Debt Recovery Pricing
Isadore Goldman is committed to providing clarity of its pricing in accordance with the Solicitors Regulation Authority Price Transparency Rules to ensure that you have accurate and relevant information to help you make an informed choice.
Debt recovery (up to £100,000)
This page sets out the costs for debt recovery claims up to the value of £100,000 against debtors located within England and Wales. Costs for debt claims above this value are available on request.
Court Claims
The following costs apply where your claim relates to an unpaid invoice which is not contested and enforcement action is not required. 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 an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.
| Debt value | Court fee | Our fee (incl.VAT) | Total |
| Up to £5,000 | Scaled fees range from £35 - £205 | £600-1,800 | £635 – 2,005 |
| £5,001 - £10,000 | Scaled fees range from £455 | £720-3,000 | £1,175-3,455 depending on court fee |
| £10,001 - £100,000 | 5% of the value of the claim up to a maximum fee of £10,000 |
£900-6,000 | £10,900-16,000 depending on the court fee |
Anyone wishing to proceed with this type of claim should note that:
- The VAT element of our fee cannot always 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.
Our fee includes:
- Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation
- Undertaking appropriate searches
- Sending a letter before action
- Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing claim
- Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgment in default
- When Judgment in default in received, write to the other side to request payment
- If payment is not received within 14 days after judgment, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs
Matters can take 6 to 8 weeks from your instructions to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. The timescale can however be longer. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgment in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve and will involve additional costs and disbursements such as additional court fees.
Defended claims
Our charges are usually based on hourly rates which vary depending on the seniority and the experience of the lawyer who will carry out your work. Our current hourly rates range from £125-£345 plus VAT for a Legal Executive/ Associate Solicitor up to £525 plus VAT for a Director. In such a case, we will give you an estimate of costs once we have the details.
Typically, the flowing costs may be incurred:
| Type of case | Range of costs |
| Simple case | £20,000 - £40,000 plus VAT |
| Medium complexity case | £40,000 - £60,000 plus VAT |
| High complexity case | £60,000 - £100,000 + plus VAT |
It is important to remember that our costs may be more than the costs that can be recovered from the opposing party if you are successful in the claim. This is even more the case with the onset of the fixed recoverable costs regime from 1 October 2023. Please do contact us if you would like to discuss this further and how it may affect your claim.
The work undertaken is broken down into the following stages:
Stage 1 – Pre-action
A pre-action protocol compliant letter will typically take a fee earner between 1-2 hours to prepare and can be produced within 24-72 hours depending on the level of complexity involved and the volume of relevant documents.
Timescale
The debtor is given a minimum of 30 days to respond.
Stage 2 – issuing legal proceedings
If the matter cannot be resolved at the pre-action stage, then preparation of Court proceedings will usually take approximately 2-10 hours depending on complexity and the quantity of documents.
Where a bespoke Particulars of Claim is required for a particularly complex claim, then additional fees may apply which will be discussed with you.
Issue fees are also payable to the court as detailed above.
Timescale
A Defendant has 14 days from receipt of the Claim form and/or Particulars of Claim to respond by filing an Acknowledgment of Service. If the Defendant does not respond then you can request judgment in default. If the defendant does respond, then they will have a further 14 days to file their Defence. In the absence of a Defence, judgment can be entered in default.
Stage 3 – Requesting judgment
Should it be necessary to enter a Request for Judgment, the following costs will be applicable:
| Claim amount | Our fee | Recoverable costs |
| £25 - £4,999.99 | £50-250 + VAT | £15 - £90 |
| £5,000 + | £75-500 + VAT | £15 - £110 |
Timescale
1 hour
Stage 4 - Enforcement of judgment against debtors
Once judgment has been obtained you can enforce the judgment by instructing Court Enforcement Officers for a fee starting at £75 plus VAT. Alternatively, we can discuss with you a variety of different means to recover the monies due and advise you of the relevant fees.
Stage 5 – Trial Preparation
If the claim is disputed then it may be necessary to progress the matter to trial and comply with a number of directions given by the Court which includes disclosure of all relevant records, preparation of witness statements and detailed costing information.
Disbursements
We will also charge for direct expenses that we incur on your behalf which in an undisputed debt recovery claim are likely to be court issues fees which are detailed above. In a more complex matter then additional costs will be incurred such as photocopying charges and counsel’s fees.
To discuss your requirements and get an estimate please contact one of the following people on 0207 353 1000:-