRE-LITIGATION FEES
1. Letter of Claim (LOC) / Disputed Letter of Claim (DLOC)
UK Debtor LBC / DLBC = £275.00 / £325.00 (+ VAT) Foreign Debtor LOC / DLOC = £325.00 / £375.00 (+ VAT)
2. Tracing Agent’s Fee
The Agents we use operate on a strictly “No Trace – No Fee” basis, with a “Successful Trace” ranging from between £75.00 – £150.00 + VAT
POST-LITIGATION FEES
3. Issue County Court Proceedings
| Level of Debt | Costs (+ VAT) | Court Issued Claim | Filed via Secure Data Transfer (SDT) or Money Claim Online (MCOL) | Solicitors Fixed Costs Awarded by Court at Issue | Solicitors Fixed Costs at Judgment (in default) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £300.00 | £200.00 | £35.00 | £25.00 | £50.00 | £22.00 |
| £300.01 – £500.00 | £250.00 | £50.00 | £35.00 | £50.00 | £22.00 |
| £500.01 – £1,000.00 | £275.00 | £70.00 | £60.00 | £70.00 | £22.00 |
| £1,000.01 – £1,500.00 | £300.00 | £80.00 | £70.00 | £80.00 | £22.00 |
| £1,500.01 – £3,000.00 | £350.00 | £115.00 | £105.00 | £80.00 | £22.00 |
| £3,000.01 – £5,000.00 | £400.00 | £205.00 | £185.00 | £80.00 | £22.00 |
| £5,000.01 – £10,000.00 | £500.00 | £455.00 | £410.00 | £100.00 | £30.00 |
| £10,000.01 – £15,000.00 | Hourly Rate | 5% value of claim | 4.5% value of claim | £100.00 | £30.00 |
| £15,000.01 – £50,000.00 | Hourly Rate | 5% value of claim | 4.5% value of claim | £100.00 | £30.00 |
| £50,000.01 – £100,000.00 | Hourly Rate | 5% value of claim | 4.5% value of claim | £100.00 | £30.00 |
| £100,000.01 – £150,000.00 | Hourly Rate | 5% value of claim | 4.5% value of claim | £100.00 | £30.00 |
| £150,000.01 – £200,000.00 | Hourly Rate | 5% value of claim | 4.5% value of claim | £100.00 | £30.00 |
| £200,000.01 + | Hourly Rate | £10,000.00 | N/A | £100.00 | £30.00 |
MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR SECURE DATA TRANSFER (SDT) OR MONEY CLAIM ON LINE (MCOL) IS £99,999.99*).
(HOURLY RATES: Senior Legal Executive (F.C.I.L.E.X.) = £161.00 + VAT
4. Requesting Judgment (in default)
Fixed Fee: £22.00 + VAT / £30.00 + VAT
5. Defended Proceedings
(i) Debt £300.00 – £5,000.00
Fixed Fee: £1,250.00 + VAT + Court Disbursements & Counsel Fees
(ii) Debt £5,000.01 +
Hourly Rate: £161.00 + VAT + Court Disbursements & Counsel Fees
POST-JUDGEMENT FEES
6. Post Judgment (in Default) Letter [if required]
UK Debtor – 7 Day Judgment Letter = £75.00 + VAT Foreign Debtor – 14 Day Judgment Letter = £100.00 + VAT
7. Enforcement of Judgment (in default)
| Type of Enforcement | DebtLaw uk Costs (+ VAT) | Court Disbursements (Oct 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| High Court Writ of Control (High Court Enforcement – HCE) | £175.00 | £71.00 |
| Warrant of Control (via MCOL or CCBC) | £175.00 | £83.00 |
| Attachment of Earnings Order | £175.00 | £119.00 |
| Order to Obtain Information from a Debtor | £175.00 | £59.00 or £119.00 (if service required by County Court Bailiff) |
| Third Party Debt Order | £750.00 | £119.00 |
| Charging Order | £750.00 | £119.00 |
(In addition to the above, there may be disbursements such as Process Servers Fees; Abortive Fee Notes from HCE; Land Registry Fees and Agents Fees
for attendance at Court Hearings).
