Price Transparency – Debt Recovery
The recovery of outstanding sums owed by individuals or companies.
Debts can vary from very small amounts of money to millions of pounds and therefore,the complexity of each case depends on the amount of the debt and the circumstances from which it arose. A simple debt claim would be one which is not disputed and arises from, for example, an unpaid invoice. Debt recovery becomes more complex if the debt is disputed.
Our fees, therefore, reflect the complexity and value of each debt recovery case and it is difficult to give an estimate of our fees without knowing the background and value of a claim and whether it is disputed.
Our fees mentioned below are based solely on debts recoverable in England and Wales and pursuant to English and Welsh law up to £100,000.
In order to recover a debt, we must follow process driven steps. We must follow the Civil Procedure Rules, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims and the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct. We specialise by providing a non-process driven approach worked on or overseen by experienced solicitors at each stage.
We initially send a Letter of Claim (“LOC”) to the debtor, setting out that we are seeking to recover the debt and our intention to issue court proceedings should they not pay. Our fees for considering a client’s documentation and drafting the LOC are £200 plus VAT.
Should the debtor not pay or dispute the debt, the matter becomes more complex and further fees will be incurred. If the debtor does not respond to our LOC, we then send a chaser letter reminding them of our intention to issue proceedings and the implications should this happen. Our cost for doing this is £25.00 plus VAT.
If the debtor still does not respond, depending on the amount of money that is owed, we would look to advise our client on issuing proceedings against the debtor. We would need to ensure that it is financially appropriate for our client to incur the fees of issuing proceedings in order to get payment of the debt. If this is the case and the client wishes to issue proceedings, our fees for drafting the claim form and particulars of claim are around £350 plus VAT, however this could increase if there are large amounts of paperwork to consider.
Should the debtor respond to our LOC by disputing the debt and claiming that they do not owe the money, we would need to consider the arguments they put forward and advise the client on their options going forward. The fees for this can vary depending on circumstances and so it is difficult to give a quote prior to knowing the details and complexity of the dispute. In most cases where the debtor responds to the LOC disputing the debt, our next step would be to draft a response letter to the debtor refuting their allegations. Our fees for doing this are around £125 plus VAT but, again, these depend on the complexity of the dispute and the amount of documentation which needs to be considered.
Court proceedings can sometimes be costly and stressful for clients, as much as we try to minimise this. As such, we could enter into negotiations with the debtor in order to bring the matter to a conclusion without the need to go to court. All parties to proceedings are under an obligation to attempt to settle their matter under the Civil Procedure Rules. In order for us to negotiate on behalf of our client, our fees are around £350 plus VAT dependant on the complexity of the matter and the time taken in negotiations.
Our fees set out above are estimates only and will vary depending on the facts of the matter. The above rates are based on an average hourly charge out rate of £250 plus VAT, being that of our most experienced litigator. These fees do not include disbursements or any court fees.
Our team of experienced commercial litigators include:
Director, Solicitor, Supervisor – Ian Spencer
Other Lawyers – James Field, Courtney O’Neill, Annabel Pike
Support Staff – Katherine Ewings, Amy Donaghey, and Tom Chesley