Civil Litigation

Debt recovery

We have extensive experience in debt recovery and can advise you as to which is the best course of action you need to take to pursue any claims for unpaid debt.

The fee earners that would deal with your matter have a charge out rate of £190-£240 per hour. However, the fees incurred in your matter can vary due to the circumstances of your case.

Court Fees

If we have to commence Court action the Court charges vary depending on the amount of money that is owed to you.

The Court fees of a Claim vary depending on the value of the claim. These are as follows:-

Should you wish to proceed with a claim please note that :-

• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your Debtor
• Interest and compensation may take the debt into higher banding, with a higher cost.
• The Court fees do not cover matters where enforcement action, such as if the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt. We can discuss this with you.

Our fees are calculated by the following key stages of work carried out on a matter:-

• Taking initial instructions and reviewing all documentation necessary to proceed with the claim.
• Undertaking any appropriate searches relevant to your matter.
• Sending a Letter Before Action
• Receiving a payment and forwarding this to you, or if the debt has not been paid, drafting and issuing a claim.
• Where no Acknowledgement of Service or Defence is received, apply to the Court to enter Judgement in default.
• When judgement in default is received, write to the Defendant to request a payment.
• If the payment has not been received within 14 days, providing you with advice on the next steps and likely costs.

The length of time in dealing with your matter can vary. However, matters may take up to 16 weeks from initial instructions from you to receipt of payment from the Defendant, dependent upon if a claim is made. It also relies on whether the Defendant pays promptly once in receipt of the Judgement in default. 

Our Fees

No two claims are the same.

To be advised as to whether or not to commence any Court action we offer a fixed fee meeting of:-

Stephen Lockwood: £120 plus VAT

Angela Brown: £95 plus VAT

The fee earners hourly rates in dealing with your matter will range from £190-£240 per hour.

We would always advise to send a Letter Before Action and the cost of this would be £75 plus VAT.

If no payment is received then to commence proceedings our costs would be charged at the hourly rate of the fee earner dealing with your matter pro rata to the work carried out, which would be discussed with you at the meeting.

It is important to note that you do not have to start Court proceedings after issuing a Letter Before Action and we will advise you on the best course of action if there is no response to this Letter.

If Court Proceedings commence then we usually ask the Court to serve the claim. At this stage you would be the Claimant and the debtor in the claim is referred to as the Defendant and once the Defendant has received the claim they have the following options:-

• To accept the claim and in response make an offer of payment
• To accept part of the claim and in response make an offer of payment for that amount only.
• To reject part of the claim
• To reject the whole of the claim.

At this stage we will advise you on what response is received and what the next steps are, and the costs involved, which would be reviewed as the case progresses.

For further advice on civil litigation and debt recovery, or to discuss your case, please contact us through the online enquiry form or telephone 01564 777250