Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:
- The VAT element of our fee may not be recoverable from your debtor.
- Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
- It is unlikely that you will recover anything more than a contribution towards your legal costs from the other party. Even where the claim is uncontested you will not usually be awarded all of your legal costs. Where the debt that you are claiming is £5,000 or less the amounts that you can recover from your opponent is fixed by law.
Value of claim |
Fixed legal costs |
£25.01 – £500 |
£50 (plus the court fee that you paid) |
£500.01 – £1,000 |
£70 (plus the court fee that you paid) |
£1,000.01 – £5,000 |
£80 (plus the court fee that you paid) |
£5,000.01 – £10,000 |
£100 (plus the court fee that you paid) |
- The costs quoted only apply to uncontested claims. Any of the following would attract additional charges:
- Any dispute raised by the other party after when a letter before claim is sent to them
- The other party filing a defence
- Replying to the other party’s defence
- The other party applying to strike out your claim
- Preparing Disclosure Lists
- Drafting Witness Statements
- Preparing Proofs of Evidence
- Attending any preliminary court hearings
- Attending a trial
- The costs quoted above do not include any enforcement action, such as instructing the bailiff, that is needed to collect your debt.
The law requires solicitors to get satisfactory evidence of the identity of their clients. Our standard practice is to meet with our client in person and inspect their original passport or photocard driving licence and an original utility bill with their address on it (that is dated within the last three months). If it is not possible for us to meet with our client in person to verify their identity, or for our clients to supply the appropriate identification documents, we may need to carry out electronic identification checks. The electronic identification checks will result in a cost of £5 plus VAT per person.