8. Non-Routine Cases / Advising on Risk / Prospects of Success / Liability
Any time spent on cases which is non-routine, will be charged at the hourly rate. If a Defence is received, a legal review capped at an initial 2 hours for a review of the papers at £150.00 + VAT per hour (advising on merits of the case; prospects of success / liability; recommendations; and a full estimate of costs / disbursements if client has a good case to proceed to a Hearing / Trial).
9. Personal Insolvency (Creditor’s Bankruptcy Petition)
| DebtLaw uk Costs (+ VAT) | Court Fee; Official Receiver’s Deposit & Solicitor’s Fee (Oct 2023) | |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation & Instructing Process Server to serve Statutory Demand (SD2) | £400.00 | N/A |
| Preparation; Issuing & Instructing Process Server to serve Bankruptcy Petition & instructing Agent’s to attend Bankruptcy Hearing | Hourly Rate/s | £302.00 + £1,500.00 + £7.00 |
(In addition to the above, there will be disbursements such as a Bankruptcy Search, Process Servers Fees and Agents Fees for attendance at Court Hearings).
10. Corporate Insolvency
| DebtLaw uk Costs (+ VAT) | Court Fee; Official Receiver’s Deposit & Solicitor’s Fee (Oct 2023) | |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation & Instructing Process Server to serve Statutory Demand (SD1) | £400.00 | N/A |
| Preparation; Issuing & Instructing Process Server to serve Winding Up Petition & instructing Agent’s to attend Bankruptcy Hearing | Hourly Rate/s | £302.00 + £2,600.00 |
(In addition to the above, there will be disbursements such as Process Servers Fees; advertising in The London Gazette and Agents Fees for attendance at Court Hearings).
Pricing & Transparency
Pricing of our legal services are specifically stated under the specific legal area practice.
Where VAT is chargeable, the rate is 20% of the fee quoted.
Details of the experience and qualifications of people carrying out the work on your matter can be found on the pages of this website dedicated to Our Team.
●Partner: £217.00 per hour plus VAT; ● Assistant Solicitor: £192.00.00 per hour plus VAT; ● Legal Executive (F.C.I.L.E.X.): £161.00 per hour plus VAT;
● Trainee Solicitor: £118.00 per hour plus VAT; ● Legal Assistant: £118.00 per hour plus VAT.
(Kindly note that our hourly fees are reviewed every September).
Debt Recovery
We are able to able to provide a cost effective service to assist individuals and businesses to recover monies that they are owed.
Our Team
Steve Fitzgerald, Heads our Debt Recovery Department.
Steve has considerable experience in Debt Recovery and Litigation generally.
For further details see ‘Our Team’
Pricing
We set out the process of recovering monies below – together with the fixed fees that we are able to offer in relation to uncontested debt claims.
If during the debt recovery process your claim becomes disputed, or if there is a need to seek enforcement of a judgement that has been obtained on your behalf, we will discuss the best way forward with you and advise you of the cost implications.
Letter of Claim
When we are in receipt of instructions from you we will send a Letter of Claimto the Individual or Business that owes you money. If that Individual or Businessfails to respond within the timescales set by the Pre-Action Protocol or Practice Direction, we will send a follow up letter. Thereafter we will advise you on the next steps and the likely costs.
Letter of Claim: £275.00plus VAT (£330.00including VAT)/ Disputed Letter of Claim: £325.00 plus VAT (£390.00 including VAT).
