Asset and Debt Recovery Pricing
Step 1: Debt Recovery Action – dealing with pre-action protocol
Our Services
We will set up a case plan on our case management system and review any contract or invoices received by you. If there is a need to identify the debtor’s whereabouts, we can carry out an appropriate search. If there is a need to carry out investigations into the circumstances of the debt itself, we will do so before finalising our advice on the next steps.
We will then send a letter before action to the debtor in the first-class post and send you a copy. If we do not receive a response, we will normally send a final demand letter and if there is no response, advise you to obtain a pre-sue report on the debtor, or if you wish, to progress to issue a claim or to initiate insolvency proceedings.
If you have over 10 debtors, we will also send you a periodical schedule updating the progress in each case and recommending action and requesting instructions.
If the debtor pays, we will hold the funds on our client account and deduct our agreed invoiced fees before returning the balance to you by your preferred method of banking.
Often, debtors will ask for time to pay or propose an instalment plan. If this is the case, we will contact you to advise you whether you should accept the offer, and we can finalise a settlement proposal with the debtor and, if you agree, monitor the payments and send the instalments to you on a monthly basis.
If the debtor disputes the debt, we can advise on the merits of the dispute and advise whether to progress the matter to issuing a claim or whether to initiate insolvency proceedings.
If you receive payment direct after we have taken steps, then please tell us immediately and we will send you our final invoice for payment, and we will then close the case.
The Fees
| Step Taken | Fixed Fee | Third Party costs or Court fees |
|---|
| Enquiries and initial advice | Free | - |
| Employment / Address tracing | £50 | £50/40 + VAT trace fee |
| Investigations | £150 | - |
| Letter of claim | £50 | - |
| Final Demand | £25 | - |
| Follow up communication | £25 | - |
| Monthly monitoring of any instalment arrangements | £25 per month | - |
| Taking stock letter | £25 | - |
| Pre Sue Report | £250 | - |
| Advice on merits of pursing a claim | £200 | POA |
| Settlement negotiation | £200 | - |
What’s not included
For simple debt recovery matters, we will not usually need to meet with you or with the debtor. We will not send any documents by recorded delivery or other method. We will not continue to chase the debt when we believe the debtor does not have any means of making payment or where that debtor appears to be a vulnerable individual.
Timescales
Subject for the need for any tracing or further investigation, we aim to send out a letter before action within 72 hours of receiving documents from you. The debtors have 14 days to respond in the case of a letter before claim in a business to business debt, and 30 days for the first letter if the letter to an individual. We will set deadlines within the letters and update you at the expiry of any deadlines about the next step.
Who will be dealing with your case?
Our debt recovery team is experienced in dealing with this type of work and is headed by Jamie Carr, who is Head of Commercial Dispute Resolution and a solicitor with the firm.
Payment of our fees
We invoice our debt recovery fees on a monthly basis and will send you a VAT invoice for settlement via our website, by telephone, or by direct bank transfer.
Step 2: Debt Recovery Action – issuing a claim
Our Services
We will take your instructions, usually by email. Ideally, we need a copy of any invoice and the original contract between the parties. We will check the documents and then ask for any clarification of documents which we may be missing. We will check that the debtor is solvent and prepare particulars of the claim for your approval. We will ask you for authority to sign court documents on your behalf and once you are happy, and once we receive the relevant court fee from you, we will issue the claim at the County Court Money Claims Centre.
Depending on the value of the claim, we may ask a barrister to draft the particulars to ensure that if the claim is defended, you have already set out the best possible case for the debtor to answer. However, please note that once court proceedings are initiated, they can only be discontinued with a risk that you may have to pay your opponent’s costs unless an agreement is reached.
We will advise you of the likely timescales and each stage of the process up to applying for judgment in default. If we receive any correspondence requesting a stay or discussions for settlement, we will advise you of the same and negotiate with your opponent. Court fees for lodging a settlement are around £100.00 and our fees will be £200.00 plus VAT for any claim with a value of under £10,000.00 and £1,000.00 for any claim over this amount for uncontested claims.
If the debtor pays, we will deal with receiving payment and sending this to you, less our fees once the payment has cleared.
We carry out debt recovery work (unpaid invoices) for any undefended matters with an unlimited value for the following fees.
The Fees
| Value of Claim | Our Fees (£ + VAT) | Court Fees | Recoverable Fixed Costs |
|---|
| £300-£500 | £175 | £50 | £85 |
| £500-£1,000 | £175 | £70 | £140 |
| £1,000-£1,500 | £350 | £80 | £150 |
| £1,500-£3,000 | £350 | £115 | £195 |
| £3,000-£5,000 | £350 | £205 | £285 |
| £5,000-£10,000 | £500 | £455 | £555 |
| £10,000-£200,000 | £750 | * 5% of the value of the claim | *plus £100 |
| £200,000+ | £750 | £10,000 | Subject to assessment by a judge |
Alternatively, we may be able offer services to deal with all of the above on a damages-based agreement of between 10-25% depending on the value, risk and type of debt, even if the claim is defended.
