Our team has over numerous years of collective experience in delivering high quality work in all matters relating to complex litigation.
There are several members of the team who may work on your matter. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by Ben Warburton, Partner and Head of Litigation.
Ben is the head of our team and has over 8 years’ experience in litigation work, specialising in commercial and property related work. Ben has been working in this area since he qualified and has helped many organisations and individuals.
Ben qualified as a solicitor in 2010 after gaining a 2:1 in Law from the University of Exeter. He completed his training contract at Charles Russell LLP and worked at different firms before moving on to join our firm in 2014. He became a partner in 2017.
Ben has also completed several professional development courses relating to various aspects of litigation work.
Please note the following information regarding our fees incurred in connection with the provision of litigation services:
- The level of our fees will vary depending on the nature and extent of the service provided. We endeavour to keep our clients updated regularly as to the level of fees incurred and the likely total cost of a case at its outset
- Our fees are charged at an hourly rate of between £300 – £400 plus VAT, depending on the level and experience of the fee earner dealing with the case.
- During the course of a case it is possible that we will incur disbursements, such as Court fees, for which the client will be responsible.
- At the outset of every case we advise our clients on what services will, or are likely to be, provided to the conclusion of the matter and the likely cost of those services.
- If there is a service which our clients may reasonably expect to be included as part of our fee package, but is not – such as the fees a third party surveyor may charge for undertaking a site inspection and preparing a report – we explain this to our clients at the outset of a case.
- At the outset of a case we provide our clients with an explanation of the key stages and likely timescales involved. We continue to update our clients on these aspects if there are any changes throughout the case.
Debt Recovery Services – Pricing and Service Information (in England & Wales)
This pricing information relates to claims for payment of an invoice of up to £100,000, where the claim is not disputed. This pricing information does not apply to:
- Disputed debt recovery claims;
- Claims where the debt owed is more than £100,000;
- Enforcement action;
- Insolvency
Please contact us if you require pricing information relating to any of these areas.
In some cases – for example for clients who are able to provide us with repeat instructions – we may agree to carry out debt recovery work on the basis of fixed fees. These are set out in the section headed Fixed Fees for Debt Recovery which we are happy to discuss with you in more detail. All one-off debt recovery work is carried out on an hourly basis, as explained in the section headed Standard Pricing for Debt Recovery.
STANDARD PRICING FOR DEBT RECOVERY
As with most other civil litigation claims, we charge for debt recovery claims on a time-spent basis. Your claim will be handled by the lawyer who is best placed to deal with your claim, bearing in mind the complexity and value of the claim. Our hourly rates are based on the experience and seniority of the lawyer, and are as follows (Note: all rates are inclusive of VAT, charged at the current rate of 20%):
| Partner | £350- £400 |
Although the value of a claim and the likely cost of pursuing it do not always go hand in hand, there is frequently a correlation, even for undisputed debt recovery claims. The table below sets out the stages through which an undisputed debt recovery claim is likely to pass, and the estimated costs and timeframes for each stage. (The information relating to timeframes is also applicable to any debt recovery claims which we agree to handle on a fixed fee basis.)
Note: all fees are inclusive of VAT, charged at the current rate of 20%.
