Our Fees
Overview
On this page we explain our likely fees for assisting in particular types and stages claims. Our prices listed are provided as a guideline only. Each claim or dispute can be unique and involve different variables. Therefore the best way to obtain an accurate fee estimate is to contact us directly.
All our fees set out below are excluding VAT. We are not VAT registered, and therefore VAT will not be charged on our invoices.
Recovering your legal costs
The usual rule in a legal dispute is that the successful party recovers its legal costs from the unsuccessful party.
When making a decision on who should pay and what amount of costs should be paid, the Court has a wide discretion. It is therefore common that even successful parties do not recover all of their legal costs. Additionally, there may be rules which limit the amount of costs which can be recovered (e.g. if your claim is allocated to the small claims track).
The cost of, and your ability to fund, any legal dispute is therefore a factor you should consider at the earliest available opportunity.
Engagement Letter
We will endeavour to set out the cost of pursuing any course of action we recommend, and our services, within our correspondence with you. At the start of our instruction, this will include in our engagement letter to you.
If at any time, you would like a fee estimate of a particular stage of the claim, please let us know and we will endeavour to provide you with one. If it is not possible to provide a fee estimate, we may suggest setting a cost limit, that we will not exceed without your prior approval, as an alternative.
Free initial no-obligation consultation
We are happy to offer new a free initial no-obligation consultation to discuss new instructions. The purpose of the consultation is to ascertain how we can best help you and the possible next steps, so that you can make an informed decision on how to proceed. Full details can be found here.
How much are our fees?
We use the term PQE to refer to how many years of experience a solicitor has had following their qualification as a solicitor.
The hourly rate that we charge out for our staff is as follows:
Partners & Solicitors 4 PQE+ - £200 p/h
Solicitors - newly qualified - 3 PQE - £150 p/h
Legal Assistants - £120 p/h
We bill in regular instalments and can, subject to your circumstances, agree a monthly payment plan in which interest is charged at 8% on outstanding balances.
Disbursements
We may incur disbursements on your behalf. These are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as court fees or land registry fees.
We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
Debt Recovery
Before commencing any legal action, the court requires the parties to try to resolve their dispute in writing. This includes setting out your dispute, including what you want from the other side, and giving them the opportunity to respond.
This usually takes the form of a letter before action.
The court will normally want to see the parties comply with the court’s pre-action protocol, in the way that they correspond with each other at this stage. We estimate that the timescale for corresponding with each other in this way usually takes between 2 weeks and 2 months.
For more information on the pre-action protocol, see here.
Fixed Fee letters before action
Our fixed fee letter before action service is suitable for straight forward debt recovery cases or for outstanding invoices, up to the value of £100,000. Our service will include:
Performing an initial review of documents and taking your instructions;
drafting the letter before action;
If appropriate include a claim for interest and/or late payment compensation;
considering any response from the debtor;
chasing a response if no response is received;
receiving payments and remitting them to you; and
providing advice as to next steps
We will confirm our fee quote for this stage in an engagement letter to you. However, our fixed fees for preparing a letter of claim are usually between £100 and £300, as follows:
Claim value: Up to £10,000 - £100
Claim value: £10,000 - £50,000 - £250
Claim value: £50,000+ - £300
Custom/detailed letters before action
If the nature of the dispute is not straightforward, or is likely to be disputed, we would recommend using a more detailed letter before action instead of our fixed fee service mentioned above. This will give you the opportunity to have the background set out in more detail, fixed fee, which sets out the full background,
Issuing claims at court
If we are unable to resolve the dispute, and recover payment of an outstanding debt, we may recommend issuing legal proceedings. The cost of issuing the claim, and our likely costs in drafting the relevant documents to begin the court process are set out below. As mentioned above, this is on the assumption that the claim is one for straight forward debt recovery, and
When calculating which bracket your claim falls under, it is important to also take into account any interest or late payment compensation that increase the value of your claim.
Claim Value
Court Issue Fee
Our Fee Estimate
Up to £300
£35
£100
£300 - £500
£50
£100
£500 - £1,000
£70
£200
£1,000 - £5,000
£80
£400
£1,500 - £3,000
£115
£400
£3,000 - £5,000
£205
£600
£5,000 - £10,000
£455
£600
£10,000 - £200,000
5% of the value of the claim
£600 - £1,500
£200,000 +
£10,000
we will provide an estimate following a review of the claim
If no response is received within the prescribed time, we will ask the court to issue a judgment in default. This is a court judgment in your favour, due to the Defendant’s failure to file a response.
Defence or judgment in default
If the Defendant files a Defence, we will provide you with a quote for our fees in taking the next steps of the case.
The cost may differ depending on a number of variables, such as the value of the claim, the contents of the defence, and the likely next procedural steps in the claim. For more detail on what the general court process may involve, contact us for a guide on the court process here.
Enforcement
If the debtor fails to make payment of any judgment, it can be enforced using various methods.
Get a Quote
Interested in hiring our services? Simply fill out the form below and one of our team members will get in touch as soon as possible.