Business Debt Recovery Pricing Information

We offer a full debt recovery service, separate from our wider Dispute Management team. Our debt recovery service includes where necessary a pre-collection service through to the issue of proceedings and enforcement. We also issue Insolvency proceedings for clients including the issue of Statutory Demands, Bankruptcy Petitions and Winding-up Petitions.

We are able to offer various fee structures dependent upon the particular circumstances of the client and the matter, but set out below is our general debt recovery fee list. These costs apply typically where a claim is based on an unpaid business to business invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. The fees detailed below do not apply to commercial disputes that are not based purely on an undisputed business invoice, as such matters will be priced on a case by case basis. Please note that we will review the matter before agreeing the fee structure with you, to ensure that it falls within our general debt recovery pricing structure. If the other party disputes the claim at any point we will discuss any further work required and provide revised advice about costs if necessary, which could either be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one-off letter is required) or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.

To send an initial letter before action and to report back:

Pre-action	Freeths’ fee
First letter before action	£0-£25
Debt pre-action protocol letter/second letter before action	£25

To issue a claim form and report back:

Proceedings	Freeths’ fee	Court fee	Recoverable fees
Claim form debt
Up to £5000	£50-£125	Up to £205	Up to £255
£5,000-£10,000	£100-£150	£455	£555
£10,000-£100,000	£250-300	5% of value of claim	£100 + 5% of value of claim

To enter judgment by default and report back:

Requesting judgment	Freeths’ fee	Court fee	Recoverable fees
Up to £5000	£22		£22
£5,000 +	£30		£30

Where enforcement action is necessary we will advise and discuss the various options for enforcement, their timescales and the likely costs of such enforcement.

Our fees include

• Taking instructions and reviewing documentation
• Undertaking any necessary Companies House searches
• Sending a letter before action
• Receiving payment and sending it on and, where payment is not made, drafting and issuing a claim form
• Where no acknowledgement of service or defence is received, applying to the Court to enter judgment in default
• If payment is not received within 7 days of judgment, advising on the next steps and likely costs

If an intention to defend a claim or a defence is filed the matter will be treated as a defended claim. We will at that stage revert to an hourly rate basis if we are to continue to act. Our standard hourly rates for dealing with disputes matters are as follows:

Legal Director	£294
Senior Associate	£225
Debt Recovery Manager	£185
Senior Paralegal	£160
Debt Collection Executive	£115

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:

• VAT elements of our fee cannot be reclaimed from the debtor
• Interest and Late Payment Compensation will where possible be claimed but this may take the debtor to a higher banding with a higher cost
• The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action such as a bailiff is needed to collect the debt.

Note

Late Payment fees and interest

Where appropriate we will look to recover interest pursuant to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (“the Act”) which is currently set at 8% above the Bank of England base rate. Interest is due from the date the account became overdue until the date of payment. Where the above interest is claimable we will also seek to recover any fixed sums (“fixed sums”) due under the Act. Fixed sums are calculated on each debt as follows:

Where the debt value is less than £1,000 the fixed sum claimable is £40

Where the debt value is between £1,000-£10,000 the fixed sum value is £40

Where the debt value is £10,001 or more the fixed sum is £100

Reasonable costs of collection (“costs”) are also claimable where the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies. These are claimed at 5% of the debt balance with a minimum charge of £50. Where interest and fixed sums are recovered, these will be paid to you. Where costs of collection are recovered, they will be charged to you in addition to any fixed sums payable.

Insolvency proceedings

Where insolvency proceedings are to be pursued, we will agree the basis upon which our costs of the proceedings will be charged, before proceedings are commenced.

Alternative fee structures

Where appropriate we offer alternative charging structures which includes the ability to work on a matter on a fixed or capped fee basis, hourly rate basis, on a conditional fee or on a percentage of monies recovered basis. This would be discussed and agreed on a case by case basis with you.