| Pre-Commencement of the Claim | Claims with a value of up to £10,000 | Claims with a value of £10,001 – £25,000 | Claims with a value of £25,001 – £100,000 | |
| 1. | Taking instructions, evaluating evidence, considering important preliminary issues such as limitation and jurisdiction, and reporting to you by e-mail. Timeframe: 1-2 weeks from receipt of all necessary documentary evidence/information. | £600 – £3,000 | £960 – £3,600 | £1,200 – £4,200 |
| 2. | Instructing an enquiry agent to trace the defendant, if their whereabouts is unknown or in doubt. Timeframe: 1-4 weeks. | Our fees: £60 – £180 Enquiry agent’s fee: £30 – £60 | Our fees: £60 – £180 Enquiry agent’s fee: £30 – £60 | Our fees: £60 – £180 Enquiry agent’s fee: £30 – £60 |
| 3. | Preparing and sending the letter before action/of claim (“LBA”). Timeframe: Commercial debtors will be given 14 days to respond to the letter of claim. Individual debtors will be given 30 days to respond. | £180 – £2,000 | £360 – £4,000 | £1,200 – £6,000 |
| 4. | Considering the defendant’s reply (if any) to the letter of claim, evaluating and advising on appropriate next steps. Timeframe: 1-2 weeks from date of the defendant’s response/expiry of deadline given in the LBA. | £180 – £1,200 | £360 – £1,200 | £600 – £1,800 |
| 5. | Negotiations with the defendant (for example regarding payment by instalments). Timeframe: Contact will be made with the defendant promptly upon receipt of your instructions, but the time taken to negotiate payment will vary. | £180 – £1,800 | £360 – £2,400 | £600 – £3,600 |
| County Court Proceedings | Claims with a value up to £10,000 | Claims with a value of £10,001 -£25,000 | Claims with a value of £25,001 – £100,000 | |
| 6. | Instructing a Barrister to advise on the claim and prepare proceedings. Timeframe: This will depend upon the facts of the claim, and the reasons why a Barrister’s involvement has been sought. | N/A | N/A | Our fees: £600 – £3,600 Barrister’s fee: this will depend on the facts of each case. |
| 7. | Telephone conference with a Barrister to discuss the claim and the draft proceedings and advising the client accordingly. Timeframe: This will depend upon the facts of the claim, the reasons why a Barrister’s involvement has been sought, and the Barrister’s availability. | N/A | N/A | Our fees: £600- £3,600 Barrister’s fee: this will depend on the facts of each case. |
| 8. | Drafting claim form and particulars of claim (in conjunction with a Barrister, if instructed), issuing proceedings at Court and (if necessary) effecting service of the claim upon the defendant. Timeframe: Time required to prepare the proceedings will depend on the facts of the claim. Once the proceedings have been sent to the court, it can take 1-3 weeks for the claim to be issued by the court, and a further 1-3 weeks for the court to serve the proceedings upon the defendant, or return the issued claim to us for service, as required. | £360 – £2,400 | £360 – £4,000 | £1,200 – £6,000 (if draft proceedings have been prepared by a Barrister. or £2,400 – £8,200 (if we prepare the proceedings) |
| 9. | Applying for judgment in default of a defence, or upon admission, serving the judgment upon the defendant, and reporting to you. Timeframe: Once proceedings have been served a defendant has 14 days | £60 – £240 | £60 – £360 | £60 – £600 |
| to file either (i) a defence, or (ii) an acknowledgement of service. If neither is received after 14 days, we can request judgment. If an acknowledgment of service is received, the defendant has 28 days from service of the proceedings to file a defence. If none is received within that period, we can request judgment. |
Please note that these are estimates only and are intended to represent the average range of costs which are likely to be incurred at each stage. The actual time required to be spent, and the actual costs incurred, may differ from these estimates, depending upon the facts of the case.
The timeframes are also intended to represent the likely timeframes, assuming that there are no unexpected delays – including delays on the part of the court, or delays in us obtaining instructions from you.
If proceedings are issued, an issue fee will need to be paid to the court. We will always require the relevant issue fee to be provided to us on account, prior to issuing proceedings. The issue fees charged by the court are as follows (Note: – court issue fees are not subject to VAT):
| Value of the claim: | Court issue fee: |
| Does not exceed £300 | £35 |
| Exceeds £300 but does not exceed £500 | £50 |
| Exceeds £500 but does not exceed £1,000 | £70 |
| Exceeds £1,000 but does not exceed £1,500 | £80 |
| Exceeds £1,500 but does not exceed £3,000 | £115 |
| Exceeds £3,000 but does not exceed £5,000 | £205 |
| Exceeds £5,000 but does not exceed £10,000 | £455 |
| Exceeds £10,000 but does not exceed £200,000 | 5% of the value of the claim |
| Exceeds £200,000 or is not limited | £10,000 |
Court fees are also payable in relation to insolvency proceedings and applications for enforcement. Details of these fees can be provided upon request.
