Commercial Debt Recovery via court proceedings

These costs apply where your claim is in relation to your unpaid invoice which is not disputed, and enforcement action is not needed. If the debtor disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one-off letter is required), or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.

We can tailor our services to your requirements. So, for instance, if you want to issue the claim yourself, but you just want assistance with how to draft the court proceedings we can do that for you. If you want assistance with training your own credit control department in how to collect in your commercial debts, we can do that too.

If you would like to talk to someone about your requirements and how we might be able to help you can call us for a free no obligation chat either on the phone or at our offices.

Call us on 01423 542 000 and ask for David Dow

Some typical examples

Debt value Court fee Our fee (Inc. VAT at 20%) Total
Up to £5,000.00 £205.00 (No VAT) £500.00 (£100.00 VAT) Total £600.00 £805.00
£5,001.00 – £10,000.00 £455.00 (No VAT) £800.00 (£160.00 VAT) Total £960.00 £1,415.00
£10,001.00 – £50,000.00 5% value of the claim (No VAT) Example 5% of 10,000.00 = £500.00 court fee £1,000.00 (£200.00 VAT) (or 5% value of the claim) From £1,700.00
£50,001.00 – £100,000.00 5% value of the claim (No VAT) Example 5% of 50,001.00 = £500.00 court fee £2,500.00 (£500.00 VAT) (or 5% value of the claim) From £3,000.00

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:

  • The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor.
  • Claims with a value of up to £10,000 are classed as ‘small claims’ and costs are generally not recoverable other than the fixed costs to issue the claim (currently £80)
  • Interest and costs may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher court fee.
  • The costs quoted above are for undefended claims only and does not include the cost of enforcement action (such as the use of enforcement officers (bailiffs).

Disbursements

*where applicable, disbursements are subject to VAT charged at 20%.

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Typical disbursements that you have to pay as part of litigation expenses that are not included in the above fee:

Item Cost VAT Amount 20% Total
Court Issue Fee From £205.00 to £5,000.00 (depending on claim value) No VAT From £205.00 to £5,000.00
Fee on entering Judgement £80.00 No VAT £80.00
Process Server £100.00 £20.00 £120.00

Stages of the Process

The following stages are included in the above fee structure;

  • Taking your instructions and reviewing your documentation
  • Undertaking appropriate searches
  • Drafting and sending a letter of claim (LOC) to the debtor on your behalf. The LOC sets out in detail how the debt came about and gives the debtor a set number of days to pay in full.
  • Receiving payment and sending it on to you, or
  • if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim.
  • Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgement on your behalf.
  • When the Judgement is received from the court, we will then write to the debtor to request payment.

If the claim is defended or payment is not received within the time specified in the Judgment (usually 14 days) we will provide you with advice on the next steps and the likely costs involved, including whether or not it is economic to pursue the debtor further.

If the claim is not disputed it can take anything from 2 to 12 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. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve. You will also need to bear in mind that if the court office has a back log of work, they will not issue your claim straight away and this is beyond our control.

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