Fees
Please see below for details of our pricing structure for Debt Recovery work. If you would like to discuss our fees for any additional areas of work please contact Alan Preston on 01744 742305.
Alan Preston is a Solicitor and was admitted to the Solicitors’ Roll in 1999. Alan Preston has undertaken debt recovery work (including debt recovery litigation) since 1997. All fees for professional services are exclusive of VAT and VAT will be charged in addition to such fees (at the prevailing rate which is currently 20%).
Disbursements normally attract VAT at the normal prevailing rate which is currently 20% (with the exception of Court fees and Land Registry which are not subject to VAT).
PROFESSIONAL CHARGES FOR DEBT RECOVERY WORK FEES
Letter before claim to debtor followed by issuing of claim in County Court
Letter to debtor before issuing claim - work may comprise perusal of client’s invoices and statement or other documents,
telephone call or correspondence to client to discuss matter and preparation of bespoke letter before claim to debtor
attaching invoices and statement or other relevant document (time period of 7 or 14 days for payment depending
on client’s instructions). £150.00 - £200.00
Additional correspondence - per letter. £50.00 - £100.00
Claim Form / Particulars of claim - work comprises checking with client to see if payment has been made pursuant
to letter before claim, preparation of Claim Form and issuing the claim with the County Court. £250.00 - £750.00
Entering default judgment. £75.00
Enforcement - work comprises a formal Request for a Warrant of Execution or a High Court Writ of Fieri Facias and
includes liaising with High Court Enforcement Officer or County Court Bailiff. Other enforcement options are available
and such options will be discussed with the client and fees provided if applicable. £150.00 - £300.00
Please note that if there is a successful recovery from the debtor, we reserve the right to increase our fixed fees. Such increase would normally be limited to the interest, late payment charges and / or costs granted by the Court and paid by the debtor.
Insolvency action - applicable to debts where there is no dispute or where there is unlikely to be any dispute and where the amount of the debt is at least £5,000 for an individual debtor and £750 for a limited company debtor - this option can be taken following the entering of a judgment against the debtor
Statutory demand - work comprises perusal of client’s invoices and statement, telephone call to client to discuss
matter, preparation of statutory demand (this threatens a bankruptcy petition or a winding up petition if payment £350.00 - £550.00
is not made in 21 days) and liaising with Process Server (personal service of the statutory demand is required).
There is no requirement to have a court judgment prior to issuing a statutory demand although it is often the case
that a statutory demand follows a judgment.
Note - if there is an application to set aside the statutory demand or if there is an application for an injunction to
restrain the presentation or advertisement of the winding up petition then the above fixed fees would not apply
and the matter would be classed as commercial litigation to which hourly rates would apply.
Letter to Debtor prior to, at the same time as, or after, the service of the statutory demand, setting out why there
is no genuine dispute over the debt and why it should be paid immediately. £100.00 - £200.00
Bankruptcy petition / winding up petition - work comprises preparation of bankruptcy petition and liaising with the
Court, liaising with the Process Server, preparation of formal documents prior to the attendance at the court
hearing and attendance at the Court hearing - note if the debtor seeks to make payment after the presentation
and advertisement of the petition then we would seek recovery of all costs in addition to the payment of the debt.
Note this is the fee if the matter is not disputed. £1250.00 - £3000.00
Please note that if there is a successful recovery from the debtor, we reserve the right to increase our fixed fees. Such increase would normally be limited to the interest, late payment charges and / or costs granted by the Court and paid by the debtor.
DISBURSEMENTS / COURT FEES
All disbursement costs are subject to change. For example, court fees often increase annually. The amounts below are for guidance only.
Court issue fees for debt claims are dependent on the amount of the claim – the relevant fee is available on request. Court fees are added to the amount of the claim. Court fees are also charged for enforcement. There is no court fee for entering a default judgment. In insolvency claims, the court fee includes a deposit which is payable to the Official Receiver. This is refundable should the hearing not go ahead.
Court issue fees:
Amount of Debt Court fee
Up to £300 £35.00
£300 - £500 £50.00
£500 - £1,000 £70.00
£1,000 - £1,500 £80.00
£1,500 - £3,000 £115.00
£3,000 - £5,000 £205.00
£5,000 - £10,000 £455.00
£10,000 - £200,000 5% of claim
Court fee to transfer judgment to High Court for enforcement (added to judgment sum). £66.00
Court fee to request Warrant of Execution by County Court Bailiff (added to judgment sum). £110.00
Fee payable to High Court Enforcement Officer should he / she be unable to enforce the judgment debt
(known as an ‘abort’ fee). £90.00
Process Server’s fee (per service - applicable to insolvency proceedings). £125.00
Outdoor Clerk’s fee (an Outdoor Clerk is necessary to issue insolvency proceedings in London and some other courts). £50.00
Advertisement of winding up petition in London Gazette (applicable to insolvency proceedings). £105.00
-
Please note that the above fees are for debt recovery work. If the claim is disputed it would no longer be regarded as debt recovery work and it would be classified as commercial litigation. We charge on an hourly rate for commercial litigation work.
-
All charges above are exclusive of VAT and VAT would be charged on all professional charges and disbursements unless otherwise stated (note; VAT is not payable on court fees).
-
Payment of court fees is required in advance or on receipt of invoice. Payment of other disbursements may be required in advance and if not in advance then on receipt of invoice.
-
You should note that if court proceedings are issued some of the costs referred to above are recoverable from the debtor and would be added to the claim. The amount of recoverable costs (should the claim be disputed) often depends on the amount of the claim and whether the claim is regarded as a small claim or not (the general rule is that claims of less than £10,000 are regarded as small claims; the costs recoverable for small claims are normally limited).
-
Where the debtor is a business it may be appropriate to seek recovery of debt recovery costs and / or compensation pursuant to late payment legislation. This may increase the amount which you are able to recover.