Commercial Debt Recovery
Our commercial debt recovery team will act for you on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis, up to and including sending a letter before action. If the letter before action is successful and obtains all or part of the debt, our fees will be 10% of the sum recovered, subject to a minimum of £20 per claim, plus VAT. If the letter is unsuccessful you can decide to drop the matter at that stage and you need not pay us anything.
If you are not paid after the letter, and no defence is raised by the debtor, and you wish to proceed we will prepare and issue county court proceedings. The court fee and our fee (excepting the VAT element) is added to the judgment debt by the court. In certain circumstances it is possible to add interest and late payment compensation to the amount claimed.
Our costs for the county court claim are set out in the table below. These costs apply where your claim is for an unpaid invoice which is not disputed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point we will discuss the merits of proceeding, charges for pursuing a defended action, any further work required and provide you with further advice about costs, which will be charged on an hourly rate.
If you are not paid after judgment, we will review with you the options for enforcement of a judgment debt, for example insolvency procedures. If instructed, we will carry out any enforcement action, where possible, on a fixed-fee basis.
We also carry out various credit searches against companies and individuals.
Court Fees and our charges for undefended County Court claims are set out in the table below.
| Debt value | Court fee | Our charges for issue of claim | Our charges for request for judgment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £300 | £35 | £50 + VAT | £22 + VAT |
| £301-£500 | £50 | £50 + VAT | £22 + VAT |
| £501-£1000 | £70 | £70 + VAT | £22 + VAT |
| £1001-£1500 | £80 | £80 + VAT | £22 + VAT |
| £1501 - £3000 | £115 | £80 + VAT | £22 + VAT |
| £3001 - £5000 | £205 | £80 + VAT | £22 + VAT |
| £5,001 - £10,000 | £455 | £100 + VAT | £30 + VAT |
| £10,001 - £200,000 | 5% value of the claim | £100 + VAT | £30 + VAT |
| £200,001 and upwards | £10000 | £100 + VAT | £30 + VAT |
Please note that:
- the VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor.
- interest and compensation 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.
Our fees include:
- taking your instructions and reviewing documentation
- undertaking appropriate searches
- sending a letter before action
- receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing a claim
- where no acknowledgment of service or defence is received, applying to the court to enter judgment in default
- when judgment in default is received, writing to the other side to request payment
- if payment is not received within 14 days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs
Matters usually take 2-10 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim and, if so, how quickly the court acts. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of judgment in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.
