Debt Fast Fee Structure

Transcription

1 Debt Fast Fee Structure Letters before action We charge a fixed fee for standard letters before action. The cost includes our costs for drafting the letter including claiming statutory interest and compensation for up to 10 invoices. For additional invoices we charge a standard letter charge for each additional 10 invoices or part thereof. The standard letter before action requests that payment be sent to you. In the event that we receive a response disputing the debt we will refer this to you and you can decide whether or not you wish to use our service for disputed debts. Our standard letter before action service applies to cases where we receive instructions via our standard instruction form (or some other method that we have agreed between us). The cost does not include any advice on the merits of the claim, the provision of management information or any follow up work. If the debt is disputed then we can prepare a bespoke letter before action that complies with the Practice Direction for Pre-Action Conduct. Failure to comply with the Practice Direction in disputed cases can result in additional cost being incurred. Our charges for a bespoke letter before action are based on the amount of time spent taking instructions, drafting the letter before action and advising on the response. Our hourly rates will be notified to you separately and are reviewed annually on 1 May. We will provide an estimate or a budget for this work in advance where the cost is likely to exceed 150 plus VAT. Type of letter before action Amount Standard letter before action 14.50* Letter before action in accordance with the Practice Standard hourly rates Direction for Pre-Action Conduct Court fees are set out in the Ministry of Justice Civil and Family Court Fees (Leaflet EX50). The court fees set out below are current as at May 2016 but are liable to change. Court fees are charged at cost. Court fees payable on the issue of proceeding Court fee on issue of proceedings Up to , , , , , , , , , ,000 5% of the value of the claim 15, % of the value of the claim 50, ,000 5% of the value of the claim 100, ,000 5% of the value of the claim 150, ,000 5% of the value of the claim

2 ,000 Solicitors fixed costs on the issue of proceedings and requesting judgment Civil Procedure Rule Part 45 sets out the fixed recoverable solicitor s costs on issue of proceedings, entering judgment and taking enforcement action. Unless we specify an alternative fee arrangement, our fees are set at the fixed recoverable fee level. The fixed recoverable fee level set out below is current as at May 2016 Solicitors fixed costs on issue of proceedings * ,000 70* 1, ,000 80* 5, * Solicitors fixed costs on request for judgment < 5,000 22* > 5,000 30* Fixed fees and disbursements for enforcement The fixed fees below cover our costs for advising on various methods of enforcement and taking the enforcement action that you decide upon. We will report to you in respect of the progress of enforcement action where there is something to report or a mile stone has been reached. The fixed costs do not include the cost of monitoring and collecting instalments, any investigatory work that we may carry out in order to trace the debtor or the debtor s assets, the provision of management information or providing updates in respect of the progress of enforcement action where there is nothing to report. Our hourly rates apply to these services. Action Costs Amount Fixed solicitors costs and recoverable costs pursuant to CPR Part 45 Third Party Debt Order Charging Order Attachment Earning Order of Order to Obtain Information Warrant of Execution County Court Bailiff Writ of Control High Court Fixed fee 110* or half the amount recovered if under 150 Hearing fee 150** Fixed fee 250* 110 Official copies 4/ 8 4/ 8 Land Registry 40 Advocacy fee 155* Fixed fee 50* 8.50 Court fee Fixed fee 110* 15 or amount to be decided by the court Court fee Agents service fee 100+ Fixed fee 50* 2.25 Fixed fee 110* Court fee

