/ Transparency in Pricing

Transparency in Pricing

In accordance with the Solicitors Regulation Authority Price Transparency Rules, DBP Law Solicitors is committed to providing clarity of our pricing in order to help you make an informed choice. The information provided in this section is intended to be a guide only. At the beginning of the matter we will provide you with a letter of engagement with the best possible estimate of costs at that stage and other information that will help you understand the basis on which you will be billed. Because with litigation it is very difficult to give any precise estimates of costs, we stress that this will be an estimate only and not a fixed fee. The final cost of legal representation can vary and the estimate provided by us can be exceeded based on different factors, for example complexity of the matter, responses from the other side, change in scope of the work, unforeseen issues such as change in the heads of claims etc.

Hourly Rates

Our price is usually calculated based on hourly rate, which are £350 plus VAT for a Solicitor and £175 plus VAT for a Paralegal, Trainee Solicitor and Legal Assistant. If we utilise the service of a Barrister this, depending on the seniority, usually ranges from between £200 plus VAT to £500 plus VAT per hour.

Debt recovery:

The estimates provided below relate to recovery of debt up to £100,000. If the debt owed to you exceeds this amount, the costs and estimates are available on request. Please note that these costs and estimates may change depending on the complexity of the matter and the approach taken by the debtor and that there is no guarantee that your claim will be successful. There is always a risk in litigation. The costs below 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 an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.

Up to date Court fees can be provided upon request or be viewed via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

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 work referred to below under the heading “WHAT IS EXCLUDED”.

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 Judgement in default
When Judgement in default in received, write to the other side to request payment
If payment is not received within 14 days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs

Matters usually take 8-12 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.

WHAT IS EXCLUDED

The costs quoted above do not include work where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt or there is a need to issue other enforcement action such as winding up/bankruptcy petition and third party debt orders or charging orders. They do not include any defended claims (whether through litigation, negotiation or any alternative means of dispute resolution such as mediation, without prejudice meetings etc) or any ancillary applications (such as to strike out or amend pleadings or claims), any counter-claims or any appeal.

Defended Claims

Our costs are usually calculated based on an hourly rate, which are £350 plus VAT for a Solicitor and £175 plus VAT for a Paralegal/Trainee Solicitor/Legal Assistant. If the claim is defended, we will give you an estimate of costs once it is possible and to the best of our ability. Typically, those costs will vary depending on the complexity of the matter:

The stages of the defended claims are usually as the following:

1. Pre-action
This stage requires us to review the documents relating to your matter and subsequently prepare a letter of claim to the debtor, which usually takes between 2-3 hours. This can be produced within 24-48 hours of you providing all the documents and depends on the complexity and volume of documents.

Typically, depending on the client’s instruction, the debtor will usually have between 14 and 30 days from the date of the letter to respond.

2. Issuing Court proceedings
If the matter cannot be resolved at the pre-action stage, then we will have to arrange to draft and issue Court proceedings which usually takes up to 2-4 hours of either our or Counsel’s time. Depending on the timetable of Counsel we will usually issue the proceedings once you instruct us to do so after the delivery of the draft documents. Sometimes we might be required to prepare a bespoke Particulars of Claim which might increase the costs. This and any additional fees will be discussed with you in advance.

You will also be required to pay court fees as indicated above.

The defendant will have 14 days for the date of the service of the Claim Form and/or Particulars of Claim to respond. This is done by filing an Acknowledgement of Service. If the Defendant responds and wishes to defend the claim, then they will have an additional 14 days to file a Defence, in absence of which you can request a judgement in default. Judgement in default can be also requested if the Defendant fails to respond to the Claim Form within 14 days of service.

3. Requesting a judgement
If requesting a judgement in default of Acknowledgement of Service or in default of filing a defence is necessary the following fees will apply:

An up to date figure for the recoverable costs can be seen via the link below or will be provided upon request.
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part45-fixed-costs#rule45.2

4. Enforcing the judgement
After the judgement has been obtained, we will discuss with you different ways in which you can enforce the judgement and recover your debt. The applicable costs will be discussed.

5. Preparation for trial
If the debtor disputes the claim, then it might be necessary to refer the matter to the Court for a trial. That will require us to comply with directions given by the Court, such as filing evidence and disclosure of relevant documents.

The costs likely to arise at this stage will be discussed with you and we will provide you with an estimate to the best of our ability, however please note that those may be exceeded, if for example there are any unforeseen issues.

Disbursements

The estimates provided above do not include all the disbursements, such as Counsel fees, search fees, photocopying charges etc. Such direct expenses will be charged to you in accordance with the terms of our letter of engagement and would usually discuss these with you in advance. Depending on the amount required we may seek these from you in advance. If such costs are not substantial, we may pay these on your behalf and add these costs to your invoice.

In addition to our fees, examples of such direct expenses which you should be prepared to pay for some or all of the following depending on the complexity of your matter:

VAT on disbursements
Instructing a Counsel
Instructing a process server to serve the application on the debtor.
Instructing tracing agents to locate hard-to-find debtors
Instructing any other third parties such as overseas legal advisors on matter involving foreign law and valuers or other experts if needed.
Court fees during the proceedings in the litigation such as Listing Fees, Hearing Fees etc.

To discuss your requirements, get an estimate and obtain our terms and conditions please contact us.