Debt Recovery Fees

We understand that when you have outstanding payments from invoices for goods or services provided, this will not only impact your cash-flow but also your productivity while you spend your valuable time chasing payment. Our Debt Recovery department are here to work alongside you to take the burden off your shoulders, allowing you to run your business while we aim for swift recovery of the debt and, where possible, retaining the commercial relationship you hold with the debtor.

Our costs for commercial debt recovery matters, where invoices are undisputed, are dependent on the volume of matters you have and we would be happy to negotiate a fee scale tailored to your needs.

Initial Consultation

In order for us to understand your situation and be able to provide you with an accurate estimate, an initial set-up review will be carried out. During this, we will discuss your particular situation and tailor agreeable forms of instruction and template letters.

This would be charged to you on a time-recorded basis, at an hourly rate of between £195 (plus VAT at 20%) and £275 (plus VAT at 20%) depending on the particular Solicitor you see from our Debt Recovery and Commercial Litigation team:

Sara White - Barrister and Head of the Commercial Litigation department
Jayne Ciesla - Senior Associate

Sara White and Jayne Ciesla are supported by their Legal Assistant, Moira Hillary, as well as their Legal Secretary, Lizzie Pearl. On occasion, there may be the need for a Trainee Solicitor to work on your matter whose hourly rate will range from £100 to £175 (plus VAT at 20%).

The initial consultation usually takes between one and three hours depending on the nature of your matter and the number of invoices involved.

Debt Recovery Process

Once the initial consultation has completed and we have confirmed the best course of action to recover the debt owed to you, we would send a Letter of Claim. This would be charged on a fixed fee basis in accordance with the relevant Court Pre-Action Protocol under the Civil Procedure Rules:-

For business-to-business debts, a fixed fee of £35 (plus VAT at 20%) is charged for sending a Letter of Claim. If the debtor has more than one trading address and additional copies are to be sent, these would be charged at £12 (plus VAT at 20%) per each additional address.
For business to individual/sole trader debts, a more detailed Letter of Claim in compliance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims must be sent with a full response pack. For this service, we offer a fixed fee of £60 (plus VAT @20%). If the debtor has more than one address and additional copies are to be sent, these would be charged at £18 (plus VAT @ 20%) per each additional address.

Any further work undertaken outside of the scope of your agreed fee scale arrangement, for example issuing a money claim via the Courts, obtaining default Judgment or enforcing a Judgment, is charged on a time-recorded basis, at an hourly rate of between £195 (plus VAT at 20%) and £275 (plus VAT at 20%). Whether these actions are required will depend on the response to the Letter of Claim. We will discuss the options with you and the scope of works at the relevant time, providing an estimate of costs. You can find out more about the process involved on our Debt Recovery page.

Please note that we review our hourly rates each year and we will notify you in writing if the charging rates are to increase and from when.

Disbursements

Additional third party payments, also known as disbursements, would include the Court fees for issuing a claim as well as a hearing fee if the matter proceeds to a hearing. The Court fees can be found on the Government website.

Contact our Debt Recovery Solicitors

To discuss our fees in more detail or to book your initial consultation, contact our Debt Recovery Solicitors in Andover, Romsey, Salisbury, Totton or Witney by using the Contact Form, emailing info@parkerbullen.com or calling your local office: