Debt Recovery

Atkinson Firth can assist you to recover an unpaid debt from either an individual person or from a business.

The work will be undertaken on your behalf by a director of the company (Tahira Iqbal) (post 10 years qualification) or an experienced dispute resolution department member who will assist you throughout the case.

Debt recovery which is undisputed, falls into four sections namely
1. Preparing and submitting a letter of claim to comply with the debt recovery protocol
2. The issue of either a High Court or County Court proceedings
3. The entry of judgement
4. The choice of and methods of enforcement of that judgement

If your debt is not disputed then we will undertake the work for a fixed fee for the first three stages of the work.

If having issued proceedings or having a sent the letter of claim and your opponent disputes the debt then we will agree with you an estimate of costs based upon the number of issues, the complexity of the issues and the likely cost of taking the matter to a final hearing.

We can offer you to act in an undisputed debt claim for the following fees:

Debt amount up to £1,000
• Letter of claim £125
• Issuing proceedings £150
• Entering judgement £75
• Court fees £35-£70

Debt amount of £1,000-£5,000
• Letter of claim £225
• Issue proceedings £350
• Enter judgement £150
• Court fees £80-£205

Debt amount of £5000-£10,000
• Letter of claim £250
• Issue proceedings £400
• Enter judgement £200
• Court fee £455

Debt amount of £100,000-£200,000
• Letter of claim £600
• Issue proceedings £800
• Enter judgement £400
• Court fee 5% of the value of the claim

Debt amount of £200,000 plus
• Letter of claim £850
• Issue proceedings £1,000
• Enter judgement £500
• Court fee £10,000
The above costs are exclusive of VAT

If the claim is above £10,000 you may be able to recover costs from the person who owes you money but this will depend upon the circumstances of each case.

If the case becomes a defended case or is complex it may fall outside our fixed fee rates in which case we will give you an estimate of costs. Any additional work or related cost will be discussed with you at the relevant time.

The services provided for Debt recovery includes taking initial instructions preparing letter of claim receiving any response letter of claim taking your further instructions preparing a summons to recover the debt receiving if required a defence to the claim and considering the same with you taking it further instructions.

If the matter is disputed it may fall outside our undisputed claim costs fixed fee structure.

It may be necessary to incur further disbursements if for example we have to personally serve the defendant with the proceedings in which case there will be the process service fees of between £100 and £150 plus VAT to pay an addition depending on where service has to be effected.

If services out of the jurisdiction then these costs will be increased will give you an estimate of costs once we make enquiries of the relevant agency.

If you do issue proceedings and judgement is obtained then there are a number of ways in which enforcement can take place. We will take your instructions at the relevant time as to how to enforce the judgement which could include the following:
• Warrant of control
• Charging order of a property owned by the debtor
• Third-party debt order against their known bank accounts or against third-party bank accounts
• Cash into earnings order
• Statutory demand
• Bankruptcy petition or winding up petition

We will be happy to discuss all of these with you at the relevant time and give you a further estimate of costs for the work.

Where a claim for payment becomes disputed our fees will be charged based on the time spent. The hourly rate the Fee earner concerned it was to handle your case will range between £150 and £275 per hour.

The current rates charged by us dependent on the experience of the fee earner are set out below namely:

Tahira Iqbal (Director) – £275 per hour plus VAT
Iqra Bibi (Paralegal) – £145 per hour plus VAT
Julie Kollman (Paralegal) – £145 per hour plus VAT

Undisputed debt recovery cases can take between 4 and 20 weeks to be resolved but these are dependent upon the length of time that the court takes to process any claims. Disputed claims can take longer and this will vary depending upon the availability of courts to hear the case and the level of track that the court fixes for the case. A claim of up to £100,000 but over £10,000 will be a fast-track case and it can be between fast-track level 1 to 4. Claims over £100,000 is likely to be a multitrack case. A claim under £10,000 is likely a small claim case.

Depending upon the nature of the case and the complexity the court will decide upon the track and this will determine not only the cost of your case but also the costs recovery position.

If you wish to have an estimate of costs then please fill in the form below and forwarded to us. We are happy to give you a fixed first interview for the sum of £200 plus VAT if this will assist you.