Fixed Costs – Business to Consumer Debt

We do not routinely offer debt recovery services, and we will generally only accept debt recovery instructions from clients with whom we have an existing commercial relationship.

The costs set out below apply in respect of business to consumer/individual debts up to £100,000.00 and apply where a claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed, enforcement action is not needed, and no specific pre-action protocol has to be complied with. The pre-action protocol gives the debtor up to 30 days to respond.

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.

Should any other protocols apply to the claim, we will advise you of the action and costs separately.

Pre-Action Steps

We will charge a fixed fee of £150.00 plus VAT (currently 20%) for preparation of a letter of claim.

Our fee set out above includes:-

Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation
Undertaking appropriate searches
Drafting and sending a letter before action
Receiving payment and sending it to you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing one chaser letter

County Court Claims

Should the debtor not make payment following the issue of a letter of claim, the below charges will apply in respect of the preparation and issue of a County Court Claim Form where the debtor is in England and Wales. If the debtor is resident in any other jurisdiction, then it may still be possible to issue proceedings, but we will advise if not, and of any additional fees.

A Court fee is also payable to issue your claim, as detailed below:

Debt value	Court fee	Our fee (excl. VAT)
up to £300.00	£35.00	£350.00
£300.01-£500.00	£50.00	£350.00
£500.01-£1,000.00	£70.00	£350.00
£1,000.01-£1,500.00	£80.00	£350.00
£1,500.01-£3,000.00	£115.00	£350.00
£3,000.01-£5,000.00	£205.00	£350.00
£5,000.01-£10,000.00	£455.00	£350.00
£10,000.01-£100,000.00	5% of claim	£350.00

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:-

The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from the debtor
You will only recover from the debtor the fixed fee allowable by the Court, which may be less than the fee quoted above
Interest may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost
The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt
The fees do not cover any attendance at Court. Should any attendance at Court be required then we will notify you of this fee in advance
The fees above assume there is only one debtor and that the claim can be served by the Court without any difficulties. Again, should there be an issue with service of the claim, which will increase fees, we will let you know in advance
If detailed Particulars of Claims are required, then additional costs may be incurred. We will discuss this in advance and inform you of any increase/additional fee

Our fee set out above includes:-

Drafting the Claim Form and submitting it to Court
Reporting any response received from the debtor or making payment to you of any monies received
Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the Court to enter Judgment in Default
Where the debtor admits the claim, applying for Judgment to be entered
When Judgment is received, writing to the debtor to request payment
If payment is not received, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs

How long will my matter take to complete?

Matters usually take between 6 to 12 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the debtor, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim and assuming no delay in the Court processing your claim for issue. This also assumes that the debtor pays promptly on receipt of Judgment.

If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve and further costs will be incurred, which we will notify you of in advance.

Please contact our Dispute Resolution Team for more information.