On recovering all or part of the debt, our fees are:
| Amount Recovered |
Fee |
| Up to £1000.00 |
25% plus VAT |
| Then any part of the debt over and above £1000.00 |
20% plus VAT |
For example, if we recover £1,500.00 then our fees will be 25% plus VAT of £1000.00 recovered (£300.00 inc. VAT) and then 20% plus VAT for the remaining £500.00 (£120.00 inc. VAT)
Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:
- The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor.
- Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
- The costs quoted above do not include enforcement action.
Key milestones and what our fees includes:
- Reviewing documentation and taking instructions.
- Appropriate searches.
- Sending a pre-action letter.
- If the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing a claim.
- As appropriate applying to the Court to enter Judgment in Default.
- When Judgment in Default is received, writing to the debtor to request payment.
- In default of payment, providing advice on the next steps and likely costs.
If at any stage our fees change, we will notify you and discuss the reason for any changes. This would typically occur if you change your instructions or your case involves an unforeseen complexity.
Our fees above do not include:
- Court fees and any other expenses such as Counsel’s fees
- Enforcement action
- Issue of Insolvency proceedings such as issuing a winding-up petition or bankruptcy petition.
- Sending chaser letters to the Debtor in the event of a default of an instalment payment plan.
Our average fees assume that:
- The transaction is concluded in a timely manner and no unforeseen complication arise.
- All parties to the transaction are co-operative and there is no unreasonable delay from any parties providing documentation.
How long will my claim take?
Subject to the facts of each case it may take on average 4 weeks to 4 months pre-action letter to payment from the debtor. This is on the basis that the other side pays in response to a Judgment in default. Enforcement will add time to the recovery.
Disbursements (not included in our fee)
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Court fees and advocates charges. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
In the event that it is necessary to proceed to a hearing, we estimate our hearing agent/advocate’s fee to be between £350 and £1,500 plus VAT at 20% (£420.00 – £1,800.00 Inc. VAT).
The fees of a tracing agent or process server to locate debtors (these can be as little as £100.00 plus VAT (£120.00 inc. VAT) but can increase to many thousands in complex and high value cases).
The fees of a process server to serve the claim on the debtor (on average these are somewhere in the region of £100.00 – £200.00 plus VAT (£120.00 – £240.00 inc. VAT).
Other charges from third parties, such as Land Registry fees to obtain documents, or fees charged by Companies House.
Where the firm is required to undertake an Anti-Money Laundering search as part of our Client Due Diligence Process the firm will charge:
- £6.00 inc. VAT for an individual based in the UK
- £12.00 inc. VAT for an individual based overseas or a Corporate Entity.
There are also fixed costs payable to the court at fixed intervals in the claim and for certain applications/processes during the litigation. Full details can be found here.
Factors That Could Make a Case More Complex
The following factors may make your case more complex and impact on your legal fees and disbursements: –
- The matter is defended
- Judgement is obtained and needs to be enforced for example
- Instruction of a Bailiff
- Attachment to earnings
- Making or defending a costs application
If court hearings are adjourned, further fees will be due depending on the amount of work required. As required fee estimates for this additional work will be provided.
Should any of these factors occur we will notify you and discuss with you any increase in our legal fees or disbursements.
If the recovery of the debt hasn’t been resolved following judgment, we can enforce the debt by:
- Instructing the High Court Sheriff to seize goods – Court fee of £80.00,
Sheriff’s fee of £90.00 and Wrigley Claydon’s charges of £150.00 plus VAT (£180.00 inc. VAT).
- Questioning the debtor at court to ascertain his assets- Court fee of £67.00, Process Server’s fee of £88.00 and Wrigley Claydon’s charges of £250.00 plus VAT (£300.00 inc. VAT)
- Obtaining an attachment of the debtor’s salary- Court fee of £135.00 and Wrigley Claydon’s charges of £250.00 plus VAT (£180.00 inc. VAT).
- Obtaining a charge on the debtor’s property – Court fee of £135.00, Office Copies of £12.00, Land Registry fee of £60.00 and Wrigley Claydon’s charges of £350.00 plus VAT (£420.00 inc. VAT).
- Third Party Debt Order – Court fee of £135.00 and Wrigley Claydon’s charges of £250.00 plus VAT (£300.00 inc. VAT).
Limitation Period
The limitation period for nearly all debt claims is six years from the date that the debt became outstanding.
The six-year clock will also restart from the date that the debt is acknowledged in writing (including by email) or a part payment is received against that debt. This means that if any payment is received against the debt at any time, then the six-year clock starts from the date of the last payment.
Before you can bring a claim in court, you are required to follow the Debt Recovery Pre-Action Protocol. The protocol is aimed at encouraging negotiation and avoiding unnecessary court time and costs.
Failure to follow the protocol will not stop a claim being brought, but any non-compliance is likely to have an impact on your ability to recover your legal costs later.
Letter of Claim
A Letter of Claim needs to be sent to the debtor before you issue a claim. If they do not reply within 30 days, then you can start court proceedings. If the debtor is a limited company then they should reply within 7 days. However, if the debtor replies to say that they are taking advice, or want more information from you, or want time to reach agreement on instalments, you must give them reasonable time to do this.
If agreement is not reached, then you still must give at least 14 days’ notice of your intention to start court proceedings, unless the limitation period is about to expire.
Court Proceedings
Once a debt claim has been issued in court, the debtor will be served with the Claim Form
|
Stage |
Timescale |
| Service of the claim on the debtor
|
5 days
|
| Deadline for the debtor to file an acknowledgment of service.
|
14 days
|
| In absence of the acknowledgment 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 |
The above timescales are approximations of the timescales involved for each stage. However, there are a number of factors which can impact upon timescales such as how quickly the Court can process the paperwork and whether the parties require more time for negotiation.
If the debtor files a defence to the Claim Form, then then deadlines for the additional stages are set by the court. However, it is estimated the possible timescales may apply subject to how quickly the Court can process the paperwork:-
| 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 |
