As a business, you may have seen an increase in sales during the run-up to Christmas – which is great news – until your customers are late making payments and your cash flow suffers as a result. It’s pretty common for people to overspend...
Our debt recovery service helps businesses recover the money they are owed. With an enviable reputation, we recover millions of pounds worth of debts each year for clients, much of which they had given up all hope of ever collecting. We work for a wide range of businesses from sole traders to some of the biggest names on the high street, as well as having the capacity to recover debts overseas.
The costs below apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one-off letter is required), or an hourly rate if more involved work is needed.
We have two options to provoke an early payment. The first is a service that allows you to create your own Solicitor's Demand Letter for £10.00 excluding VAT using our online portal. If the debtor pays, just let us know and we will close our file, with no further charge. If you require further assistance, you can proceed to the next stage.
Please note that where stated, VAT will be charged at the prevailing rate - currently 20%.
Solicitor's Demand Letter
| Service | Our fee (plus VAT) |
| Solicitor's Demand Letter | £10 |
Telephone collections
We also offer a telephone collections service which has proved invaluable to many of our clients, especially those who wish to retain that all-important relationship with a long-standing client. Our team at Roythornes is well versed in the art of chasing down debtors and extracting your money, using a softer approach. The price stated includes two letters and a telephone call to the debtor. We offer this service on a commission-based payment of 8% of monies recovered up to £100,000.
| Value recovered (£) | Our fee (% of money recovered) | Commission |
| £1 - £100,000 | 8% plus VAT | From £25 |
Pre-action stage
If collection is not successful, we offer a fixed-fee service which complies with the Pre-Action Protocol for debt claims. This is the first stage in proceeding to recover the debt through the court.
| Debt value | Our fee (plus VAT) |
| Up to £1000 | £100 |
| £1,001 - £5,000 | £200 |
| £5,001-10,000 | £300 |
| Over £10,000 | £580 |
If we are required to undertake any work in relation to recovering the debt without issuing proceedings, this will be charged at 8% of monies recovered.
If it is necessary to pursue the matter through the courts in order to obtain a County Court Judgment and then take action to enforce payment, our team has experience in all recovery procedures and can help you make the right decision.
Issuing claims in the County Court
| Debt value | Court fee | Our fee (plus VAT) | Total (inc VAT) |
| Up to £5,000 | £35 - £205* | £50 - £80** | £95 - £301 |
| £5,001 - £10,000 | £455 | £100 | £575 - £575 |
| £10,001 - £50,000 | 5% value of the claim | £100 | £620.05 - £2,620 |
* denotes the range of court fees payable between debt values of £300 and £5,000.** denotes the range of our fees payable (£50 plus VAT for debt values between £300 and £500; £70 plus VAT for debt values between £501-£1,000; and £80 plus VAT for debt values between £3,001 and £5,000)
The fee includes taking instructions and reviewing any documentation you provide to us, and undertaking any searches such as (but not limited to) credit searches and Companies House searches. You should note that:
- the VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor;
- interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
Judgment
If no response is received to your claim, we will proceed to enter judgment.
| Claim value | By default Our fee (plus VAT) | When acknowledged but undefended Our fee (plus VAT) | By admission Our fee (plus VAT) | By determination Our fee (plus VAT) |
| £25 - £4,999 | £22 | £25 | £40 | £55 |
| Over £5,000 | £30 | £35 | £55 | £70 |
If payment is not received within 30 days we will provide you with advice on enforcement.
Enforcement costs
If the debtor fails to pay once a County Court Judgment has been secured, it will be necessary to take steps to enforce the judgment. Which method of enforcement is used is dependent on what assets the debtor has. Liaising with our team will ensure that the most appropriate method is used.
| Action | Court fee | Our fee (plus VAT) | Other expenses | Amount recoverable |
| Warrant of Control | £91 | £50 | n/a | £93.25 |
| Writ of Control | £78 | £51.75 | £75 (plus VAT) Guaranteed Creditors Fee* | £129.75 |
| Order to Obtain Information | £65 | £75 | c£125 | c£80 |
| Attachment of Earnings | £131 | £200 | n/a | £139.50 |
| Third-Party Debt Order | £131 | £275 | c£100 | c£229.50 |
| Charging Order | £131 | £275 | c£143 | c£284 |
* When the High Court Enforcement Agent (HCE Agent) makes a successful recovery, the enforcement costs are subject to VAT. Where a creditor is not VAT registered, the debtor will pay the VAT on the HCE agents fee. Where a creditor is VAT registered, the VAT on agents costs will be charged back to the creditor for recovery from HMRC.
Bankruptcy costs
Bankruptcy/winding up is used as a method of enforcement. Our costs for this service are set out below.
| Action | Our fee (plus VAT) |
| Statutory Demand | £300 |
| Petition Deposit | £1,500 |
| Petition | £450 |
| Conduct of Proceedings | £600 - £1,000 |
| Expenses | Amount |
| Service fees | c£110 (plus VAT) |
| Issue fee | £332 |
| Petition Deposit | £1500 |
| Agent's fee | £250 (plus VAT) |
Winding Up
| Action | Our fee (plus VAT) |
| Pre-winding up letter | £100 |
| Petition | £450 |
| Conduct of Proceedings | £700 - £1,200 |
| Expenses | Amount |
| Insolvency search fees | c£11 |
| Service fees | c£110 (plus VAT) |
| Issue fee | £332 |
| Official Receiver's Deposit | £2,600 |
| Advertisement fee | c£87.50 (plus VAT) |
| Agent's fee | £250 (plus VAT) |
Additional Services
There may be times when you do not know the whereabouts of your debtor or their means of payment of the debt. We can assist with this in addition to our other services.
| Service | Amount | Our fee (plus VAT) |
| Basic debtor trace | £26 - £45 (no results, no fee) | £15 |
| Means and Employment search | £26 - £37 (no results, no fee) | £15 |
| Chargeable investigation | £100 - £200 (capped) | Standard rate of £150 per hour |
| Land registry search | £3 | |
| International debt recovery | ||
| Scotland and Ireland | Agent's fees | £100 |
| EU and Worldwide | Agent's fees | Standard rate of £150 per hour |
Defended claims
If the other side defends your claim for payment, fixed fees will no longer apply and the matter will be subject to our hourly rate of £150-210 plus VAT.
Matters on average take six to eight weeks from receipt of instructions to receipt of payment. It may take longer if it is necessary to pursue the claim through the courts.
Timescales
A typical debt recovery will take between 6-8 weeks, from instruction through to payment from the other side. This may be quicker or longer depending on whether we are required to issue a claim and whether the other side pay promptly on receipt of any Judgment issued by a court. As detailed above, if enforcement action is required, we will discuss the fees and timescales involved.
Get in touch with our debt recovery solicitors
For further information about our debt recovery services, get in touch with our team in Alconbury, Birmingham, Nottingham, Peterborough or Spalding.
