At Mono Law, we pride ourselves on simplifying and being transparent about the way in which we charge our clients for legal services. In compliance with the Transparency Rules issued by our governing body, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, therefore we aim to provide certainty and clarity about costs in the work that we undertake on behalf of our clients.
This page therefore contains pricing information about debt recovery work up to the value of £100,000 in respect of debtors located in England or Wales. Pricing information for any other legal services which we provide (including debts with a value of over £100,000, debts relating to a debtor located outside the jurisdiction of England or Wales, debts in a foreign currency, debts that are unliquidated, debts that are secured, debts that are guaranteed and debts that have been assigned) are available on request. Where a debt claim relates to two or more unpaid invoices or the debtor disputes your claim at any point prior to the commencement of legal proceedings, we will discuss any further work required with you and provide you with a revised costs estimate.
Please note that the charges referred to below apply only where your claim is for a single unpaid invoice of less than £100,000 which is not disputed and where the debtor is located in England and Wales.
Debt recovery charges where the matter is resolved without recourse to Court
Where a matter is resolved without recourse to court, we aim to limit our charges (excluding disbursements*) for:
(1) taking your instructions and undertaking an initial review of your papers;
(2) issuing a written demand to the debtor;
(3) attempting to negotiate a settlement with the debtor without having to issue court proceedings; and
(4) Receiving payment and forwarding it to you or, where the debt remains unpaid, advising you as to the next steps
to no more 15% of the overall value of your claim. Below are some examples of the likely associated cost of us undertaking the steps outlined above on your behalf:
| Value of debt claim | Our likely fee for dealing with the steps |
| £15,000 | £2,250 plus VAT |
| £30,000 | £4,500 plus VAT |
| £45,000 | £6,750 plus VAT |
| £70,000 | £10,500 plus VAT |
We aim to review and issue an initial demand letter to a debtor within 7 working days of being formally instructed and receiving all of the underlying paperwork from you. Debtors are usually given 14 days (depending on circumstances such as the amount of the debt and how long it has been outstanding) to pay.
*Disbursements in this context means general expenses that are payable to third parties and includes items such as court fees, process server fees, barrister’s fees, photocopying, postage and travel fares.
Debt recovery charges where court action becomes necessary
Should it become necessary for court action to be taken in order, in dealing with all steps leading from the filing of the claim at court to having judgement entered against the debtor in your favour, we aim to limit our charges (exclusive of disbursements*) to no more than 35% of the overall value of your claim. By way of example therefore, if your debt claim is worth £15,000, we aim to limit our professional charges for dealing with all steps leading up to judgement being entered against the debtor to no more than £5,250.00 plus VAT. Below are some examples of the likely associated cost of us dealing with all steps commencing with the filing of the claim at court to judgement being entered against the debtor in your favour. Court fees and other disbursements* will be payable in addition to our charges.
| Value of debt claim | Our likely fee for dealing with steps from the commencement of the claim to judgment being entered in your favour |
| £15,000 | £5,250 plus VAT |
| £30,000 | £10,500 plus VAT |
| £45,000 | £15,750 plus VAT |
| £70,000 | £24,500 plus VAT |
With current court processing times, average county court cases are taking between 6 to 12 months from commencement of the claim to final judgment being entered. Your matter can, however, reach settlement at any time (even where court proceedings have already been commenced) and judgment can be entered against a debtor as swiftly as within 6 – 8 weeks of our formal instruction if the debtor fails to respond by filing an acknowledgment of service or a defence within 14 days of being served with the claim.
*Disbursements in this context means general expenses that are payable to third parties and includes items such as court fees, process server fees, barrister’s fees, photocopying, postage and travel fares.
Factors that could cause you to incur additional costs
The following factors are likely to increase the overall cost of your matter beyond our average charges as outlined above:
- Not having all of the paperwork available, or having missing or incorrect information that requires investigation and correction.
- Our communications not being responded to properly whether by yourself or third parties.
- Being provided with unusual, lengthy or complex correspondence and documents relating to the underlying debt.
As soon as any complications arise, we will discuss these with you and agree the fee in advance for any additional work to be carried out.
Court Fees
Where possible, we will use the money claims online service in respect of any debt claims as the court fee for the online service is cheaper than sending a paper claim form to the court.
The court fee is based on the amount you are claiming, plus interest and is calculated as follows:
| Claim amount | Paper form fee | Online claim fee |
| Up to £300 | £35 | £25 |
| £300.01 to £500 | £50 | £35 |
| £500.01 to £1,000 | £70 | £60 |
| £1,000.01 to £1,500 | £80 | £70 |
| £1,500.01 to £3,000 | £115 | £105 |
| £3,000.01 to £5,000 | £205 | £185 |
| £5,000.01 to £10,000 | £455 | £410 |
| £10,000.01 to £100,000 | 5% of the claim | 4.5% of the claim |
Enforcement Costs
Where you have successfully obtained judgment and the debtor still does not pay, the 35% charge referred to above will not include further work required (such as the instruction of bailiffs) to enforce payment of the debt.