Starting a Court Claim
Generally, a Letter of Claim is sufficient to prompt payment of any monies owed to you. However, if that is unsuccessful, or if the claim is disputed, we will advise you as regards commencing court proceedings, to include the procedure and cost implications. If you decide that you wish to commence court proceedings to recover the monies owed to you, our fees to commence court proceedings and the necessary court fee, are set out below (please note that you may be exempt from paying the court fee if you are in receipt of certain benefits or are on a low income):-
Amount of Claim | Court Fee | Our Fixed Fee | VAT | Total Cost |
Up to £300 | £35.00 | £100.00 | £20.00 | £155.00 |
£301 to £500 | £50.00 | £150.00 | £30.00 | £230.00 |
£501 to £1,000 | £70.00 | £150.00 | £30.00 | £250.00 |
£1,001 to £1,500 | £80.00 | £170.00 | £34.00 | £284.00 |
£1,501 to £3,000 | £115.00 | £200.00 | £40.00 | £355.00 |
£3,001 to £5,000 | £205.00 | £240.00 | £48.00 | £493.00 |
£5,001 to £10,000 | £455.00 | £300.00 | £60.00 | £815.00 |
£10,001+ | We will advise you of the Court fee payable and discuss our fees with you | |||
Please note:-
The Court fee may be subject to change.
For businesses, the VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from the person who owes you money.
Interest and compensation (for businesses) may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
You are entitled to claim interest on the amount of monies owed to you. The current county court interest rate is 8%. Interest is added to the amount of your claim.
You are only able to recover the Court Fee and some costs from the person who owed you money, if you are successful in your claim. The costs you are allowed to recover will only be a proportion of our Charges, not all. Please note that there is no guarantee that you will be successful in your claim or that the person who owes you money has the resources to pay those monies to you.
You will need to pay the Court Fees in advance as well as a sum to cover our Charges.
JUDGMENT ENTERED FOR UNRESPONDED CLAIM FORM
If the person who owes you money fails to reply to the Claim Form, we will enter judgment on your behalf and the following charges will apply for doing so:-
Claim Value | Our Fixed Fee | VAT | Total |
Claim up to £5,000 | £25.00 | £5.00 | £30.00 |
Claim over £5,000 | £35.00 | £7.00 | £42.00 |
OFFER OF PAYMENT ACCEPTED
If the person who owes you money accepts doing so and makes an offer of payment that you accept, the following charges will apply:-
Claim Value | Our Fixed Fee | VAT | Total |
Claim up to £5,000 | £40.00 | £8.00 | £48.00 |
Claim over £5,000 | £50.00 | £10.00 | £60.00 |
OFFER OF PAYMENT REFUSED AND DECIDED BY COURT
If the person who owes you money accepts doing so and makes an offer of payment that you refuse, resulting in the Court having to decide how the monies are repaid to you, the following charges will apply:-
Claim Value | Our Fixed Fee | VAT | Total |
Claim up to £5,000 | £55.00 | £11.00 | £66.00 |
Claim over £5,000 | £70.00 | £14.00 | £84.00 |
Disbursements
Prior to the commencement of proceedings, there may be a need to undertake searches in order to ascertain whether the person who owes you money has other debts or owns any assets, such as a property. We will discuss which searches may be necessary and the cost of those searches, at the relevant time.
Typical searches which may be undertaken include the following:-
Search Type | Cost | Total (incl VAT) | |
Insolvency Search | £3.20 | Included | £3.20 |
Land Registry Search | £4.20 | Included | £4.20 |
VAT
VAT has been added to all of the above fees at the applicable rate, which is currently 20%.
Exclusions
The above fixed charges apply in the specific circumstances as outlined.
However, please note that additional costs may be incurred if the person who owes you money fails to pay you that money. This may occur despite you obtaining a judgment against that person. In that event there will be additional costs if you decide to commence enforcement action. This could be by way of instructing a County Court Bailiff or High Court Enforcement, to enforce the judgement or taking other enforcement action, depending on the circumstances. We will discuss with you the additional costs and court fees that will be involved before any enforcement action is undertaken.