In a disputed claim, additional court fees will be payable. The amount of these fees will depend upon various factors (such as whether the claim proceeds all the way to trial, and whether or not any interim applications are made). Disputed claims fall outside the scope of this pricing information, but details of the sorts of court fees which may apply to a disputed claim can be provided upon request.
Once a judgment debt has been obtained, we can advise you on the various available methods of enforcement, such as instruction of a High Court Enforcement Agent, or application for a third-party debt order.
Alternatively, if the debt is not disputed, then service of a statutory demand may be the most appropriate route. Statutory demands are the first stage in the insolvency process, and failure to pay after a statutory demand is served (where it is not disputed) is evidence of insolvency. Upon service being effected, the debtor will have an initial 18 days to dispute the debt or 21 days to make payment. If no payment is received after the expiry of the demand a bankruptcy petition / winding up petition can be presented.
Pricing information on enforcement of a judgment debt, and on individual and corporate insolvency, can be provided upon request.
Fixed Fees for Debt Recovery
We are able to offer fixed fees for debt recovery work in certain circumstances, for example, for clients who can provide us with a portfolio of repeat instructions.
Some of our fixed fees are set out below. Others will need to be negotiated directly with us, and will depend upon a number of factors, such as numbers of instructions, complexity and value of claims.
Please note that the fixed fees shown below only apply to undisputed claims for amounts of up to £100,000.
Our fixed fees do not include dealing with responses from the debtor, settlement negotiations, dealing with enquiries from third parties, negotiating over repayment terms or any detailed advice on legal/procedural matters e.g. detailed advice on enforcement options. However, where such activity are required on matters where our fixed-fee structure applies, we will apply a reduced hourly rate of £100 plus VAT charged at the relevant rate of the time (currently 20%, so a total hourly rate of £120). This rate will apply regardless of the seniority of the lawyer carrying out the work. This means that the costs of the claim can increase by anything from £0 (e.g. where the debtor does not respond to the claim at all) to £1,200 (for example where the debtor wishes to negotiate repayment by instalments which prove difficult to agree upon, and which are then breached repeatedly over a period of time).
Pre-Commencement of the Claim
Note: all fees are inclusive of VAT, charged at the current rate of 20% VAT
| Company search | £24 |
| HM Land Registry search | Our fee: £30 HM Land Registry fee: £3 per office copy entry required (no VAT). |
| Instructing an enquiry agent | Our fee: £48 Enquiry agent’s fee: £30 – £60 |
| Insolvency search (carried out as a matter of course on all new instructions, unless we are otherwise instructed) | £24 |
| Letter of claim | Our fixed fees for the letter of claim range from £100 – £1,000 and are negotiated directly with our clients. |
Our agreement to charge these fixed fees for pre-action matters is dependent upon your provision of a completed instruction form, together with copies of the documents requested in that form (invoices etc.).
County Court Proceedings
Note: all fees are inclusive of VAT, charged at the current rate of 20% VAT
| Preparation and issue of proceedings | Our fixed fees for issue of proceedings range from £100 – £2,000 and are negotiated directly with our clients. |
| Requesting judgment in default of defence | £300 (for claims worth up to £5,000) £500 (for claims worth over £5,000) |
| Requesting judgment following admission | £300 (for claims worth up to £5,000) £500 (for claims worth over £5,000) |
A court issue fee will also be payable, for which see the table in the Standard Pricing for Debt Recovery
section.
Generally
These fixed fees do not include non-standard disbursements such as process servers’ fees.
If the matter becomes contested at any time, or if the claim becomes non-standard for any other reason, the fixed fee regime will no longer apply and the claim will be dealt with on an hourly-rate basis, at a rate appropriate to the qualification of the lawyer concerned. The dispute resolution department’s current rates can be provided on request and are reviewed on 1 May each year.
If court proceedings are defended there will also be additional disbursements, for example further court fees and Barrister’s fees.