Debt recovery solicitors

Our overall fees for debt recovery litigation will vary depending upon how complex your case is and what you would like us to do. This section provides a guide to how we calculate our charges and an indication of how much the typical case is likely to cost where the claim is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. If your case is more complicated, the debtor disputes the claim or enforcement action is needed, we will advise you about what further work is required and what further costs may be incurred.

We are always keen to work with our clients to understand their needs and create bespoke pricing proposals based on volume, value and the nature of the claim. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs and objectives to determine which costing option is most suited to your work type, including hourly rate, fixed fees and contingent arrangements.

For money only claims, most of our clients prefer a fixed fee approach which provides certainty as to costs.

Our charges

Our charges consist of:

• Our professional fees for the legal work.
• Costs and expenses paid to others in order to progress your matter, such as fees for a barrister. We handle making these payments on your behalf during the course of your matter, either using money that you have given us in advance, or invoicing them to you together with our fees. These payments are called disbursements.
• VAT is charged on our professional fees at the applicable rate, which is currently 20%. Many disbarments also carry VAT, and we will inform you of the VAT on each disbursement as we go along.

Calculating our fees

In debt recovery litigation the legal fees may vary depending upon how much work we need to do to recover the debt and at what stage the matter is determined.

Our fees will either be agreed with you as a fixed fee at the start of your case OR be based on how much time it takes to deal with your case.

Uncontested actions

Some cases may be more complicated and require us to charge on a different basis, or may take longer than usual, for each stage of the matter. Please contact us for a quote tailored to your circumstances. This section provides an indication of the typical fees charged for each stage of the debt recovery process where the claim is not defended and enforcement action is not needed.

Stage 1: Pre-litigation

A letter before claim is a letter which demands payment from the person who owes you money (the debtor). This is the first step for any debt recovery process before starting court proceedings, and is required by the Pre-action Protocol for Debt Claims.

Our professional fees for this work are typically estimated as below:

• We will send an initial letter before claim and spend up to two hours negotiating with the debtor at the pre-litigation stage for a fixed fee of £200 plus VAT (charged at 20%)*.
• In the case of multiple debtors, an additional fixed fee of £200 plus VAT (charged at 20%) will be charged for each additional letter before claim sent.

*Based on a bespoke letter before claim being required for clients who instruct us on less than ten new debt recovery files each month. For clients who instruct us on more than ten new debt recovery files each month, the fixed fee will be £100 plus VAT (charged at 20%) for each letter before claim issued.

Stage 2: Issue of proceedings and entry of judgement

If the debt has not been paid following the letter of action, we will prepare and issue court proceedings on your behalf.

If the debtor does not defend the proceedings we may be able apply to the court to obtain Judgment for you. This would bring the proceedings to an end and give you a court order that you could enforce to recover payment of the debt.

For undefended litigation, we will only charge you fixed fees and disbursements as set out in the table below, for each debtor to a claim. VAT will be applied to our charges at the standard rate (currently 20%). All of these fees and disbursements are recoverable from the debtor as part of the Judgment.

Stage 3: Enforcement

If we are successful in obtaining judgment for you but payment is still not received then we will advise you on next steps and what enforcement action is available to you.

For uncontested enforcement applications we will charge you fixed fees and disbursements as set out in the table below. VAT will be applied to our charges at the standard rate (currently 20%).

*In the event that High Court Enforcement Officers are unable to make a recovery then an abortive fee of £75 plus VAT will become due.

**A debtor can request payment of their reasonable travel expenses in attending the hearing which will be charged to you, if requested

Defended claims

If a claim is disputed at the pre-litigation stage or is defended following the issue of proceedings (by the filing of a Defence, Part Admission or Application to set Judgement aside) Weightmans will prepare an initial report providing you with a brief summary of the nature of the dispute and an initial cost estimate to deal with the case based on the hourly rates below:

Timescales for defended and more complex cases are more difficult to predict. Sometimes matters can be resolved within a matter of weeks but others can take much longer. Please contact us for more tailored guidance on your circumstances.

Insolvency

Statutory demand

We will prepare and serve (via a process server) a statutory demand and deal with the debtor or third party thereafter on a fixed fee basis of £475 plus VAT (charged at 20%) plus the process server’s fee of £85 plus VAT (charged at 20%).

If a statutory demand debt is substantially disputed or significant nonstandard work is required then the matter will be transferred to the hourly rates quoted above, although, as detailed above, an initial summary and recommendation with cost estimate will be supplied before the work is carried out.

Winding up petitions

We will issue a winding up petition and deal with the case to the first hearing for the fixed cost and disbursements below. In most cases we would expect to recover these costs from the debtor:

Bankruptcy petitions

We will issue a bankruptcy petition and deal with the case to the first hearing for the fixed cost and disbursements below. In most cases we would expect to recover these costs from the debtor:

Disbursements and other expenses

In a debt recovery matter the most common disbursement is the court fee and the costs for these are listed in the tables above.

If the matter proceeds to a court hearing a barrister (sometimes called counsel) may be instructed to represent you at the hearing. Barristers typically charge at hourly rates which vary according to their seniority. We will however guide you on this as and when such costs need to be incurred.

Legal work involved in the transaction

The examples of typical costs above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of debt recovery litigation:

• Discussing your case with you and advising you throughout.
• Obtaining and examining any evidence and advising you on it.
• Performing any searches required, for example bankruptcy searches on the debtor.
• Sending a letter of claim.
• Receiving payment and forwarding payment to you or, if the debt is not paid, preparing and issuing court proceedings.
• If no response is received, applying to the court for judgment in default (at the additional costs detailed above).
• If judgment in default is received, writing to the debtor to demand payment.
• If payment is still not received within the specified timescale, providing you with guidance on the next steps and likely costs.

In an undisputed claim where enforcement action is not required it would not normally be necessary to undertake other work or incur costs other than those described above. However, we would be very happy to provide you with a more tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances.

Timescale and key stages

The time it takes to reach a final resolution of an individual recoveries matter will depend on a variety of factors, particularly the extent to which the debtor/customer cooperates. The timescales provided below are estimates and we will keep you updated on any factors which are likely to result in a delay.

Money claims

Issue of insolvency

Asset recovery

Who will be dealing with your case?

We recognise the importance of protecting a client’s brand and reputation and we view our involvement as an extension of our client’s business which is why we have invested in a market leading training programme for our staff which focuses on emotional intelligence. This training enables our people to navigate the challenges of achieving the best commercial result without risking adverse publicity. Core training modules include treating customers fairly, consumer duty, vulnerability, suicide awareness, resilience and empathy.

Your recoveries matters will be handled by our specialist recoveries team. Typically, a solicitor or legal executive will have day to day conduct of your matters, with support from paralegals. A solicitor acting for you may be described as a Partner, Consultant, Principal Associate, Associate or Solicitor, all of whom are legal qualified with their title based on experience. Our paralegals are not qualified but they are fully trained and they are an integral part of our cost effective services. Your debt recovery litigation will be handled by a trusted member of our experienced dispute resolution team.

Once you know who will be in the team allocated to your transaction, you will be able to find out more information about the team, including their background and qualifications, by visiting the People section on our website.

Regardless of who is working on your case the matter will be supervised one of our partners.

If you have any queries, please contact:

• Benjamin Davies at Benjamin.Davies@weightmans.com
• John Quicler at John.Quicler@weightmans.com
• Shauna-Leigh Thompson at Shauna-Leigh.Thompson@weightmans.com