Time Scales
Generally, a typical Debt Recovery claim, will take approximately between 6 – 8 weeks, from the date that we receive instructions from you until such time as you receive payment. However, this may take longer if the person who owes you money, fails to enter into correspondence, or delays making paymentand / or whether it is necessary to commence court proceedings.
If enforcement action is required, this too will increase the time scale.
Charge Rates
Unless subject to a fixed fee our charges are based on the time we spend dealing with your matter.
Time spent on your matter will include meetings with you and perhaps others; travelling; considering, preparing and working on papers; correspondence via letter and email; and making and receiving telephone calls.
Our charge rates are set out belowand we review our Charge Rates on 1 April each year.
We will add VAT to our charge rates at the rate applicable to the date that the work is undertaken.
The applicable rate for VAT is 20%.
Attending upon You or Others
Position | Rate (Excl. VAT) | VAT | Total Rate (Incl. VAT) |
Senior Solicitor | £240 | £48 | £288 |
Assistant Solicitor | £190 | £38 | £228 |
Legal Executive Trainee Solicitor | £161 £150 | £32.20 £30 | £193.20 £180 |
Legal Clerk/Paralegal | £100 | £20 | £120 |
Preparation
Position | Rate (Excl. VAT) | VAT | Total Rate (Incl. VAT) |
Senior Solicitor | £240 | £48 | £288 |
Assistant Solicitor | £190 | £38 | £228 |
Legal Executive Trainee Solicitor | £161 £150 | £32.20 £30 | £193.20 £180 |
Legal Clerk/Paralegal | £100 | £20 | £120 |
Advocacy
Position | Rate (Excl. VAT) | VAT | Total Rate (Incl. VAT) |
Senior Solicitor | £240 | £48 | £288 |
Assistant Solicitor | £190 | £38 | £228 |
Legal Executive Trainee Solicitor | £161 £150 | £32.20 £30 | £193.20 £180 |
Legal Clerk/Paralegal | £100 | £20 | £120 |
Travelling
Position | Rate (Excl. VAT) | VAT | Total Rate (Incl. VAT) |
Senior Solicitor | £240 | £48 | £288 |
Assistant Solicitor | £190 | £38 | £228 |
Legal Executive Trainee Solicitor | £161.00 £150 | £32.20 £30 | £193.20 £180 |
Legal Clerk/Paralegal | £100 | £20 | £120 |
Waiting
Position | Rate (Excl. VAT) | VAT | Total Rate (Incl. VAT) |
Senior Solicitor | £240 | £48 | £288 |
Assistant Solicitor | £190 | £38 | £228 |
Legal Executive Trainee Solicitor | £161.00 £150 | £32.20 £30 | £193.20 £180 |
Legal Clerk/Paralegal | £100 | £20 | £120 |
Letters / Emails Written & Telephone Calls Made or Received (Routine)
Position | Rate (Excl. VAT) | VAT | Total Rate (Incl. VAT) |
Senior Solicitor | £24 | £4.80 | £28.80 |
Assistant Solicitor | £19 | £3.80 | £22.80 |
Legal Executive Trainee Solicitor | £16.10 £15 | £3.22 £3.00 | £19.32 £18.00 |
Legal Clerk/Paralegal | £10 | £2.00 | £12.00 |
Letters / Emails Received (Routine)
Position | Rate (Excl. VAT) | VAT | Total Rate (Incl. VAT) |
Senior Solicitor | £12 | £2.40 | £14.40 |
Assistant Solicitor | £9.50 | £1.90 | £11.40 |
Legal Executive Trainee Solicitor | £16.10 £7.50 | £3.22 £1.50 | £19.32 £9.00 |
Legal Clerk/Paralegal | £5 | £1.00 | £6.00 |
Travel Expenses
Description | Rate (Excl. VAT) | VAT | Total Rate (Incl. VAT) |
Mileage Allowance | £0.45 | £0.09 | £0.54 per mile |