Timescales & Prices

We offer a mix of fixed price and hourly rate services depending on the complexity of your case. Where a fixed price does not apply, we will always provide you with a clear estimate of the costs we think you will incur in taking a particular course.

All our fixed prices assume that the debtor is based in the UK. If your debtor is based outside of the UK, we will provide you with an estimate based on the additional work likely to be involved.

We will ensure that you are advised as to the most efficient way of recovering what is owed to you.

For more information on the key stages of the Commercial Debt Recovery Process click here.

Letter Before Action

If a Letter Before Action (LBA) is all that is required, assuming that the debtor pays promptly on receipt of our LBA and no further negotiations are required, the matter will usually take 2 to 5 weeks from sending the LBA to receipt of payment from the debtor.

We may be required to undertake searches at this stage, for example, bankruptcy searches. The cost of these is likely to be in the region of £10 per search. There is no VAT applicable.

Post LBA Negotiations

The timescale for post LBA negotiations can vary greatly depending on the debtor’s conduct and level of cooperation. However, typically it will take between 4 and 8 weeks. 

Negotiations would typically cost between £600 - £1,800 + VAT based on our hourly rates, depending on the complexity of the situation.

The court expects the parties to take reasonable steps to attempt to settle matters before commencing court proceedings. However, what is ‘reasonable’ depends on the specific circumstances of the claim; we will always advise you as to the commercial benefits or otherwise of engaging in settlement discussions from a cost/benefit perspective.

Pre-Issue Assessment of Case

Depending on the complexity of your case (e.g. the issues, volume of documents/evidence etc), this stage of the process is likely to cost between £600- £1,200 + VAT based on our hourly rates.

We will likely undertake Land Registry and bankruptcy searches at this stage at a cost of around £10 to £20. There is no VAT applicable.

In some situations, we would also suggest that you commission agents to prepare an asset report (also known as a pre-sue report) for around £175 to £250 + VAT.

The timescale for pre-issue assessment is usually between 1 and 3 weeks.

Issuing money claims

Our costs for preparing the claim to the court are calculated on a fixed price basis, as set out below.

We may have to carry out searches at this point (e.g. insolvency searches) if they have not already been done as part of our pre-case assessment.

Our costs in relation to drafting the claim, including requesting a judgment on an undefended case, will be:-

In addition to our professional costs, a court fee is also payable to issue the claim. The current court fees are set out in the table below:

Timescale for this stage: 8 to 12 weeks.

Debtor Admits the Debt

The timescale to receipt of judgment from receipt of any admission that you accept is likely to be in the region of 2 to 6 weeks (depending on the court). If you disagree with the debtor’s proposal for payment, you can ask the court to set the rate based on the available information; that may or may not require the court to list a hearing.

No Court Hearing Required

If the matter can be determined by the court without a hearing, we would typically expect it to cost in the region of £200 - £500 + VAT for us to advise you on the matter and correspond with the court/debtor.

Court Hearing is Required

If a hearing is listed then, typically, we would expect it to cost between £750 - £2,000 + VAT for us to advise you on the matter and correspond with the court/debtor.

We will also be required to instruct an agent to attend the hearing on your behalf. This would incur a disbursement of approximately £135 + VAT.

The timescale to receipt of judgment from the point at which you reject the debtor’s proposal is likely to be in the region of 10 to 16 weeks (depending on the court).

Defended Cases

For Small Claims cases (i.e. claims with a value of less than £10,000), we can manage your case to trial for a fixed fee (excluding disbursements) of £3,000 + VAT. It will usually take between 6 and 12 months from filing of a Defence to the final hearing (depending on the court).

For claims that are destined for the Fast Track or Multi Track (i.e. complex cases or those with a value of more than £10,000), we will provide you with a clear costs estimate and likely timescales on a case by case basis. Due to the complexities involved, costs and estimated time scales can only be given once we are able to establish what is involved. As an average, Fast Track cases can take between 6 - 15 months and Multi Track cases can take between 12 - 24 months. We will always provide a clear estimate based on the work that will be required.

Judgment Enforcement

The fixed prices listed below assume that the action is not contested. If the matter becomes contested or we are required to undertake any work which is excluded from the fixed price package, we will provide you with a clear estimate based on our hourly rates.

Occasionally we will advise you to instruct counsel to advise you/represent you at Court Hearings. If we do, they will provide an estimate based on the work required. VAT is usually added to counsel’s fees (depending on whether they are registered for VAT or not).

Any reference to VAT above is calculated at the standard rate for goods and services, currently 20%.