What’s not included
For simple debt recovery matters, we will not usually need to meet with you or with the debtor. We will not send any documents by recorded delivery or other method.
If the matter is defended, we may advise that interim applications are necessary, these issues will be dealt with under a separate retainer and we will provide a separate an estimate of costs as appropriate.
Once judgment is obtained, we can advise you about your enforcement options should the debtor fail to pay.
The VAT element of our fees cannot be reclaimed from the debtor.
Timescales
Once a claim is issued, the court sends out the papers for service, and once received, the Debtor has 14 days to file a defence or an acknowledgement of service. If the debtor files the latter, then the debtor will have a further 14 days to file a defence. If the debtor does not defend, then we will apply for judgment in default on your behalf, and this usually takes around 2 weeks for the court to process and deliver.
Who will be dealing with your case?
Our debt recovery team is experienced in dealing with this type of work and is headed by Jamie Carr, who is Head of Commercial Dispute Resolution and is a solicitor with the firm.
Payment of our fees
We invoice our debt recovery fees on a monthly basis and will send you a VAT invoice for settlement via our website, by telephone, or by direct bank transfer. All court fees are required to be paid on account in advance of our issuing the claim. We reserve the right to not issue a claim until these fees are paid.
Step 3: Debt Recovery Action – enforcement of judgment
Our Services
Once you have a judgment, it may not follow that the debtor pays you without you taking steps towards enforcement. There are various ways which this may be done, and we can advise you of the best option for the debt you are trying to recover.
Usually we will send a notice of enforcement letter which is sent in the first-class post and send you a copy. If we do not receive a response, we will advise you on enforcement.
If the debtor pays, we will hold the funds on our client account and deduct our agreed invoiced fees before returning the balance to you by your preferred method of banking.
Often, at this stage debtors will ask for time to pay or propose an instalment plan. If this is the case, we will contact you to advise you whether or not you should accept the offer, and we can finalise a settlement proposal with the debtor and, if you agree, monitor the payments and send the instalments to you on a monthly basis.
If you receive payment direct after we have taken steps, then please tell us immediately and we will send you our final invoice for payment, and we will then close the case.
Enforcement Options and Costs
| Option | Our Fees (£ + VAT) | Other fees |
|---|
| Notice of enforcement letter | £25 | - |
| Dealing with settlement matters including drafting express agreement and sending standing order mandate | £175 | £100 Court fee |
| Warrant of Control. (Court Court bailiff) Up to £500 | £50 | £77 Court fee |
| Writ of Control High Court Enforcement Officer | £50 | £66 Court Fee (£75 compliance fee if no recovery made) |
| Charging Order over land | £200 | £110 Court fee |
| Third Party Debt Order | £200 | £110 Court fee £100 Advocacy Fee |
| Attachment of Earnings | £200 | £110 Court fee £100 Advocacy Fee |
| Services of a Statutory Demand for Insolvency | £250 | Nil |
| Application for an Order to Obtain Information from a debtor | £100 | £55 Court fee £100 Advocacy fee |
What’s not included
If enforcement is defended or contested, we will discuss this element of the work with you. We will also advise you about any additional work which is needed which is not intended to be included in the scope of this fixed fee work. For example, if the Defendant makes an application to set aside the judgment or applies for a stay of enforcement or variation to the judgment. We will usually be able to offer you a fixed fee option to deal with these issues in a cost-effective manner.
However, please note that once court proceedings are initiated, they can only be discontinued with a risk that you may have to pay your opponent’s costs unless an agreement is reached.
Timescales
Once a judgment is issued, we will send a notice of enforcement. This will usually be sent within 72 hours of receipt, subject to any periods specified by the court. We will then advise you on the most appropriate method of enforcement for your particular debt. The recovery rate for using bailiffs and high court enforcement officers, is relatively low, and so this is usually done only where appropriate.
Our recovery rates are very high, as we will only advise you to issue a claim where we think there is a realistic chance that you will make a recovery.
Who will be dealing with your case?
Our debt recovery team is experienced in dealing with this type of work and is headed by Jamie Carr, who is head of Commercial Dispute Resolution and is a solicitor with the firm.
Payment of our fees
We invoice our debt recovery fees on a monthly basis and will send you a VAT invoice for settlement via our website, by telephone, or by direct bank transfer. All court fees are required to be paid on account in advance of taking enforcement action and we reserve the right to not issue a claim until these fees are paid.
VAT & Disbursements
Disbursements are not our fees but additional charges, normally payable to a third party, such as to the court or a bailiff. Whilst the disbursements noted above are accurate, they are subject to change and we will advise you of any such costs ahead of time.
All our fees (and some of the disbursements) are subject to VAT.
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