Legal Fee Information for

Debt Claims up to £100,000

Introduction

We have set out below the issues you need to consider in relation to our Legal Fees and disbursements for pursuing a debt of up to £100,000.

Our pricing can vary depending on the work we are instructed to do for you however we try to be as transparent as possible regarding our fees, timelines and likelihood of success. 

Legal Fees

Legal Fees are the amount you will be required to pay for all the work performed by us in actioning your instructions from commencement of your case to conclusion. VAT will be payable on our fees and some disbursements, currently 20% and we will clearly confirm which disbursements carry VAT in our formal quotation or as we advise you to incur them.

Debt Recovery/ Litigation can involve many steps from Letter Before Action to Trial be it Small Claims, Fast Track, Intermediate Track or Multi Track. We will endeavour to minimise costs and advise you on a commercial basis and will always try to mediate to avoid unnecessary costs, pressure and time.

Our Legal Fees cover all of the work required to handle your case from instruction to conclusion and will be on an hourly rate of from£220.00 plus VAT (£264.00 inc. VAT). 

• Letter Before Action – £220.00 plus VAT (£264.00 inc. VAT)
• Issuing of proceedings to include Claim Form and Particulars of Claim – 1–2 hours work £220.00 - £440.00 plus VAT (£264.00 - £528.00 inc. VAT)
• Obtaining of Judgment – 1 hours work at £220.00 plus VAT (£264.00 inc. VAT)
• Enforcement of Judgment by way of Charging Order, Attachment of Earnings Order or other enforcement methods – 2 – 3 hours work at £220.00 - £660.00 plus VAT (£264.00 - £792.00 inc. VAT)
• Telegraphic Transfer Fee - We charge £50.00 plus VAT (£60.00 inc. VAT) per transfer. 

The value and complexity of the matter alongside the stage at which the matter is resolved are factors that must be taken into account to confirm the fees in accordance with this scale. 

If your matter is simple or low value we will discuss with you other fee options that may be available to ensure our fees are proportionate to the value of the debt.

If your matter becomes complex (see below) our fees may increase further and we will notify you in advance of any increased costs.

If at any stage our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reason for any changes. This would typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity. 

Our average fees assume that: 

1. The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
2. All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from any parties providing documentation.

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should 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.

What’s included:

Our fee includes:

• 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 claim
• Where no Acknowledgement of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgement in default
• When Judgement in default in received, write 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 

Our fees do not include:

• Court fees and any other expenses such as Counsel’s fees
• Issue of Insolvency proceedings such as issuing a winding-up petition or bankruptcy petition.
• Pursuing disputed debts 

Disbursements and Other Costs 

Disbursements may be incurred in the handling of the matter for you. In Debt Claims, fees tend to relate to Counsels’ fees and Court Fees.

• Courts Fees – The following link sets out the current court fees  https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees. These are only necessary where we are required to issue a claim form via the court.

• Counsel fees - If Counsel is required to be instructed a quotation for their services will be obtained from them and discussed with you before they are instructed to ensure you are fully aware of the fees that will be charged. However, we have given examples of costs below:

  • The fees of a barrister vary depending on the experience of the advocate and their expertise. In our experience, the initial fee for a barrister and the first day of the hearing (known as the brief fee) will be in the region of £1,000 - £3,000 plus VAT (£1200 – £3600 Inc. VAT). Each subsequent day could be an additional £500 - £1,500 plus VAT (£600 - £1800 Inc. VAT).

  • If you want a very experienced barrister, then the cost is likely to be more. You may also incur additional charges such as travel costs for us to attend meetings and hearings.

• The fees of a tracing agent or process server to locate debtors (these can be as little as £100.00 plus VAT (£120.00 inc. VAT) but can increase to many thousands in complex and high value cases).

• The fees of a process server to serve the claim on the debtor (on average these are somewhere in the region of £100.00 – £200.00 plus VAT (£120.00 - £240.00 inc. VAT).

• Other charges from third parties, such as Land Registry fees to obtain documents, or fees charged by Companies House.

Where the firm is required to undertake an Anti-Money Laundering search as part of our Client Due Diligence Process the firm will charge:

• £5.00 plus VAT (£6.00 inc. VAT) for an individual based in the UK

• £12.00 plus VAT (£14.40 inc. VAT) for an individual based overseas or a Corporate Entity.

Time Scales

Matters usually take 12 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. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.

Key Milestones

These are the typical steps we’ll take although individual circumstances differ. 

• Take your instructions and review documentation
• Carry out appropriate searches
• Before action, issue a letter to request payment from the debtor
• Take payment and forward on to you
• Draft and issue a claim form to the relevant court for an unpaid debt
• Apply to the court to enter a Judgment in Default if the debtor fails to respond to court proceedings
• Request payment from the debtor where a Judgment in Default has been issued by the court

Factors That Could Make a Case More Complex

The following factors may make your case more complex and impact on your legal fees and disbursements: -

• The matter is defended
• Judgement is obtained and needs to be enforced for example
• Instruction of a Bailiff
• Attachment to earnings
• Making or defending a costs application

Should any of these factors occur we will notify you and discuss with you any increase in our legal fees or disbursements.

How long will my claim take?

Matters usually take 6-9 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. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of the Judgment in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.

Who will advise you?

Depending on the type of transaction, complexity and experience required we will allocate the most appropriate member of our Debt Recovery team to your transaction once you instruct us. Regardless of who works on your case, they will be supervised by the head of our Litigation department, Mohammed Sarwar, a Solicitor and Director of the firm. Mr Sarwar has been working in this area since he qualified in 2014 and has been helping clients settle disputes for many years. 

Questions

If you have any questions relating to our services and our fees, please call us on 020 8534 1176 or email us at: info@cityheightssolicitors.co.uk

Other Legal Services

We also work on immigration, family, commercial leasehold conveyancing, landlord and tenant, employment and civil litigation. Fees for Immigration Services and Employment Tribunal Claims can be seen here:

• Immigration Services [link when page created]

• Employment Tribunal Cases [link when page created]

• Commercial Conveyancing

For Commercial Property Leasehold conveyancing, our fees start from £1,500.00 up to £3,000.00 plus VAT@20% (£1,800.00 - £3,600.00 inv. VAT). The client is responsible for disbursements such as AML search fee, Local Authority search fee and other searches, expert fees, Land registry, SDLT fee etc. Our team will be able to provide you with a quote once we receive your instructions. 

• Family Law

For family divorce matter (non-contentious), our fee is £700.00 plus VAT @20% (£840.00 inc. VAT). Contentious, financial and matters involving children are done with hourly rate basis