Debt Recovery Fees
This guide will provide you with information about our charges for debt recovery work where the value of the debt is £100,000 or less.
Our specialist debt recovery team have all of the skills and experience to help you with your debt recovery matter successfully.
You can find details of the experience and qualifications of the debt recovery team here.
Paolo Rocchi
Debt Claims Litigator
In April 2023, Paolo joined PM Law as a Civil Litigator, managing his own caseload of small claims under the direction of Richard Helsby and Samantha Ibrahim.
Paolo graduated with his Diploma in Legal Practice in 2019 while working as a court-based volunteer for a year, assisting Litigants in Person (Support Through Court). In January 2019, he started his first role as a fee earner where he began managing his own small claims caseload. Paolo then went to the UKVI (UK Visa and Immigration) in May 2022 as part of the civil service where he worked as a workflow manager. His main responsibility was the operational delivery of the humanitarian visa caseload for the Home For Ukraine Scheme
Paolo really appreciates the support of his team, going as far to say that this is his favourite thing about his role. He loves learning from his professional, well experienced colleagues. When asked about what the most important part of his role is, Paolo thinks it’s the people he helps. He gets a lot of satisfaction from supporting his clients with their problems and doing everything he can to get a positive outcome for them. In terms of what clients can expect from Paolo, he strives to approach every task with a positive, professional attitude and have amazing attention to detail. When not busy helping clients, Paolo loves going for walks in the peak district with family. He also really enjoys having dinners with friends whenever possible.
Undisputed Debt Recovery
If the claim is not disputed before or after court proceedings are issued, our legal fees are fixed based on the value of your debt, and/or the work required. These fees are outlined in the tables below.
Disbursements
Alongside our legal fees, you may be required to pay disbursements. Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. We will handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf. Disbursements relating to undisputed debt recovery claims are mainly court fees, which are outlined below where applicable. Please note that we have only outlined VAT information where it is applicable.
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Key stages
Letter of Claim
This stage includes an initial review of documents and drafting the Letter of Claim.
| Value of debt | Fee (Ex. VAT) | Total (Inc. 20% VAT) | Time estimate to complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under £10,000 | £250 | £300 | 2-3 weeks from instruction |
| £10,000 – £24,999 | £500 | £600 | 2-3 weeks from instruction |
| £25,000 – £49,999 | £750 | £900 | 2-3 weeks from instruction |
| £50,000 – £100,00 | £1000 | £1200 | 2-3 weeks from instruction |
Issuing Proceedings and Entering Judgment
This stage includes:
- drafting and submitting a claim form to the court, setting out details of the debt owed, and interest claimed on the debt; and
- submitting a request for a default judgment if the defendant does not respond to the claim form within the court-imposed deadline.
| Value of debt | Fee (Ex. VAT) | Total (Inc. 20% VAT) | Disbursements | Time estimate to complete |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under £10,000 | £350 | £420 | Court Issue Fee* | 2 weeks from instruction |
| £10,000 – £24,999 | £500 | £600 | Court Issue Fee* | 2 weeks from instruction |
| £25,000 – £49,999 | £750 | £900 | Court Issue Fee* | 2 weeks from instruction |
| £50,000 – £100,00 | £1000 | £1200 | Court Issue Fee* | 2 weeks from instruction |
* The court charges a fee for issuing court proceedings. The current court issue fees are set out below:
| Value of debt | Court Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to £300 | £35 |
| £300 – £500 | £50 |
| £500 – £1000 | £75 |
| £1000 – £1500 | £80 |
| £1500 – £3000 | £115 |
| £3000 – £5000 | £205 |
| £5000 – £10,000 | £455 |
| £10,000 – £100,000 | 5% of the value of the claim |
Once we have completed this stage, the court will serve the claim form on the defendant, who then has an initial period of 14 days to pay in full or respond by sending the court either:
- an admission of the debt (which may include a request to pay the debt by instalments); or
- a defence disputing the debt; or
- an acknowledgement of service, which will extend the time for the defendant to file a defence to a total of 28 days from the date of service.
If the defendant does not pay the claim in full or file an admission, defence or acknowledgement of service, we will ask the court to enter a default judgment for the full debt claimed plus interest and court fees. Once a judgment has been entered by the court, we can proceed to enforcement (see below for the costs of enforcement).
Please note that the fixed fees below do not include making and dealing with applications to set a default judgment aside. Any costs for this will be charged at our hourly rates as set out below.
Admission
The defendant will submit this court form if they are admitting to all or part of the claim. The defendant is required to provide details of their income, savings, expenses and debts, and will state when they can pay the debt in full or offer to pay the debt in monthly instalments.
