What are your fees for debt recovery for a business to business debt?

Court Claims

These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary (see below for further details), these costs will be calculated on the prevailing hourly rate stated below.

Our fee will be calculated at an hourly rate of £220 per hour plus VAT at 20%.

We estimate that in most cases our fee will be between £750 to £1,500 exclusive of VAT of 20%. In the event of our fee exceeding £1,500 we will let inform you in advance and tell you why the fee will be exceeded, what further work will be required and how much more it is likely to cost.

It may be necessary to pay a Court fee. The amount of the Court fee will vary depending on the value of the claim as stated below

Value of debt up to £5,000
£205.00

Value of debt between £5,001 to £10,000
£455.00

Value of debt between £10,001 to £100,000
5% of the value of the claim

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:

If the debt is worth less than £10,000 you will not be able to recover our fees against the debtor

If the debt is worth between £10,001 and £100,000 you will be able to recover some of our fees from the debtor. A Court may have to decide how much you can recover depending on the circumstances of the debt. This will be explained in greater detail should you decide to instruct us.

• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor if you’re business is VAT registered.
• 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 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 Acknowledgment 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 28 days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs

It is difficult to assess how much time it will take from receipt of instructions until you receive payment from the debtor.

However, based on our experience we expect it will take 6-8 weeks, pending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. In the event it is necessary to issue a claim, we estimate it will take 10-12 weeks.
This is on the basis that the debtor pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.