All work in respect of our Commercial Debt Recovery service is carried out by Richard Ennis.
Richard is a Partner, based at our Wolverhampton office, who specialises in Dispute Resolution. He is a CEDR accredited Mediator and an experienced advocate with near 30 years Post-Qualification Experience as a Solicitor handling a considerable case load of commercial debt recovery work for a number of leading local companies and organisations.
What will it cost?
You only pay us for the time that we spend on your case and the payments which we have to make to third parties in connection with your claim such as Court fees, travel expenses and copying charges– in many cases you’ll be entitled to an order that the debtor repays these costs to you.
Our hourly rate for commercial debt recovery work is £255 plus VAT (currently 20%). Letters, telephone calls, emails and faxes are charged at 1/10 of the hourly rate. Telephone calls of more than 6 minutes’ duration are charged at the hourly rate. Travelling and waiting are charged at £127.50 plus VAT.
When you start Court proceedings you have to pay an Application Fee to the Court on this sliding scale based on the value of the Claim:-
- up to £300 – £35
- £300.01 to £500 – £50
- £500.01 to £1,000 – £70
- £1,000.01 to £1,500 – £80
- £1,500.01 to £3,000 – £115
- £3,000.01 to £5,000 – £205
- £5,000.01 to £10,000 – £455
- £10,000.01 to £100,000 – 5% of the claim
If the case goes to trial then there will be a further Hearing Fee to pay on this sliding scale based on the value of the Claim:-
- up to £300 – £27
- between £300.01 and £500 – £59
- between £500.01 and £1,000 – £85
- between £1,000.01 and £1,500 – £123
- between £1,500.01 and £3,000 – £181
- more than £3,000 – £346
- Fast track claim – £545
- Multi track claim – £1,175
Please bear in mind:-
- Other than certain limited fixed costs, you will not normally be entitled to claim your legal costs back from your opponent if the debt is for £10,000 or less
- Even if you are able to claim your legal costs back from your opponent, you may not be entitled to recover the VAT element
- Payment of our fees is not dependent on these being recovered from your opponent
- Adding interest and late payment compensation to the original debt may move the case into a higher band for the purposes of calculating the Court fees
Each case is different and so it is impossible to give a precise indication of our likely charges but if the debt is not disputed and the Claim is not defended then these would normally be in the range of £250 -500 plus VAT and any Court Fees.
If the case is defended or enforcement action needs to be taken we will provide you with a revised estimate as to the costs, however, if the matter progressed to a contested 1 day hearing then costs would likely be in the range £2,500 – £3,500 plus VAT and any Court Fees for a Small Claim (most cases under £10,000.00) and £15,000 – £25,000 plus VAT and any Court Fee for most other cases.
The fee estimate above includes the following:-
- Taking your instructions and reviewing the relevant paperwork
- Undertaking any appropriate searches
- Sending a letter before action
- Accounting to you for payment received
- Preparing and issuing the Claim if payment is not received
- Applying for Judgment in default if an Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is not filed
- Writing to the other side requiring payment when Judgment in default is received
- Advising you as to methods of enforcement if payment is not received after Judgment in default.
How long will my case take?
We can resolve most cases without involving the Courts – normally within a few weeks.
Where its necessary to take the claim to Court it can take the Court 2-3 weeks to issue this and your opponent will then have up to 28 days to respond before Judgment can be requested. If they don’t contest the case it would normally take another 2-3 weeks to receive Judgment. In cases where the debtor still doesn’t pay and enforcement action is needed this can take a considerable time longer.
If a claim is contested and is dealt with as a Small Claim (most cases under £10,000) this will typically take a further 3-5 months once your opponent files a Defence. For matters not dealt with as a Small Claim (most other cases) then this will typically take a lot longer – anything up to a further 12-18 months once your opponent files a Defence.
Want to get started?
To set up an initial consultation call our Wolverhampton office on 01902 577715 or fill in the call back form below.