Realistic Advice to Resolve Your Disputes

Our lawyers, Peter Norbury and Geoff Lamb, have a wealth of experience

and will guide you through the often complex legal issues arising out of your disputes. Dealing with a dispute can be time consuming and we appreciate that to a business time is money. We therefore, make an early assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the case and offer pragmatic advice to ensure we meet your objectives in pursuing the matter on your behalf including advice on resolving your dispute through negotiation/mediation.

The cost of pursuing/defending a claim can be an obstacle when facing the prospects of litigation. We discuss funding options available and where appropriate will enter into a conditional fee arrangement with you. We also offer an initial fixed fee interview for one hour to review your potential claim with you.

Our Expertise

Debt Recovery for Business – Fees Information

Acting mostly for small and medium sized enterprises we recognise the serious impact caused to your business when bills are not paid on time.  We will treat your claim against a Debtor as one of utmost importance and seek to recover the sums due to you as promptly and as efficiently as possible.  Peter and Geoff are qualified Solicitors with a vast amount of experience of handling disputes, including debt recovery.

Letter Before Action

If you have not been able to recover the money due to you and you request us to carry out work on your behalf to obtain payment, we would initially do the following :-

  • Take your full instructions and review the relevant documentation
  • Undertake appropriate searches
  • Send on your behalf what is known as a letter before action to the Debtor requiring payment within a specified period and indicating that a failure to pay within that period will result in a Court claim

We will undertake this step for you at a fixed fee to be agreed beforehand.  The fee will range from £150.00 + VAT to £250.00 + VAT depending on the complexity of the claim and the volume of documentation to be considered.  Generally speaking, however, the fee charged tends to be at the lower end of the bracket.

Time spent in considering and taking your instructions on any reply from the Debtor will be charged at an hourly rate of £200.00 + VAT.

We are happy to agree a bespoke fees package where businesses instruct us on a regular basis to pursue overdue debts.

Court Claims

Where it becomes necessary to commence Court action in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed, the fees set out below will apply in relation to the preparation of a Court Claim Form, issuing the claim in Court, and subsequently entering Judgment.

If the other party disputes your claim by sending to the Court a Defence, we will discuss with you any further work required and provide you with revised costs information.  If a limited piece of work is required, we will agree with you a fixed fee.  If more extensive work is necessary, the hourly rate to be applied will be £200.00 + VAT.

Debt Value Court Fee Our Fee (excluding VAT) Total costs (excluding VAT)
Up to £5,000.00 £35.00-£205.00 depending on the value of the claim £200.00 £235.00-£405.00
£5,001.00-£10,000.00 £455.00 £250.00 £705.00
£10,001.00-£50,000.00 5% of the value of the claim £400.00 £900.00-£2,900.00
£50,001.00-£100,000.00 5% of the value of the claim £500.00 £3,050.00-£5,500.00

For debts over £100,000 please contact us for an estimate.

Please note that to our fee will be added VAT, currently 20%.

You should note that:-

  • It may be possible to recover as part of the Judgment against the Debtor certain fixed costs and the Court fee but the fixed costs may well not be enough to cover the whole of our fee
  • The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from the Debtor
  • Interest and compensation under the Late Payment Legislation may take the debt into a higher banding with a higher cost
  • The fees quoted above do not include any action required (e.g instructing a Bailiff) to enforce a Judgment against a Debtor

Timescale

If the Debtor does not pay in response to the letter before action, the timescale from receiving your instructions to commence proceedings to obtaining Judgment is likely to be around 6-8 weeks. If the Debtor does not pay promptly on receipt of the Judgment and enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.

Alternatives

As an alternative to Court action you might wish to commence insolvency proceedings against the Debtor in the form of a Winding Up Petition against a Company or a Bankruptcy Petition in the case of an individual. Different fees will apply in that scenario.  Please contact one of our Fee Earners for a bespoke quotation.

Testimonials

What our clients say

Best conveyancing solicitor that I have ever used. Easy to talk to, showed empathy. She always did what she said, in timely fashion.

Ms D Cilia - Oldham

Brilliant Service. Thank you.

Mrs L S Qayoom & Miss Y Qayoom - Oldham

Vinesh was brilliant throughout our very complicated house sale and purchase. He was a great support when we needed it. We cannot thank him enough. Cassie was also great.

Mr & Mrs J Dolan - Oldham

Thank you for helping me and doing my Will.

Mrs R Young - Oldham

Very good.

Mr B Whittle - Oldham

Excellent as always!

Mr & Mrs A Smith - Solihull

Michelle was outstanding, she made what could have been a stressful experience relaxed and comfortable. She was friendly, efficient and patient. A great asset to your company.

Mr & Mrs B Cooke - Oldham

Excellent service from Michelle. Friendly and very helpful. Explained every detail.

Mr & Mrs T Barker - Oldham

Efficient and excellent service. Jennifer explained matters very clearly.

Mr & Mrs S G Thompson - Oldham

Overall perfect service.

Mr J Brown - Hyde

Excellent srvice, could not have found better. Very supportive when things went wrong on the move day using their expertise and knowledge. Specifically Janine and Sarah. Receptionists very helpful and courteous. Thank you.

Mr & Mrs N Seville - Oldham

Excellent service by Jennifer Kitchener throughout from start to finsh.

Mr & Mrs K R Royals - Mossley

Anna was so very professional. I recently had a great experience under sad circumstances. Ann was incredibly friendly and attentive thoughout and so lovely. I highly recommend North Ainley solicitors to all my friends. Thank you so so much Anna.

Miss M Doggett - Rochdale

Anna provided excellent advice and service.

Mrs M Byrne - Oldham

North Ainley provided an efficient and excellent service and supplied everything they promised.

Mr & Mrs H Forsyth - Oldham

Thank you for your help at a very difficult time.

Mrs J Hall - Oldham

All of the ladies were very nice and made you feel at ease.

Mr P E Ryan - Bournemouth

Thank you for your help in a complicated sale. Kirsty always returned calls and emails. Many thanks.

Mrs L Morgan - Oldham

The speed in which the appointment was made and resolved in a very short time with sensitivity and kindness was much appreciated.

Ms A Leicester - Oldham

I have only used North Ainley on one occasion so far but would definitely recommend them to friends and family for your help and consideration which was outstanding, particularly Jenny Kitchener who helped me so much with my concerns.

Mrs J Brown - Oldham

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