This page sets out the costs for our commercial debt recovery work for claims up to the value of £100,000 against debtors located within England and Wales. Costs for debt claims above this value are available on request.
The costs below apply where the claim is for unpaid invoices which are not disputed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point prior to issue of proceedings, we will discuss any further work required and provide revised costs – these costs could be on a fixed fee, hourly rate or other funding arrangement such as a damages based agreement or conditional fee agreement, depending on the circumstances of your case.
Stage 1: Pre-action
- Fully compliant pre-action protocol letter
| Debt level | Up to £5,000 | £5,001 – £10,000 | £10,001 – £20,000 | £20,001 – £50,000 | Over £50,001 |
| Company debtor | £75 | £100 | £125 | £250 | £450 |
| Individual / sole trader | £100 | £125 | £150 | £300 | £500 |
- Fully compliant pre-action taking stock letter / final demand
| Debt level | Up to £5,000 | £5,001 – £10,000 | £10,001 – £20,000 | £20,001 – £50,000 | Over £50,001 |
| Company debtor | £50 | £75 | £100 | £150 | £200 |
| Individual / sole trader | £75 | £100 | £125 | £175 | £225 |
- Bespoke letter
| Debt level | Up to £5,000 | £5,001 – £10,000 | £10,001 – £20,000 | £20,001 – £50,000 | Over £50,001 |
| Company debtor | £200 | £300 | £375 | £500 | £600 |
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Our standard LBAs normally require the debtor to pay within 3, 7 or 14 days (with the choice being that of our client). We can produce these within 24 hours if all the information has been given to us.
For fully compliant pre-action protocol letters, the debtor has a minimum of 30 days to respond and this can be extended to up to 90 days in complex cases. We can produce these within 24 – 48 hours depending on the level of complexity involved in the claim and the volume of accompanying documents.
Following the expiry of the pre-action protocol letter, and where we have received contact from the debtor and the matter remains unresolved, we are required by the courts to provide a letter to the debtor ‘taking stock’ of the current situation and providing 14 days’ notice prior to the commencement of court proceedings.
Stage 2: Issuing legal proceedings
We issue all debt recovery claims up to £100,000 via Money Claim Online (MCOL), the online court service for claimants and defendants.
The table below shows the MCOL court fees and our fixed, solicitors’ costs, both of which are recoverable if the debtor then goes on to pay the claim without dispute. These costs include us completing and submitting the claim form and submitting the request for the claim to be issued within the court.
| Claim amount | Court issue fee | FWJ fee (+ VAT) | Recoverable fees |
| Up to £300 | £35 | £100 | £85 |
| £301 – £500 | £50 | £100 | £100 |
| £501 – £1,000 | £70 | £145 | £140 |
| £1,001 – £1,500 | £80 | £200 | £160 |
| £1,501 – £3,000 | £115 | £225 | £195 |
| £3,001 – £5,000 | £205 | £250 | £285 |
| £5,001 – £10,000 | £455 | £275 | £555 |
| £10,001 – £25,000 | 5% of the value of the claim | £300 | 5% of the value of the claim + £100 |
| £25,001 – £50,000 | 5% of the value of the claim | £400 | 5% of the value of the claim + £100 |
| £50,001 – £75,000 | 5% of the value of the claim | £500 | 5% of the value of the claim + £100 |
| £75,001 – £100,000 | 5% of the value of the claim | £750 | 5% of the value of the claim + £100 |
Additional costs
Where a matter is more complex or requires various documents to be exhibited at issue, we recommend that we prepare, file and serve separate particulars of claim. Our fee for this would be £250 – £750 +VAT. We would always advise where this is recommended prior to the issuing of court proceedings. For claims exceeding £100,000, and/or if the claim is particularly complex or preparation time might be lengthy, we may charge a higher fee, of course we would also advise you of this prior to commencing court proceedings.
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A defendant will have 14 days from receipt of the claim form and/or particulars of claim (being five days from the date of service of papers by the court, or two days from the date of service of separately served particulars of claim if after this point) in which to respond by filing an acknowledgement of service or a defence.
If the defendant does not respond in time, you can request judgment for the claim debt in default.
If an acknowledgement of service is filed within 14 days of service of the claim form/separate particulars of claim, the defendant then has a further 14 days to file a defence to the claim.
If the defendant then fails to file a defence, judgment can be entered in default.
There is also the ability for the parties to agree to an extension of up to 28 days for the defendant to file and serve their defence without the need for a formal application to be filed. Such circumstances may be where the defendant becomes represented following receipt of the claim and more time is required for the representative to review the claim, advise their client and draft a defence.
Stage 3: Requesting judgment
As mentioned above, if the debtor does not respond to your claim in time, you can request that the court orders it to pay and enters judgment against the debtor. In addition, should the defendant respond to the claim admitting the sums owing and making an offer of repayment, this can be accepted by way of a judgment on admission. We will charge the following costs for this request. These costs are recoverable from the debtor should they then pay up:
Solicitors’ costs to request judgment:
| Claims of up to £5,000 | Claims over £5,000 | ||||
| FWJ fee | Recoverable | FWJ fee | Recoverable | ||
| Judgment in default of an acknowledgement of service | £50 | £22 | £70 | £30 | |
| Judgment in default of a defence | £50 | £25 | £80 | £35 | |
| Judgment on admission | £75 | £40 | £95 | £55 | |
| Judgment on determination | £90 | £55 | £110 | £70 |
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When a request for judgment is submitted via MCOL, it is normally processed within 48 hours.
If we are requesting that judgment be entered on determination, ie. where the defendant has made an offer to pay which is not accepted and the court will set the instalment amount, this will be submitted as a manual request to the court and can take 28 – 45 days to be finalised.
Stage 4: Enforcement of judgment against debtors
If you successfully obtain judgment against the debtor, the below options of enforcement are available to you. You may wish to use more than one method of enforcement at the same time.
| FWJ fees | Court fees | Disbursements (+VAT) | Recoverable | |
| County court bailiff | £150 | £83 | £0 | £85.25 |
| High court enforcement agent (debts over £600) | £150 | £71 | £0 | £122.75 |
| Attachment of earnings order | £150 | £119 | £75 (tracing agent) | £149.75 – £194.50 |
| Third party debt order | £200 | £119 | £0 | £217.50 |
| Application for a charge over land or property | £700 | £119 | £56 | £229 |
Additional costs
If the debtor is unable to pay the judgment and the HCEO cannot enforce, you will be required to pay the HCEO an abortive fee of £75.
If it is necessary to correspond or otherwise liaise with the HCEO regarding the instruction, additional charges may apply which will be based on the hourly rate of the solicitor conducting your matter.
Where an application for a charge over land or property becomes defended/opposed then the matter will be listed for a hearing. We would anticipate fees of £500 – £750 for preparing for the hearing although a fee estimate will be provided to you at the time any such opposition is received.
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The likely timescales will depend upon the method(s) of enforcement that you choose, and we will advise of these accordingly upon instruction.
