Our Disputes & Litigation Pricing

Initial Consultation

An initial consultation to discuss and advise on your matter will be charged at a fixed costs of £200.00 plus VAT (higher fees will apply in the event that your matter is particularly complex and/or it is necessary for us to consider more than 10 pages of documents for the purposes of the initial consultation of which you will be informed before proceeding with the same).

Our fees

Other than in respect of the initial consultation our firm does not offer a fixed fee service for debt recovery matters. Charges will be incurred on the basis of time actually spent on the matter and invoiced in accordance with our hourly charge out rates as set out in our terms and conditions for contentious business as are currently as follows:-.

Accordingly work carried out by a partner in compliance with any applicable Pre-Action Protocol [PRACTICE DIRECTION – PRE-ACTION CONDUCT AND PROTOCOLS – Civil Procedure Rules (justice.gov.uk) / PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL FOR DEBT CLAIMS Redraft spring 2015 (justice.gov.uk)] will be charged at a rate of £275.00 plus VAT per hour and disbursements. The time spent will be charged in units of one-tenth of an hour.

In the event that proceedings prove necessary work will continue to be charged in accordance with our hourly charge out rates for preparation of a money claim (as includes drafting the Claim Form, Particulars of Claim a Schedule of Interest and any Appendices) and filing the same with the Court for issuing.

Court fees

The Court fees for issuing a money claim are as follows:-

*of the value of the claim.

These are the court fees as at September 2023. HM Government publish current court fees here.

Costs Guide

Average costs can vary dramatically. The costs set out below are only a guide and the actual costs incurred will depend on various aspects such as the value of the claim, number of outstanding invoices, the evidence needed, the number of documents needed, the nature and complexity of the dispute, the urgency of the matter, the nature of possible / anticipated defences, where your case is likely to be allocated i.e. to small claims, the fast track or the multi-track, the regularity with which you require updates to be sought from third parties etc. and the skill, effort, specialist knowledge and responsibility required in dealing with it on your behalf and staff capacity.

Should we be successful in obtaining Default Judgment (in the event of the Defendant failing to reply within the timeframes set by the Civil Procedure Rules, subject to that qualification on average you could expect to pay between £1,100.00 plus VAT to £2,200.00 plus VAT (costs will be higher for more unusual cases in the event that counsel is required to assist with the drafting of the Particulars of Claim due to the nature and complexity of the matter as may be in the region £1,000.00 to £1,850.00 plus VAT however you will be notified of the necessity and amount of any such costs at the earliest opportunity and prior to them being incurred) and the applicable Court fee in respect of costs incurred after exhausting any applicable Pre-Action Protocol for the preparatory stage through to filing of a Request for Judgment and reporting to you on the making of any Default Judgment. The Court fee paid and fixed cost of between £72.00 to £145.00 (no vat) will be added to the amount claimed.

In the event that you also instruct us to seek an additional remedy to a monetary Judgment such as an Order for possession and/or an injunction additional Court fees will be payable. We will inform you of the applicable quantum thereof during the course of preparation of your claim however further fee information can be found on Form EX50 for Civil and Family Court Fees [EX50 – Civil and Family Court Fees (publishing.service.gov.uk)].

If the case is defended costs will continue to be incurred on the basis of our hourly charge out rates plus disbursements such as the Court hearing fee (and again may include counsel’s fees where required) which are currently as follows:-

Small Claim Track where the amount claimed is:

VAT on Solicitors fees

Our professional charges are subject to payment of VAT. Please note that vat will be payable at the prevailing rate as at the invoice date. You will be provided with a VAT Invoice in respect of our charges.

Letters of Claim sent to companies usually require the prospective Defendant to pay within 14 days (however a prospective Defendant may seek up to 3 months to provide a response subject to the complexity of the matter) however letters to individuals must afford a 30-day period for reply in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims [PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL FOR DEBT CLAIMS Redraft spring 2015 (justice.gov.uk)]. If the Defendant engages with the relevant Protocol there will often be a period of negotiation, the duration of which will vary from case to case having regard to, inter alia, proportionality of costs and prospects of settlement being achieved. Our costs in drafting a Letter of Claim will vary substantially depending on the relevant facts of the matter and could range from in the region of £275.00 to £1,100.00 plus VAT.

Court claims for anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that interest and fixed fee compensation may take the debt into a higher banding with a higher cost. Once the Court has served the claim a Defendant has between 14 and 28 days (unless an extension of time is sought by way of consent or Application) in which to file an Acknowledgment of Service and/or Defence (preparatory costs outlined above). Once relevant details of your particular case are known (such as the grounds of any possible defence and whether expert evidence etc. may be required) we will be able to provide you with an overall costs estimate of dealing with the matter through to trial.

Default Judgment can be entered by the Court upon the filing of a Request for Judgment if the Defendant has not filed an Acknowledgment of Service and/or a Defence and the relevant period has expired (costs in the event of obtaining Default Judgment outlined above). If Judgment is obtained but not paid then further action will be required to enforce payment, the costs of which are not included within the above fee estimates.

