Legal Debt Recovery
Newtons debt recovery solicitors provide advice and assistance for commercial organisations and individuals.
Our team of debt recovery solicitors specialise in advising on the debt recovery process. We can assist commercial organisations and individuals when it comes to debt recovery law.
Debt can have a crippling impact on cash flow with the additional time and effort in chasing payment eroding any remaining profit from the settlement. The financial implications of unpaid invoices can have a significantly detrimental effect on mental health, and we recognise the immense stress and pressure that chasing debt can cause.
Because debt recovery can be complicated, our debt recovery solicitors work closely with you to find the best legal debt recovery strategy. Our debt recovery law team offers a one-to-one approach, tailoring the legal debt recovery process around your personal or business needs and advise on the best recovery methods for you, including how to recover unpaid invoices.
Our debt recovery solicitors can help with:
- Pre-Action Advice and Collection:
The legal debt recovery process begins with the pre-action protocol. A pre-action Letter of Claim should be provided to the debtor by the collector with information including the amount of debt, the date of the agreement, where the debt has been assigned etc. Our debt recovery solicitors will provide you full support in drafting this letter with the aim of recovering debts without heading to court. - Court Proceedings:
You can instruct us to issue court proceedings if a debtor has failed to return debts owed after pre-action has been taken. We will advise you on the likelihood of making a successful claim and, if you wish to proceed, we will issue a claim quickly and support you throughout the entire process. - Enforcement Action:
With a court order, enforcement action can be taken immediately. Our debt recovery law specialists will advise on the best course to take when it comes to enforcing debt effectively. - Bankruptcy:
If a debtor is already bankrupt, according to the bankruptcy threshold, then we would advise on bankruptcy proceedings and advise on winding up proceedings. - Liquidation:
If a debtor has liquidated their assets without settling their debt, our experienced solicitors will advise on the best course of action to take to give you the best chance of recovering all money owed.
The sooner debts are acted upon, the better the chance of a successful outcome. Our highly experienced litigators regularly achieve excellent results for clients across the business and individual spectrum. We can also offer you advice and assistance with statutory demands, winding up petitions, as well as personal and business bankruptcies.
We can advise on writing letters or assist with negotiation if the claim is disputed. In the event of a dispute, our team of disputes solicitors can step in. Suppose the situation escalates to taking legal action against the debtor. In that case, our debt recovery solicitors will guide you in the best course of action to lead to a favourable result for your business or you as an individual.
Costs
These costs 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 at an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.
| Debt Value | Court fee | Initial Letter – our fees plus VAT @ 20% | If Court action is involved to seek Judgment in Default – our fees plus VAT @ 20% |
| Up to but not exceeding £1,000 | Up to £70 | £250 plus VAT | From £900 to £4,500 plus VAT |
| Exceeds £1,000 but does not exceed £5,000 | Up to £205 | £550 to £850 plus VAT | From £900 to £5,500 plus VAT |
| Exceeds £5,000 but does not exceed £10,000 | Up to £455 | £650 to £950 plus VAT | From £900 to £6,500 plus VAT |
| Exceeds £10,000 but does not exceed £25,000 | 5% of the value of the claim | £650 to £2,500 plus VAT | From £900 to £10,500 plus VAT |
| Exceeds £25,000 but does not exceed £100,000 | 5% of the value of the claim | £850 to £4,500 plus VAT | From £900 to £15,500 plus VAT |
Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim 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.
- The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt.
- The above amounts do not include disbursements, such as Counsel’s fees (if the same should be necessary) and/or any Tracing Agent search fees which may be necessary to locate your debtor.
Our fee includes:
- Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation (within reason).
- Undertaking appropriate searches (which equates to, if Land Registry search fees are involved, up to a value of £18).
- Sending an initial letter / letter before action.
- Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing court proceedings (in advance of which we shall speak with you in order to obtain your instructions).
If you require a claim to be drafted and issued then our charges will be at an hourly rate of the relevant fee earner dealing with your matter and the above table provides a range as to the likely fees. The amount of time we need to spend on a matter will depend upon the size and nature of the claim and we will discuss this with you during the progression of your matter.
If the aim is to obtain Judgment in Default (i.e. where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received) then upon receiving that Order from the Court we can write to the other side to request payment.
If payment is not received within 14 days, then we will be able to provide you with advice on next steps and likely costs
If your matter is straightforward (and Court action as above is involved) then the hope would be that it may take 4 to 18 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgment in Default. If enforcement action is needed, your matter will take longer to resolve.
Fee earners who undertake this work and their hourly charge out rates:
Abigail Noone (Senior solicitor) £350 plus VAT
Inderjit Gill (Senior solicitor) £300 plus VAT
Ruth Cockshott (Senior solicitor) £300 plus VAT
Steve Fallon (Senior solicitor) £275 plus VAT
Daniel Hilton (Senior solicitor/Director) £225 plus VAT
Bethaney Rush (Apprentice Solicitor) £200 plus VAT
Tom Fairclough (Trainee Solicitor) £175 plus VAT
**Please note, complex or urgent transactions may attract higher hourly rates than stated above which you will be notified of in advance**.
The costs information provided above is intended to provide a rough guide on likely costs, we would always recommend you contact us in person to discuss your matter and we will be able to provide you with a bespoke cost estimate.
Contact our expert debt recovery solicitors.
To get the legal debt recovery process started, please contact Newtons Solicitors today. We will deal with your predicament with the highest level of professionalism, expertise, and sensitivity to help you recover the debts you are owed.
