Services
Lets Get Legal
Sadly, lettering doesn't recover everything all of the time. That's why our legal partners are here for you whenever you need them.
Once you have sent your final demand letter to one of your debtors you can, if you wish, issue legal proceedings through our partner law firms at a fixed low price without any strings or commitments.
Because the legal system is different from England & Wales to Scotland to Ireland, we've lined up skilled law firm teams in both jurisdictions to help out.
In almost all cases our law firm partners only charge you what can be recovered from the debtor. There are a few exceptions to this and in accordance with our no jargon and no catches policy; these are all explained before you embark on any legal action.
A word about the cost of court claims
If we start a court claim for you in the County Court of England and Wales there is a charge to pay.
You have to pay a fee to the court and pay our charge for doing so. We call these costs.
In every case, we only pass on to you the actual fees we pay out on your behalf. In most cases the fees are added to the debt and payable by the defendant. If we can recover the fees they will be refunded to you in full.
In most cases we charge you only the costs that the court says can be added to the debt and charged on to the defendant. If we can recover the costs they are refunded to you. We have to charge you VAT on any costs.
Fees and costs are generally payable at each stage of a court claim and we¡¯ve listed all the usual fees and costs for you to see BEFORE you embark on any court action. Note that when they are incurred our partner law firm will invoice you for them and you have to pay them as soon as they are incurred. However, if the monies are recovered they are immediately refunded to you.
All fees and costs are subject to variation by the Court Service and the Ministry of Justice, please keep checking back for details.
To find out about the fees and costs involved in starting a claim, click here.
To find out about the costs involved in obtaining judgment after a claim, click here.
To find out about the fees and costs involved in enforcing payment, click here.
For more enforcement, bankruptcy and winding up proceedings, click here.
Fees and Costs for starting a claim.
To issue a claim form where your claim is for money only and the amount is:
| Debt Amount | Court Fee |
Solicitor's Cost |
Total Cost |
| Up to £25 | £30 |
Nil |
£30 |
| Up to £300 | £30 |
£50 |
£80 |
| £300.01 to £500 | £45 |
£50 |
£95 |
| £500.01 to £1,000 | £65 |
£70 |
£135 |
| £1,000.01 to £1,500 | £75 |
£80 |
£155 |
| £1,500.01 to £3,000 | £85 |
£80 |
£165 |
| £3,000.01 to £5,000 | £108 |
£80 |
£188 |
| £5,000.01 to £15,000 | £225 |
£100 |
£325 |
| £15,000.01 to £50,000 | £360 |
£100 |
£460 |
If there is more than one defendant then an additional ¡̀15 solicitors cost per defendant is charged.
To find out about the costs involved in obtaining judgment after a claim, click here.
Costs for obtaining judgment.
Once we have issued a claim form and we can enter judgment either because the defendant has not replied or has admitted the debt is owing, further fixed solicitor¡¯s costs are added to the debt for the work involved in obtaining judgment. There is no fee to pay for this.
Where judgment is entered in default of an acknowledgment of service (there is no response) we add:
¡̀22 costs if the judgment is more than ¡̀25 and not more than ¡̀5,000, or
¡̀30 costs if the judgment is for more than ¡̀5,000
Where judgment is entered in default of a defence (the debtor stated they would defend the claim but didn¡¯t provide a defence) we add:
¡̀25 costs if the judgment is more than ¡̀25 and not more than ¡̀5,000, or
¡̀35 costs if the judgment is for more than ¡̀5,000
Where judgment is entered because you accept a proposal to pay an admitted debt we add:
¡̀40 costs if the judgment is more than ¡̀25 and not more than ¡̀5,000, or
¡̀55 costs if the judgment is for more than ¡̀5,000
Where judgment is entered and the court decides the payment method on a proposal to pay an admitted debt we add:
¡̀55 costs if the judgment is more than ¡̀25 and not more than ¡̀5,000, or
¡̀70 costs if the judgment is for more than ¡̀5,000
Where summary judgment is given or the court strikes out the defendant¡¯s defence we add:
¡̀175 costs if the judgment is more than ¡̀25 and not more than ¡̀5,000, or
¡̀210 costs if the judgment is for more than ¡̀5,000
To find out about the fees and costs involved in enforcing payment, click here.
Costs for enforcing a judgment to obtain a payment.
Once we have issued a claim form and then entered judgment, we can try to enforce the judgment for you and obtain payment.
Further court fees and fixed solicitor¡¯s costs are added to the debt for the work involved in each of the obtaining judgment.
To issue a Warrant of Execution (County Court Bailiff) to recover a sum of money we pay a court fee of:
¡̀35 if the sum to be recovered is ¡̀125 or less, and
¡̀55 if the sum to be recovered is over ¡̀125.
¡̀25 if we re-issue a Warrant to a new address or at the same address after a previous warrant has been expired or executed.
The solicitor¡¯s costs are ¡̀2.25 per warrant issued.
To apply for an Order to obtain information from a judgment debtor (often called an ¡°Oral Examination¡±):
You pay a court fee of ¡̀45. We also charge ¡̀15 for doing this, although this ¡̀15 charge is not recoverable from the debtor.
To apply for an Attachment of Earnings Order:
You pay a court fee of ¡̀65. We also charge ¡̀15 for doing this, although this ¡̀15 charge is not recoverable from the debtor. If the order is made, 10p in every ¡̀1 is held by the court also.
There are other enforcement methods used sometimes as well as bankruptcy and winding up proceedings, to find out about them, click here.
Other Enforcement Methods
To apply for a Charging Order:
You pay a court fee of ¡̀55.
The solicitor¡¯s costs are ¡̀110 when the Order is granted. If the order is unsuccessful we charge ¡̀55 (The ¡̀55 charge is not recoverable from the debtor if we are unsuccessful).
There are other fees which are payable to the Land Registry to register any order, full details of which are supplied before commencement.
To apply for a Third party debt order (often known as a Garnishee Order):
You pay a court fee of ¡̀55. Costs are generally recoverable from the defendant.
How much will it cost to make someone (an individual) bankrupt?
You need to pay a Petition deposit of ¡̀400 towards the costs of administration of the bankruptcy - this is a one-off payment towards the costs of the bankruptcy, and if the bankruptcy has enough assets, the petition deposit will be refunded to you
You also need to pay a court fee of ¡̀190.
Solicitor¡¯s costs for bankruptcy proceedings vary according to the complexity and amount of work that needs to be done. The charge for preparing and drafting the petition and arranging for it to be issued is ¡̀99.
Further charges are notified to you in advance and charged based only on the time it takes to do the work.
How much will it cost to wind up a company ?
You need to pay a Petition deposit of ¡̀670 towards the costs of administration of the winding up - this is a one-off payment towards the costs of the winding up, and if the company has enough assets, the petition deposit will be refunded to you
You also need to pay a court fee of ¡̀190.
Solicitor¡¯s costs for bankruptcy proceedings vary according to the complexity and amount of work that needs to be done. The charge for preparing and drafting the petition and arranging for it to be issued is ¡̀199.
Further charges are notified to you in advance and charged based only on the time it takes to do the work.