Stage 1:  Letters of claim

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In cases where a letter of claim is only required, then we charge a fixed fee of £75 plus VAT for the first letter with an additional £25 plus VAT for each individual letter. Where there are over ten letters required to be sent then the maximum fee charged for the production of letters is £225 plus VAT.

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Stage 2: Court claims

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These costs apply where your claim is in relation to a business debt for an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed.  If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice on fees if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee, or an hourly rate basis if more extensive work is needed.

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Where court proceedings are required then the following table of fees will be applied:

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:

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• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from the debtor.
• Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
• The fees quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt.
• The debt to be collected is within England and Wales.

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Our fees include:

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• Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation in support of unpaid invoices.
• Drafting and issue of the Claim.
• Dealing with service of the Claim.
• Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgment in default.
• When Judgment in default is received, writing to the other side to request payment.
• Receiving payment and sending it onto you.
• If payment is not received within 14 days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely fees.

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Matters usually take 6 to 10 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgment in default.  If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve, and we will provide you with a revised fee estimate at this stage.

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We will require you to provide to us information in support of the debt including a copies of the invoices and a copy of the completed Debtor Questionnaire which can be provided upon request.

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In certain cases, we will be prepared to act based on a conditional fee agreement in respect of certain pre-litigation debt recovery matters. The collection rates to be applied (at our discretion) vary between 10% and 25% of the value of the total debt (including any VAT on the debt) depending on the value of the debts and the likelihood of the debtor being able to pay the debt.

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We will also be prepared to consider acting on a conditional fee agreement or in the alternative on a damages based agreement where we are asked to issue proceedings to recover a debt. Our standard fee on such agreements is 25% of any recovery and we charge VAT on this fee. The charge does not include any disbursements which might need to be paid as part of the case, for example, court fees.

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More details of our terms for entering into conditional fee or damages based agreements can be provided upon request to our head of Debt Recovery, Deborah Hooton.

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Stage 3:  Insolvency route

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Companies: Winding Up Petition

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In the case of a debtor company, our fees for preparation and service of a Statutory Demand are £150 plus VAT and a process servers fee of £125 plus VAT.  If it is appropriate to serve a letter, then our fees would be £75 plus VAT.

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Where it becomes necessary to issue a Petition, we can offer a free consultancy to discuss our fees, as it is not always possible to provide a general fee estimate due to the individual circumstances that may be involved.  In addition to our fees, the following disbursements are payable:

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• Court fee of £302.
• Creditors’ winding up deposit fee of £2,600.
• Search fee of £19.85 plus VAT.
• Process Server’s fee of £125 plus VAT.
• Advertisement fee of £109.20 plus VAT.
• Counsel’s estimated fee for each court hearing £95-150 plus VAT depending on availability and venue.

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Our fees include:

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• Drafting and issuing the Petition.
• Dealing with service requirements and instruction of the process server.
• Drafting and placing the advertisement in the Gazette.
• Filing the Certificate of Compliance.
• Dealing with one hearing and one adjourned hearing including preparation of the hearing bundle and instruction of counsel.
• Dealing with all correspondence, formalities, instructions and reporting requirements inherent to the Petition.

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Anyone wishing to proceed with a Petition should note that:

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• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from the debtor company.
• A revised costs estimate can be provided in cases where:
• a number of creditors come forward to support the Petition and attendance at more than one hearing and one adjournment is required: or
• the debt is disputed, and the court requires further evidence to be filed and considered at a final hearing; or
• an application for an injunction is made by the debtor company for an order to preventing the advertisement and seeking the dismissal of the Petition as significant costs may be incurred in defending the application.
• The debtor company must be situated within the jurisdiction of the High Courts of England and Wales.

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Individuals:  Bankruptcy Petition

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In the case of an individual debtor, then it would be necessary to serve a Statutory Demand.  Our fees are £150 plus VAT plus a process server’s fee of £125 plus VAT and a search fee of £4.

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If the debtor failed to comply with the terms of the Statutory Demand then you may issue a Petition.  It is not possible to provide a cost estimate due to the individual circumstances that may be involved but we can offer a free consultancy to discuss the costs prior to the issue of the Petition.

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In addition to our fees, the following disbursements are payable:

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• Court fee of £302.
• Creditors’ bankruptcy deposit fee of £1,500.
• Search fee of £4 plus VAT per search.
• Process Server’s fee of £125 plus VAT.
• Counsel’s estimated fee for each court hearing £95-150 plus VAT depending on availability and venue.

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The nature of the work to be carried out would include:

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• Drafting and issuing the Petition.
• Dealing with service requirements and instruction of the process server
• Filing the Certificate of Continuing Debt and list of creditors in compliance with the court requirements.
• Dealing with one hearing and one adjourned hearing including preparation of the hearing bundle and instruction of counsel.
• Dealing with all correspondence, formalities, instructions and reporting requirements inherent to this petition.

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Anyone wishing to proceed with a Petition should note that:

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• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from the debtor.
• A revised fee estimate can be provided in cases where:
• a number of creditors come forward to support the Petition and attendance at more than one hearing and one adjournment may be required: or
• the debt is disputed, and the court may require further evidence to be filed and considered at a final hearing.
• The debtor must be situated within the jurisdiction of the High Courts of England and Wales.

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Hourly Rates:

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Our hourly rates for are:

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• Director £200 plus VAT
• Senior Associate £175 plus VAT.
• Associate £165 plus VAT.
• Senior Solicitor £150 plus VAT
• Solicitor £125 plus VAT.
• Paralegal £100 plus VAT.

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Please note that if you successfully recover the debt, you may be able to recover all or part of your legal fees and disbursements from the debtor.  However, payment of agreed fees and disbursements in full is not dependent upon the recovery of these costs from the debtor nor on an order for these costs being made in your favour.

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