Timescales for the County Court Money Claims Centre to enter Judgment were recently around 42 working days. However on 14 August 2023 the County Court Money Claims Centre and the County Court Business Centre were replaced with the newly created Civil National Business Centre which may see a reduction in Court backlogs over time.

Enforcement costs will vary depending on what form of enforcement you instruct us to undertake on your behalf. These will again be charged under our hourly charge out rates. Accordingly costs, disbursements and timescales will vary depending on the process being undertaken.

Timescale: A Writ of Control may be applied for once the time for payment of a Judgment has expired (normally being 14 days from the date of the Judgment). Whether or not any recovery will be made depends on the Defendant’s ability to pay and whether there are any assets which may be seized and whether a repayment agreement is entered into. A successful enforcement by Writ of Control may take about 12 weeks from instruction unless assets are seized for sale at auction or you agree to enter into a repayment plan with the Defendant as will increase the overall duration (and costs) of the enforcement process. If payment is secured following service of a Notice of Enforcement our costs are likely to be in the region of £330.00 (including VAT) however if numerous attendances are required by the enforcement agent our costs will be significantly higher on the basis of our hourly charge out rates.

Timescale: A Statutory Demand should only be served where the debt is not disputed for example where there is a Judgment or an admission that the debt is due as otherwise substantial costs may be incurred in dealing with an Application by the debtor to set aside a Statutory Demand. A Statutory Demand can be prepared on receipt of instructions and is then usually sent to a process server for personal service. Personal service generally takes about 2-3 weeks via a process server. Once served a debtor has 21 days to make payment (or agree a payment plan) of the sums sets out therein failing which you can petition for their insolvency or apply to wind them up depending on whether they are an individual or a company. Our costs are likely to be in the region of £550.00 to £825.00 (plus VAT).

Timescale: A Statutory Demand should only be served where the debt is not disputed for example where there is a Judgment or an admission that the debt is due as otherwise substantial costs may be incurred in dealing with an Application by the debtor to set aside a Statutory Demand. A Statutory Demand can be prepared on receipt of instructions and is then usually sent to a process server for personal service. Personal service generally takes about 2-3 weeks via a process server. Once served a debtor has 21 days to make payment (or agree a payment plan) of the sums sets out therein failing which you can petition for their insolvency or apply to wind them up depending on whether they are an individual or a company. Our costs are likely to be in the region of £550.00 to £825.00 (plus VAT).

Timescale: A Third Party Debt Order can sometimes be obtained within about 16 weeks of the Application being filed with the Court however this is entirely subject to Court backlogs and is dealt with as judicial box-work in respect of which there is no applicable turnaround time. Our costs are likely to be in the region of £1,100.00 to £2,200.00 plus VAT (excluding the aforementioned advocacy costs).

This is applicable in straightforward cases where the Attachment of Earnings Order is obtained without a hearing or further applications/revision to deal with Defendants who have not been found or their employment has changed.

Timescale: An Attachment of Earnings Order can sometimes be obtained within about 16 weeks of the Application being filed with the Court however this is entirely subject to Court backlogs and is dealt with as judicial box-work in respect of which there is no applicable turnaround time. Our costs are likely to be in the region of £270.00 to £550.00 plus VAT.

Timescale: An Interim Charging Order can sometimes be obtained within about 4 weeks of the Application being filed with the Court. The timescale for the final Charging Order will depend upon whether the Defendant files an objection and if the Court lists the case for a hearing. Without any objections or a hearing, it would be approximately a further 8 weeks to the making of the Final Charging Order. Our costs are likely to be in the region of £825.00 to £1,650.00 plus VAT (excluding the aforementioned advocacy costs). These costs do not include dealing with any Application for an Order for Sale.

You can petition for bankruptcy against an individual if they owe you more than £5,000.00. The below fees are applicable to straightforward cases where the matter is determined at the first hearing, there are no issues with regards to service and the debt is not disputed or if a Court Judgment has been obtained without an Application to set aside or appeal having been filed.

Timescale: A Bankruptcy Order can usually be obtained within about 12 weeks of the Petition being issued by the Court. As a general guide our costs are likely to be in the region of £1,100.00 to £2,200.00 plus VAT (excluding the aforementioned advocacy costs) depending on the complexity of the matter.

You can apply to wind-up a company if it owes you more than £750.00. The below fees are applicable to straightforward cases where the matter is determined at the first hearing, there are no issues with regards to service and the debt is not disputed or if a Court Judgment has been obtained without an Application to set aside or appeal having been filed.

Timescale: A Winding-Up Order can usually be obtained within about 12 weeks of the Petition being issued by the Court. As a general guide our costs are likely to be in the region of £1,100.00 to £2,200.00 plus VAT (excluding the aforementioned advocacy costs) depending on the complexity of the matter.

Head of Department

Our Head of Department is Jennifer Hardy. Jennifer is responsible for supervising our team of litigation lawyers.