We can advise you on the admission and next steps for the following fixed fees:
| Value of debt | Fee (Ex. VAT) | Total (Inc. 20% VAT) | Time estimate to complete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under £10,000 | £150 | £180 | Within 7 days of instructions |
| £10,000 – £24,999 | £200 | £240 | Within 7 days of instructions |
| £25,000 – £49,999 | £400 | £480 | Within 7 days of instructions |
| £50,000 – £100,00 | £800 | £960 | Within 7 days of instructions |
Enforcement Fees
If, at any time after court proceedings have been issued and a judgment is entered against the defendant, and the defendant does not pay the judgment debt within the deadline set by the court, it can be enforced using the following methods:
| Enforcement | Fee (Ex. VAT) | Total (Inc. 20% VAT) | Disbursements | Time estimate to complete |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Court Bailiff | £100 | £120 | Court fee – £94 | Approx. 6-12 months from instruction to bailiff |
| High Court Enforcement | £150 | £180 | Court fee – Writ of Control – £80 | Abortive fee if unsuccessful – £90 (inc. 20% VAT) | Approx. 6-12 months from instruction to High Court enforcement officer |
| Charging Order | £150 | £180 | Land Registry search fee – £7 | Court fee – £135 | Interim Charging Order fee – £40 | Approx. 12 weeks from the date of instructions |
| Application for Third-Party Debt Order | £150 | £180 | Court fee – £135 | Approx. 3-6 months from the date of instruction |
| Attachment of Earnings Order | £150 | £180 | Court fee – £135 | Approx. 3-6 months from the date of instruction |
| Application to call debtor in for questioning | £100 | £120 | Court fee – £67 | Bailiff fee to serve order – £135 | Approx. 3-6 months from the date of instruction |
Please note that the above fees are based on the assumption that enforcement action is not contested by the debtor. If the debtor contests any action taken and the court lists the matter for a hearing, then additional charges at our hourly rates may apply (see disputed debt recovery claims below).
The amount of debt owed may determine the type of enforcement officer you choose:
- For debt under £600, we would advise instructing a County Court Bailiff.
- For debts over £600, we would advise instructing a High Court Enforcement Officer.
Bailiffs’ fees and High Court enforcement fees are added to the debt and paid by the debtor if enforcement is successful. We cannot guarantee that enforcement action will be refundable. In the case of High Court enforcements only, if the debt is not successfully recovered, you will be responsible for paying an abortive fee of £75 plus 20% VAT (£90 inc. VAT).
Disputed Debt Recovery Claims
Defence
If the defendant challenges the debt by sending a defence, we will happily handle the litigation and provide advice under our hourly rates listed below. We will provide you with advice within 21 days of receiving your instructions to proceed with the claim.
Hourly Rates
We charge an hourly rate for dealing with disputed debt recovery claims. The hourly rate applied to your case will depend on the value and complexity of your claim. The value/complexity will determine the level of the lawyer used; either Grade A, B, C or D. Our hourly rates are set out below:
There are 4 hourly rate bands for legal staff. These are currently categorised as:
A) £282 – solicitors and Chartered legal executives (CILEx) with more than 8 years of relevant post-qualification experience.
B) £242 – solicitors and Chartered legal executives (CILEx) with more than 4 years of relevant post-qualification experience.
C) £196 – other solicitors, CILEx lawyers, trainee solicitors and file handlers of equivalent experience.
D) £139 – trainee solicitors, paralegals and other file handlers without grade C experience.
Although the overall cost of our legal fees will vary depending on the value and complexity of the matter, disputed debt recovery claims can cost between £1,800 and £18,000 (incl. 20% VAT plus disbursements). We will always update you on any additional costs required for your matter before incurring them.
Other Disbursements
If the case is defended, there is likely to be further disbursements incurred.
| Disbursement | Fee |
|---|---|
| Court application fee by consent | £123 |
| Court application fee without consent | £313 |
| Application to set out aside judgment | £313 |
| Application for a Charging Order | £135 |
| Application for Third Party Debt Order | £135 |
| Counsel’s fees | TBC + 20% VAT |
| Tracing agent’s fees | TBC + 20% VAT |
| Expert fees | TBC + 20% VAT |
| Court Hearing Fees | Fee |
|---|---|
| Small Claims Track (dependent on value of claim) | £27 – £346 |
| Fast Track | £619 |
| Intermediate Track | £1,334 |
| Multitrack | £1,334 |
Timescales
From start to finish, the timescales involved in debt recovery claims may vary significantly. We will have a better understanding of likely timescales when we understand the details of your claim.
However, as a general estimate, debt recovery claims that are undisputed may take between 3 and 9 months.
Debt recovery claims that are disputed may take longer, potentially between 12 months – 36 months
We will keep you updated on likely timescales throughout the course of your matter.