Multiple debt claims and regular clients
Where you are a regular client of the firm, or where you instruct us in respect of multiple debt claims, reduced fees may apply.
Costs Recovery
Where possible, we aim to recover all costs associated with the recovery of your debt from the debtor. However, you should bear in mind that the recoverability of costs will depend on when the matter is concluded (i.e. whether before or after court proceedings have been commenced) and how the matter is concluded (i.e. by agreement or by a trial). In particular:
- Where a matter reaches a settlement without court proceedings needing to be issued, you will have no automatic entitlement to costs, although we may agree a figure in respect of costs with the debtor on your behalf.
- If the matter reaches a settlement without court proceedings needing to be issued, and you reach agreement with the debtor that it should pay the costs but not how much should be paid, the court can decide the issue on your behalf. But for this, costs-only proceedings may have to be issued by you which will not be covered by the 15% charge referred to above.
- If the matter settles after court proceedings have been started, you can agree costs with the debtor, but if you cannot do so and the matter is referred to the court, the court may exercise its discretion to decide the amount of costs payable.
- If the matter is decided by way of a trial, the court will decide the amount of costs payable.
Additional debt recovery options
- Statutory demands
An additional debt recovery option which does not involve a court process, but can be used as a means of debt recovery is to serve a statutory demand (which is a written demand for payment of a debt) on either an individual debtor or a company that owes you money.
A statutory demand can only generally be used where the debt is undisputed e.g. where the debtor has admitted that the debt is owed or a judgement has already been obtained in respect of it.
To prepare a statutory demand tailored to your requirements we charge a standard fee of £495 plus VAT. In addition, you will be liable to pay a process server’s fee of around £100 - £150 plus VAT depending on the location of the debtor. On average, we aim to prepare and serve a statutory demand within 7 working days of being formally instructed and receiving the underlying paperwork from you. Where the debtor is an individual, it can take longer. Particularly, if the debtor is difficult to locate or intentionally evades service. However, the process servers who we regularly work with are highly experienced in dealing with these matters and often provide invaluable support in locating defaulting debtors.
- Bankruptcy proceedings in respect of individual debtors
In the case of individual debtors, statutory demands are often used as a precursor to bankruptcy proceedings. You can therefore present a bankruptcy petition in respect of a debt if you can show that:
- The debtor appears either unable to pay the debt or to have no reasonable prospect of being able to pay.
- The debt is for a sum of £5,000 or more, payable either immediately or at some time in the future and is unsecured.
Where a court judgement under which a debt is owed to you has not been appealed or set aside, or a statutory demand has been validly served on the debtor and has not been set aside, you should be in a position to present a bankruptcy petition against an individual.
To prepare a bankruptcy petition and arrange for it to be issued and served on a debtor we charge a standard fee of £795 plus VAT. In addition, you will be required to pay:
(a) the Official Receiver’s deposit in the sum of £990;
(b) a court fee in the sum of £280; and
(c) a process server’s fee of around £150.
If the debt is paid off or your petition is withdrawn or dismissed prior to the hearing of your petition, you can reclaim £940 of the deposit paid to the Official Receiver.
- Winding up proceedings in respect of company debtors
A winding up petition can be presented in respect of a debt owed to you by a company provided you can show that:
- The debt is for a sum of £750 or more and a valid statutory demand has been served on the company, by leaving it at the company’s registered office which, for three weeks, the company has neglected to pay.
- Within the jurisdiction of England and Wales, there is a judgment, decree or order of the court in your favour which the debtor has failed to pay and that judgment has not been appealed or set aside.
- To the satisfaction of the court, the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due.
- To the satisfaction of the court, the company is insolvent on a balance sheet basis.
- There is no genuine dispute as to the debt and the debt cannot be cancelled by a valid cross claim by the debtor.
To draft and arrange for the issue and service of a winding up petition we charge a standard fee of £825 plus VAT. In addition, you will be required to pay:
- The Official Receiver’s deposit in the sum of £ 1,600;
- A court fee in the sum of £280; and
- A process server’s fee of around £150.
Experience and qualifications of our staff
Our debt recovery team is headed by a Senior Solicitor who qualified in 2006 and has over 14 years’ experience specialising in litigation, dispute resolution and debt recovery work, supported by a Trainee Solicitor who, prior to commencing her training contract with us, has worked at a top 100 law firm and has been in legal practice for over 4 years, and a Paralegal with knowledge of the law and legal procedures.
Where we differ from other firms providing debt recovery services is that you will always deal directly with a member of our debt recovery team (not receptionists, secretaries or other untrained staff). We are responsive and proactive in handling cases and are highly experienced in dealing situations where a claim starts as a simple debt recovery claim but becomes complicated because the debtor starts to dispute your claim or threatens a cross claim as our experience covers not only standard debt recovery procedures but also civil court claims. You will therefore received full support from the outset to the final conclusion of your matter.