Pricing
Unpaid debts can be problematic for any business. The impact on cash flow can affect your ability to pay employees or creditors and potentially damage your reputation.
Ensuring that you have written terms & conditions in place can help when it comes to collecting debts.
However debts may not be paid because the debtor simply cannot afford to pay. You should consider the financial status of any debtor before starting any debt collection procedure.
For advice on putting contractual terms & conditions in place for your business or for advice and assistance with collecting aged debts you can contact us on 01273 249200.
There are guidelines laid down by the court that you must follow prior to the issue of a claim.
It is necessary to send a letter to the debtor setting out the amount of the debt and explaining how it has become due and giving the debtor an opportunity to pay. The guidelines set out specific information that must be included in this letter.
Depending on whether the debtor is a company or an individual / sole trader the period that you must allow for payment as set out in the guidelines is 14 days for companies or 30 days for individuals or sole traders.
For claims with a value under £10,000 we will happily assist you and provide advice if you require us to do so but you need to be aware before instructing us that legal costs are generally not recoverable from a debtor in a claim of this size.
| Value of your claim | Service | Dean Wilson’s fee (for what is included in this fee see details below) |
|---|---|---|
| Under £10,000 | standard letter of claim (individuals / sole traders) or letter before action (companies) | £150 – £250 plus VAT |
| £10,000 – £25,000 | standard letter of claim (individuals / sole traders) or letter before action (companies) | £250 – £350 plus VAT |
| Over £25,000 | letter of claim (individuals / sole traders) or letter before action (companies) | We will discuss your requirements and agree a fee with you in advance. |
VAT at the current applicable rate will be added to Dean Wilson’s listed fees.
What is included in this fee:-
*we will tell you in advance if any searches might incur a charge, for example carrying out a tracing search or obtaining a land registry title.
What is not included in this fee:-
We will agree a fee with you in advance if you require advice or we consider it necessary to investigate your claim prior to sending a letter of claim / letter before action.
| Value of your Claim (including interest) | Court Issue Fee* | Dean Wilson’s fee (excluding VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £300 | £35 | £ 250 – £500 plus VAT |
| £300 – £499.99 | £50 | |
| £500 – £999.99 | £70 | |
| £1000 – £1499.99 | £80 | |
| £1500 – £2999.99 | £115 | |
| £3000 – £4999.99 | £205 | |
| £5000 – £9999.99 | £455 | |
| £10,000 – £200,000 | 5% of value of claim | We will discuss your requirements and agree a fee with you in advance. |
*court fees are not subject to VAT and are as stated in the list of fees for Civil and Family Court Fees (EX50) from September 2021
What is included in this fee:-
What is not included in this fee:-
The time taken between us sending the claim to the court and the debtor receiving the claim may vary depending on the speed at which the court processes the claim but the debtor should typically have received the claim within 14 days of it being sent to the court.
The debtor has 14 days from receipt of the claim to file an acknowledgment indicating whether or not the debtor intends to defend the claim. If an acknowledgment is filed, the debtor has 28 days from receipt of the claim to file and serve any defence.
If the debtor admits your claim or fails to respond to your claim a request can be made to the court for judgment to be entered against the debtor.
Dean Wilson’s fee for applying to the Court to enter judgment in default and when judgment is received writing to the debtor to request payment – £100 plus VAT.
It typically takes the court up to two weeks to enter judgment following receipt of a request to enter judgment but again this may vary upon the speed at which the court processes the request.
If the event that payment is not received Dean Wilson’s fee for providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs – £100 plus VAT
If the debtor does not pay the judgment debt within the time period specified in the Judgment there are a number of enforcement options available which we can advise you on.
| Enforcement Method | Court Fees and disbursements | Dean Wilson’s fee (excluding VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Writ of Control (instructing high court enforcement officers to recover sum of money) | Court fee £83 Abortive fee in event high court enforcement officer in event collection unsuccessful £90 |
£100 plus VAT for applying for Writ of Control |
| Attachment of earnings Order | £119 for each defendant | £300 – £500 plus VAT to obtain Attachment of Earnings Order and assuming a hearing is not required |
| Third Party debt Order | £119 for each party against whom the order is requested | £750 – £1000 plus VAT plus counsel fees (estimate £250 – £500 plus VAT). |
| Charging Order | £119 for each charging order applied for £6 for each Land Registry title |
£250 plus VAT (assuming no hearing required) OR £500 plus VAT plus counsel fees (estimate £250 – £500 plus VAT) if a hearing becomes necessary in relation to final charging order |
*court fees are not subject to VAT and are as stated in the list of fees for Civil and Family Court Fees (EX50) from September 2021
What is included in this fee:-
*we will tell you in advance if any searches might incur a charge, for example carrying out a tracing search or obtaining a land registry title.
What is not included in this fee:-
Defended Claims
If the debtor disputes the claim at any point during the process we will discuss with you the merits of any defence and/or counterclaim, and provide you with revised costs advice if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee or at our hourly rates if more extensive work is needed.
The time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter will depend
at what stage you matter is resolved, and whether it is necessary to issue a claim and in turn whether that claim is defended.
Before we can accept a new instruction we are required to verify the identity of all new clients and update that verification for existing clients from time to time. There will be a charge of £10.00 plus VAT for each individual and £20.00 plus VAT for each company or partnership which will be added to your account.
The fees detailed below cover the specific services listed only and are quoted on the assumption that the debtor is within the legal jurisdiction of England & Wales. For claims against debtors based in another jurisdiction we will discuss matters with you and agree a fee with you in advance.
The fees detailed below are also quoted on the assumption that you assist us by giving clear instructions, letting us have all relevant documentation, informing us of any time limits of which you are aware and dealing promptly with any questions or issues that arise.
Where you wish us to and we agree to perform additional services to those outlined below we will discuss what is required with you and advise you about any extra costs and agree those with you in advance.
We aim to offer our clients flexible pricing options and depending on the nature of your claim and the services you require, fees might be on a fixed or capped fee structure or an hourly rate.
