Stage 2: Court claims-issue claim/Issue of Proceedings – Obtaining Judgment

If there is any work outside standard preparation such as lengthy interest calculations, high volume of invoices etc. we may charge further fees calculated at the hourly rate of £255 +VAT, to be confirmed at outset of the matter.

If payment is not made in full after our pre-issue demand, we will seek your instructions to start legal proceedings at the County Court.

Stages of process:

• Before issuing proceedings we will perform a further credit check/insolvency search on your debtor using our in-house facility
• We will add claims for fixed costs, court fees and interest (statutory, contractual or late payment) to the debt and these will be payable by the debtor if a successful recovery is made
• On receipt of the Claim Form the debtor has 14 days to say if they will:

– Pay the claim in full;
– Admit the claim and make an offer to pay in full by a certain date or by instalments;
– Part admit the claim/part defend the claim; or
– Defend the claim in full.

• If the debtor responds, we will contact you and advise you accordingly
• If the debtor fails to respond to the Court and fails to pay within the 14 day time limit, we will automatically ask for judgment to be entered against the debtor
• Ultimately if a judgment debt remains outstanding and/or the debtor fails to comply with an order for instalments payments set by the Court you can proceed to the final stage of recovery – which is enforcement
• County Court judgments made against debtors are recorded on the Register of County Court Judgments for six years, unless the full amount of the judgment debt is paid within one month, in which case the debtor can apply to cancel the entry. If the full amount is paid after one month the debtor can apply for a certificate of satisfaction but the entry will remain on the register marked as “satisfied”.

Fees for issue of court proceedings up to and including Judgment:

For claims over £100,000 please contact us for details.

Our fee includes:

• Additional credit checks/insolvency searches
• Advising you on your options if the debtor responds and next steps if the debtor fails to respond

Our fee does not include:

• Court fees
• Trace fees (typically around £100.00 for positive trace)

Timescales: The debtor has 14 days from the court serving the claim to either file a defence or enter an acknowledgement. Once this 14-day window expires, a request can be made to the court for judgment to be entered.