Debt Recovery

The Jonathan Lea Network Debt recovery (up to £100,000) Fees Guide

Debt Recovery – Undisputed Money Claims (up to date as of 17 August 2021)

We offer a fixed fee debt recovery service for sums of money that are not subject to a substantive dispute as to the goods or services supplied. In relation to disputed debts we can provide a fee estimate based on an hourly rate basis and this will depend on the complexity of the issues involved, the volume documents to consider and the value of the sums owed. You will find details of the court’s issuing fees by clicking here.

The service includes an initial consultation and review of your papers, preparing a standard pre action “letter of claim”, where necessary, complying with any Pre Action Protocols provided by the Ministry of Justice, and where necessary preparing and issuing a Money claim form (provided the debt is not substantially disputed). If the debt continues to be undisputed in substance, it will include a request for judgment. If at any point a defence is raised to any issued claim, then we can continue to act for you on the matter but would need to agree a fee on an estimated time basis.

Points to Note:

1) Small Claims

Claims below £10,000 are likely to be allocated to the “small claims” track, and under that track, the usual order made by the court is that, save for the court fee, and some limited witness expenses for attending trial, neither side recovers their legal fees from the other. This must be taken into account on any cost / risk analysis when deciding whether to issue court proceedings. In addition, thought must be had to the financial standing of the proposed defendant, as the courts do not automatically enforce CCJs issues and so separate enforcement proceedings may be necessary to recover sums of money ordered by a debtor to be paid. The debtor may be difficult to locate or trace, may be living abroad or may simply not have the means to pay in which case enforcement may only result in the insolvency of the debtor.

Even where you are able to obtain an order for your solicitors costs against the debtor, it may not be possible to recover all of your legal fees (including VAT) and associated costs from the debtor due to a court assessment process.

2) Interest and Compensation

Interest may take the debt into a higher banding, with higher costs.

How long will the matter take?

Matters could take as little as a few weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether it is necessary to issue a claim at court or not.  If the debt is contested and/or enforcement action is required, the matter may take much longer to resolve.

Who will handle the claim?

Your debt recovery claim will be handled on a supervisory basis by a qualified and experienced dispute resolution solicitors but day to day tasks may be delegated to paralegals and trainee within our dispute resolution department.

Insurance

It is advisable to check all insurance policies you/your business may hold to see whether they include Legal Expense Insurance cover before instructing solicitors, as if you do have such cover, it may not be retrospective and by acting on your matter, you may be prejudicing any claim you may otherwise have been entitled to make under the policy.

Please email us on wewillhelp@jonathanlea.net and we will be happy to provide you with a quote.

Disclaimer notice: These fees are guidelines only and reflect what we commonly charge. The Jonathan Lea Network reserves the right to change any fee. The fee is subject to change depending on the complexity of the matter. We can confirm in writing a definitive fee quote following a short complimentary introductory call.