Debt Recovery
The Team
Our Debt Recovery team has over 10 years of collective experience in delivering high quality debt recovery advice. We can pursue volume based debts, where you have a large amount of debtors, or individual commercial debts. More complex debts that may become contested will be handled and managed by experienced solicitors within the Team.
The following individuals may work on your matter:
Saif Khan (Solicitor and Director)
12 Years PQE (Post Qualification Experience)
Abdul Samie (Solicitor)
11 Years PQE (Post Qualification Experience)
Imran Hussain (Solicitor)
Over 20 Years PQE (Post Qualification Experience)
Junior Paralegals and Trainee Solicitors – Experience can vary from 1 – 7 years
Our Fees
Fixed-Fee Service For Undisputed Debts
We can offer our services on a fixed-fee basis in relation to unpaid invoices which are not disputed by the other party. Discounts for volume instructions can be agreed.
Please note that our fixed-fee debt recovery service is for undisputed debts only. Should the debt become disputed, we will charge on an hourly rate basis, which we will discuss and agree with you.
Our fixed fees are shown below:
| Stage | Fees excluding VAT* |
| To review initial documents, draft and issue our Letter of Claim | £250 |
| Preparation and issue of Court proceedings | £300 |
| Application to Court for Default Judgment | £60 |
*VAT is payable at the standard rate, which is currently 20% in addition to the above fees.
Our demand letters to individuals require a 30-day response window. For companies, this is reduced to 7 days. If legal proceedings are issued, the timescales are as follows:
| Stage | Timescale |
| Service of the claim on the debtor | 5 days |
| Deadline for the debtor to file an acknowledgement of service | 14 days |
| In absence of the acknowledgement of service, the date of which we can apply for default judgment | 15 days |
| If an acknowledgment of service has been filed the deadline for the debtor to file a formal defence * | 14 days |
*If the debtor files a formal defence we will require further instructions on the disputed claim (please refer to the Disputed Debt Recovery section below as our fees will then be charged on a time-spent basis).
Service for Disputed Debts
Not all debt recovery matters are equal. If a debtor files a formal defence within the allowable timescale, the debt becomes disputed.
The process of recovering a disputed debt can be complex but don’t worry, we have specialist debt recovery solicitors to help you.
However, please note that disputed claims are charged on an hourly basis and vary depending on the complexity of the legal and factual issues, along with the number of documents involved. As a guide, our fees for reviewing your initial paperwork and preparing a letter of claim would be in the region of £525 – £900 Plus 20% VAT, but this can vary depending on the aforementioned.
Once we have undertaken our initial review, we will provide you with an estimate of future costs and any expenses, which we pay on your behalf and recover later. This may include court fees, expert witness fees, and barristers’ fees. These will be agreed with you in advance.
For debts up to £100,000, fees up to and including trial can range between £10,000 and £30,000, sometimes more, but we will always consider a cost-benefit analysis first. The hourly rate of our solicitors are shown below:
| The hourly rates are: Grade of Fee Earner | Per hour |
| Solicitors with over eight years post qualification experience including at least eight years litigation experience. | £380 Plus 20% VAT |
| Solicitors and legal executives with over four years post qualification experience including at least four years litigation experience. | £265 Plus 20% VAT |
| Other solicitors and legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience | £220 Plus 20% VAT |
| Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners. | £189 Plus 20% VAT |
*VAT is payable at the standard rate currently 20%.
In the event that legal proceedings are issued, we refer you to the timescale section above. Please note that there are additional stages required within proceedings if it is a disputed debt.
The deadlines for the additional stages are set by the court as the matter proceeds. However, we estimate the possible timescales below: Each time scale is an estimate after the end period of each time scale before it, for example Up to and including Costs and Case Management Conference would be 8 weeks after the end of the 8 week period from Up to and including issuing proceedings.
| Stage | Timescale |
| Up to and including issuing proceedings | 4-8 weeks |
| Up to and including Costs and Case Management Conference | 8 weeks |
| Up to including of Disclosure and Inspection | 8 weeks |
| Up to Service of Witness Statements and Expert Reports | 10 weeks |
| Up to and including Pre-Trial Review (PTR) | 8 weeks |
| Up to Trial | 8 weeks |
We have provided approximations of the timescales involved for each stage. However, there are several factors which can impact these estimates, such as:
- The length of time the debtor may take to respond to correspondence
- Whether the parties require more time for negotiation
- How quickly the Court may process paperwork
- Availability of court dates
- Whether the parties require more time to deal with certain steps within the proceedings
Disbursements & Additional Fees
Disbursements are fees you are required to pay to others during the debt recovery process. These may include court fees, barristers’ fees, experts’ fees, process servers’ fees and bailiff fees. “these costs may be subject to VAT at 20%”.
Court Fees
When issuing proceedings, a court fee is payable in addition to our fees. The court fee is dependent on the amount you are seeking to recover. Please see the below table detailing the fees payable:
| Claim amount | Court fee* |
| Up to £300 | £35 |
| Up to £500 | £50 |
| Up to £1,000 | £70 |
| Up to £1,500 | £80 |
| Up to £3,000 | £115 |
| Up to £5,000 | £205 |
| Up to £10,000 | £445 |
| Up to £100,000 | 5% of the claim |
| Up to £200,000 | 5% of the claim |
| More than £200,000 | £10,000 |
*There is no VAT payable on Court fees.
Barristers and Experts
Barristers’ fees, experts’ fees, process server fees and bailiff fees are all dependent on the nature of the work they are instructed to undertake. Their fees and timescales are estimated on a case-by-case basis. “these costs may be subject to VAT at 20%”.
We will obtain estimates and seek your approval of their fees before we formally instruct on your behalf.
Our Fees
The *fee scale outlined below is calculated on the basis of issuing an individual claim for an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and not subject to enforcement action. We will give you an accurate estimate once we understand the scope of your claim. Please contact us if you have a portfolio of claims. All work is undertaken by a team of paralegals supervised by a qualified Solicitor.
| Value of claim
(NB Interest and compensation may take your debt into a higher banding) |
Fee scale (including VAT)
(NB VAT is not recoverable from your debtor) |
| Up to £10,000 | £96 – £480 |
| £10,001 – £50,000 | £840 – £1080 |
| £50,001 – £100,000 | £1440 |
| £100,001 and above | Please get in touch with us |
|
The prices above do not take into account any costs payable to a third party such as court fees https://www.gov.uk/court-fees-what-they-are |
Fees include:
- Taking instructions and reviewing documents
- Undertaking appropriate searches
- Sending a letter before action
- Receiving payment on your behalf and passing it to you
- Drafting and issuing claim if debt not paid
- Applying to the court to enter judgment in default if no Acknowledgement of Service or Defence is received
- Requesting payment when judgment in default is received
- Advising on next steps if payment not received within a reasonable time frame (usually 14 days)
Disputed debt
If the debt is disputed, the fixed fees above will not apply. If you have a disputed debt, our litigation team will advise on the work involved and the likely cost. This will depend on a number of variables including the number of witnesses, the complexity of the defence raised, the amount of documentation to be reviewed, any counterclaims, any commercial objectives (including other disputes rolled up with the defended claim), and the parties involved.
