Don’t let unpaid invoices disrupt your business. Protect your reputation and resolve financial disputes with help from our Debt Recovery specialists.
Discuss your situation with our Debt Recovery specialists – get in touch or call 0191 5666 500 for advice with no-obligation to start a case.
Cash is the lifeblood of any business. And we understand that late payments can place unnecessary strain on your finances and relationships.
If late payments are harming your business, our vastly-experienced commercial litigation can use effective and affordable debt recovery solutions to help recover arrears on your behalf.
No matter what sector you operate in, we can advise SME owners and major organisations to ensure you get paid in a timely fashion.
Experienced Debt Recovery Specialists
If you’d like to benefit from our Debt Recovery expertise, we’d love to help protect your finances and reputation.
From our head office in Sunderland, we represent people from the North of England. We also have a presence in Carlisle and represent people from across the UK, many of whom have been referred by previously successful clients.
No matter what the nature of your situation may be, we can advise on various options, including Letters Before Action, court proceedings and insolvency measures.
We will work closely with you at every stage to keep you updated about progress and costs, so you are always fully informed about the most appropriate recovery strategies and implementation.
Arrange a free consultation with our Debt Recovery specialists – get in touch or call 0191 5666500 today!
Our Affordable Fixed Costs Service
Where the dispute involves an uncontested invoice, and where we can secure payment quickly, we offer an affordable Fixed Cost service.
If the invoice becomes contested, our experts will advise you about all your options and give you a likely cost estimate of the work involved to resolve the dispute.
Where the dispute involves an uncontested invoice worth up to £100,000.00, and where we can secure payment within the prescribed pre-action protocol periods, we offer an affordable Fixed Cost service.
Whether the debt is owed by an individual or a business, we will fix our costs according to the value of the debt.
Our current Fixed Costs Service is priced as follows:
Up to £10,000.00: £100.00 plus VAT @ 20% (£120.00 including VAT)
£10,000.01 to £50,000.00: £250.00 plus VAT @ 20% (£300.00 including VAT)
£50,000.01 to £100,000.00: £500.00 plus VAT@ 20% (£600.00 including VAT)
We do not envisage incurring any disbursements.
What is Included in our Fixed Fee Service?
Stage 1
Covers the consideration of the basis of the debt, registering it on our system, undertaking identity checks for you and confirming the debtor’s identity details.
Stage 2
Covers our advice to you regarding the merits of pursuing the debt having regard to all matters considered in stage 1 and advice as to the debt recovery process.
Stage 3
The production of a Letter Before Action to be served in accordance with the relevant pre action protocols.
Stage 4
The final stage covers receiving the debt and forwarding the funds to you or otherwise facilitating payment to you by the debtor. Please note the fixed fee service does not include facilitating an instalment plan of the debt via ourselves.
As an estimate, this fixed fee service work is likely to take around 4-6 weeks or so.
What is Not Included in Our Fixed Fee Service?
If the debtor does not pay within the required period, usually 21-30 days, or if the invoice becomes contested, the case falls outside of the fixed fee service and becomes a claim in breach of contract for non-payment. If that happens, our commercial litigation experts can advise you about all your options and give you a separate likely cost estimate of the work involved to resolve that dispute so that you can make an informed choice as to how you wish to proceed with the matter. You may decide not to pursue it further at all.
Our non-fixed fee service work for debt recovery cases worth no more than £100,000 involves the following key stages:
- Issuing of court proceedings
- Entering judgement in default if no Defence is filed
- Attending any interim Court hearings (ie those before any trial)
- Dealing with Disclosure (the gathering of and the provision to the Defendant of relevant documents)
- Recording and exchanging of witness evidence
- Preparation of Instructions to Counsel/Solicitor Advocate for Trial
- Attending Trial
- If successful, facilitating payment of the judgement debt
- Enforcement proceedings, should the Defendant refuse to pay up on a judgement debt, would involve separate fees (and can be discussed and an estimate given on a case by case basis in the event enforcement is necessary)
The time taken to conclude a non-fixed fee debt recovery matter varies greatly and is subject to the Court’s availability – some Courts have much longer waiting lists than others. Usually, however, we would expect a debt recovery action to be concluded somewhere between 4 months and 18 months. It really depends on whether a Court trial is required.
It may also be possible to resolve the dispute via mediation instead of through Court proceedings and if that is possible the costs would usually be lower. Mediation is only possible if both sides agree it or, if Court proceedings are necessary, it is ordered by the Court as an initial alternative to a Court trial.
Our non-fixed fee service work for debt recovery cases worth no more than £100,000 is charged for on an hourly basis and the rates are shown below:
| TOTAL | TOTAL (INC VAT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Partner / Director / Senior Solicitor | £295 | £354.00 |
| Associate / Solicitor | £198 | £226.80 |
| Trainee Solicitor / Paralegal | £134 | £160.80 |
Our overall costs for pursuing a debt-recovery case to conclusion will vary depending on the issues, value and complexity involved but will usually be in the range of £10,000 to £35,000 + VAT (at 20%). In addition to this there would be disbursements to pay, usually in the form of a Court Issue Fee (see the below), a Court Hearing Fee of £545 (for claims between £10,000 to £25,000) or £1175 (for claims above £25,000) and the fees of Counsel (a barrister) or our in-house solicitor-advocate (these fees would usually be estimated at £3500 to £7,000 + VAT (20%) for preparation and the 1st day of trial plus £1500-£3000 + VAT (20%) for each additional day of trial).
| Court Fees | TOTAL (not subject to VAT) |
|---|---|
| Up to £5000 | £35 – £205 |
| More than £5,000 but no more than £10,000 | £455 |
| More than £10,000 but no more than £200,000 | 5% of the value of the claim |
Please note that we would not normally recommend taking court proceedings for debts of less than £5,000 (and sometimes more) given the level of costs that would be involved. This concept of proportionality applies to all monetary claims so we would advise you if we felt the claim you wished to pursue could be disproportionate.
Thankfully, court trials for debt matters are uncommon so it is likely that the cost involved could be less. However, the bottom line is we will give you an estimate once we are aware of all of the facts of the case and you can then make an informed choice as to whether to pursue the matter or not. There is also scope for us to recover some fees from the defendant if your case is successful.