The court allocates cases to tracks based on their value. There are currently four tracks:
Small Claims – for matters valued at less than £10,000
Fast Track – for matters valued between £10,000 and £25,000
Intermediate Track – for matters valued between £25,000 and £100,000
Multi Track – for matters valued in excess of £100,000 or complex matters
Our hourly rates are as follows:
Ceri Bater, John Watkins and Elaine Richardson (Grade A Solicitors 8+ years qualified) – £300 plus VAT per hour
Evelyn Watkins (Grade D paralegal) – £125 plus VAT per hour
Our fees and our strategy will be tailored to the value of the claim and the track to which it is or is likely to be allocated to.
Fees for debt recovery under £10,000 as Claimant (i.e. pursuing the claim) – SMALL CLAIMS TRACK
We charge £150 to £250 plus VAT per matter for a review of the documents and drafting a Letter before Action to the debtor. If court proceedings are required, we charge £150 to £250 to draft a straightforward claim form and particulars of claim (setting out details of the claim, the legislation relied upon and the remedy sought)
Our fees after this will depend on whether the claim is defended, if it then proceeds to mediation and/or to a final Hearing but they will be charged at our hourly rate between £125 and £300 per hour depending on which team member is allocated to deal with the matter (this will depend on the value of the debt and complexity). Our fees will be agreed with you at each stage.
Fees for debt recovery under £10,000 as Defendant (i.e. defending a claim brought against you) SMALL CLAIMS TRACK
Our fees will depend on whether the matter can be settled by negotiation or if it proceeds to mediation and/or to a final Hearing but will be charged at our hourly rate between £125 and £300 per hour depending on which team member is allocated to deal with the matter (this will depend on the value of the debt and complexity). Our fees will be agreed with you at each stage.
We charge a capped fee of £2000 plus VAT to defend a claim up to and including a Small Claims Hearing.
DISBURSEMENTS – in addition, disbursements are payable on top and will be payable even in the event of an unsuccessful claim. These will include the Court fees which are set out in this link – https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money There is no VAT payable on Court fees.
In addition to our fees there will be barrister’s fees to pay if they are instructed to represent you at the final Hearing. These usually range from £350 to £500 plus VAT for a small claims matter.
Small Claims Mediation is a free service provided by the court.
Your liability for opponent’s costs in the event of an unsuccessful claim.
For Small Claims matters, which are those under £10,000, there is usually no liability for you to cover your opponent’s costs in the event of an unsuccessful claim, other than expenses such as travel or loss of earnings for the day in Court. On very rare occasions costs can be ordered if the parties have acted unreasonably but we would advise you if we considered this was a possibility on your case.
This also means that if you are successful on a claim that is under £10,000 and allocated to the Small Claims Track that you would not be awarded your legal costs other than the court fees.
Our fees will be dependent on the specifics of each case, and we will agree the fees with you before work is commenced and will continually review these throughout the course of the matter. Cases over £10,000 in value will be dealt with by a Grade A Solicitor at a rate of £300 plus VAT per hour.
Due to the nature of litigation however it is always difficult to estimate costs in litigation because of the considerable uncertainties in the way the litigation may progress. Many cases settle before trial and the steps to trial can be more, or less, complex dependent on the conduct of the other party, the facts that emerge as the case progresses, any orders made at interim stages and the various possible applications or appeals that may arise.
As a rough guide our fees for the more simple debt/contract disputes over £10,000 are likely to be in the region of £5000 plus VAT and disbursements rising to over £50,000 plus VAT and disbursements for more complex, high value litigation.
DISBURSEMENTS – You would also be liable for court fees, mediator fees, barrister fees and expert witness fees which would be discussed and agreed with you before any instruction. Court fees are dependent on the value of the claim and are set out here: https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money.
Mediator, barrister and expert fees will be dependent on the nature and the value of the claim but will be discussed and agreed with you prior to any fees being incurred.
Your liability for opponent’s costs in the event of an unsuccessful claim.
The general rule is the loser pays the winner’s legal costs. The costs that you would be liable to pay if you lost your case or the costs that you would recover from the other party if you won your case are subject to fixed costs so you would not necessarily recover all the legal costs spent. The amount of the fixed costs is dependent on the track your matter is allocated to and the stage in the matter when it was settled – the closer to Trial, the higher the costs. Details are set out in the attached table, but this would be discussed with you at the outset and throughout the course of your matter.
PRACTICE DIRECTION 45 – TABLES OF FIXED COSTS (2024) – Justice UK
FOR SMALL CLAIMS UNDER £10,000 VALUE
For small claims we would normally allow 14 to 21 days for the debtor to respond to our letter before action. If they admit the debt, then payment is usually then agreed within a further 28 days or longer if a payment plan is needed. If the debt is not admitted, then court proceedings will be commenced through MCOL and these usually take 6 to 9 months to a final hearing depending on the court waiting lists.
FOR CASES OVER £10,000 VALUE
For higher value cases we would normally allow 21 days for the debtor to respond, allowing up to 3 months in exceptional circumstances for high value/complex matters. If they admit the debt then payment is usually agreed within a further 14 days or longer if a payment plan is needed. If the debt is not admitted then court proceedings will be commenced through MCOL for cases up to £100,000 or in the High Court for cases above £100,000. These can take anything from 12 months to around 18 months to get to the final Trial for higher value/complex cases depending on the court waiting lists and any interim case management hearings or applications made.