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Other Court & Tribunal Costs

Civil disputes including debt collection

For this sort of work, we charge a usual hourly rate (see our costs and services page).

It is difficult to predict how long a case will take to bring to a conclusion and how many hearings are required. We can therefore only provide an estimate based upon a typical case. If a dispute goes all the way to a contested final hearing, it typically takes 12 months to conclude. There are usually 2 and possibly 3 hearings. The trial may last a day or longer.

When you consult us, we will provide our estimate based upon the facts known at that time and our judgement about how the case will proceed.

Debt collection work

If the debt is not disputed then the costs of collection would be expected to be lower. It may be sufficient to serve a statutory demand or to obtain an uncontested County Court judgement and then take enforcement action. Typical costs for this work would be between £750 and £2500 plus VAT and the court fees for commencing an action and enforcing the judgement. Details of the current court fees can be obtained at this website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50

Cases where the debt is disputed will typically cost more because further work will be necessary and there will usually be a trial to determine the issues. If the amount in dispute is £25,000 or less, it is likely the case would be allocated to the fast-track provided the matter can be resolved in a one-day trial. In the fast-track, certain costs that you can recover from your opponent if you are successful are fixed. A typical fast-track case would cost between £3000 and £8000 plus VAT and the court fee.

If the amount in dispute is more than £25,000 or the trial is likely to last more than a day, the case is likely to be allocated to the multitrack. Costs are not fixed but the court can impose a cost budget. Costs in the multitrack are typically higher, say between £10,000 and £30,000 depending upon the complexity of the issues, the number of witnesses and disputed facts and whether the case is dealt with in the High Court or the County Court.

Court of Protection and Lands Tribunal

We also provide representation in these courts. Again, we charge a usual hourly rate (see our costs and services page) except for an application to the court of protection for someone to be appointed a deputy, where we usually limit their costs to the fixed amount allowed by the court of protection (currently £850 plus VAT). In addition, court fees may be payable.