3 Enforcement Officers Compliance (abortive) fee 75* (+ estimated and may vary dependant on speed of service and number of abortive attempts at service) ( Collection commission applies and the cost excludes investigations) (** plus VAT. This capped fee excludes any time liaising with the debtor over payment and dismissal of the order to which collection commissions or our hourly rates apply but includes preparing for and attending the hearing, the cost of sending the final order the bank of the debtor and remitting payment received). Collection commissions Unless we have agreed that our hourly rates apply the following collections commissions apply to debts that are collected by us either via instalment arrangements agreed with the debtor or through bailiffs, High Court enforcement officers or attachments of earnings. We will monitor the instalments and account to you on a monthly basis for any instalments received. The commissions below are subject to a minimum monthly charge of 5 per month. Amount of debt Collection Commission (% of amount collected) Up to * 500-1, * 1, ,000 5* 5,000-15,000 3* 15, * Investigations and asset tracing Our investigation and asset tracing service helps you chose the right form of enforcement to use can maximise the prospects of recovering the debt. We use a variety of databases in house as well as specialist tracing agencies and enquiry agents to ascertain information to be used in the enforcement process. We may also carry out investigation services to help establish the legal entity from whom the debt is owed where you have not provided us with this information. Our hourly rates apply to investigation work and we will provide a cost estimate or cost budget as well as guidance on the cost benefit of the work. We also offer a fixed fee tracker report which includes the cost of the report and enforcement advice that we give as a result. The costs of typical investigation reports and enquiries are set out below. Investigation service Amount ( ) Tracker report 20* No Trace No Fee search 40* Full enquiry agents report 150*+ Insolvency proceedings Insolvency proceedings can be commenced without the need to obtain a judgment. Bankruptcy Proceedings can only be issued if the debt is greater that 5, Insolvency Proceedings against a company in the form of a Winding Up Petition can be used where the debt owed is over Insolvency Proceedings should only be used where the debt is not disputed on substantive grounds and where there is no cross or counterclaim for a sum that would reduce the level of the debt to below the commencement threshold. Our hourly rates apply to insolvency proceedings. The typical costs of insolvency proceedings are set out below. 3

4 Bankruptcy Action Expenses Amount Statutory demand Fixed costs 100* Process servers fee 80* Our costs 600-1,000*+ Court fee on issue 280 Search fee on issue 11 Bankruptcy petition Official receivers deposit 990 Process servers fee 80*+ London agent s filing fees 90* Advocacy agents fee 95* Winding up Action Expenses Amount Statutory demand Fixed costs 100* Process Servers fee 80* Our costs 600-1,000*+ Court fee on issue 280 Search fee on issue 11 Winding Up Petitions Official receivers deposit 1,600 Process servers fees 80* Statutory advertisement 55-90* London agents filing fees 40* Advocacy agents fees 95* In the event of a bankruptcy or Winding Up Order being obtained we will offer to assist with the appointment of an insolvency practitioner to assist in realising assets for the benefit of creditors. This may include investigations into the conduct of the bankrupt or company. Our hourly rates apply to time spent liaising on your behalf with an insolvency practitioner or the official receiver. An insolvency practitioner will not make a charge to you in these circumstances. Debt Fast defended and disputed If there is a dispute pre-action or where any of the proceedings above are issued and are defended our hourly rates apply. Small claims service For claims allocated to the small claims track our hourly rates apply and so long as the case is not removed from the Debt Fast scheme we fix our fees in accordance with the below. The fixed fee does not include the cost of interim applications including summary judgment applications unless we advise that they are included. Should time spent at our hourly rates amount to double the fixed fee below the matter will automatically be removed from the Debt Fast scheme and any time incurred after that point will be subject to our hourly rate. 4

5 Level of claim Fixed fee Court fee (hearing) Advocacy fees Up to * * , * ,001-1, * ,501-3, * , * ,000-7,500 1,000* ,500-10,000 1,400* (** these court fees will be confirmed when the new increased limit for small claims cases is introduced later in the year) Fast and multi-track service In the event that the claim is allocated to the fast or the multi track, then our hourly rates will apply. In appropriate cases we may be willing to offer you a no win no fee service. Where the case is allocated to the fast or the multi-track, we will provide you with a costs estimate or budget which will be updated on a regular basis. Where the recoverability of barrister s fees is fixed then we will endeavour to instruct barristers at a fee commensurate with the fixed recoverable fee unless we expressly agree otherwise. Minimum charges Unless we have agreed otherwise the Debt Fast service is subject to a minimum annual spend of 2,000 plus VAT. The minimum annual ensures that we are able to cover our compliance costs and develop precedent documents to assist in the recovery of debts on your behalf. In the event that you do not incur a minimum annual spend of 2,000 per calendar year we reserve the right to make an additional charged calculated by subtracting your annual spend on our services (excluding expenses/disbursements) from the sum of 2,000. 5