Fixed fees for the work, agreed in writing before anything starts — and a plain account of what is added to the debt rather than paid by you.
Two separate things get called 'the cost of debt recovery' and they behave completely differently. Our fee is what you pay us for the work. The court fees and the statutory entitlements are added to the debt and, if the debtor pays, come back to you. Keeping them apart is how you decide whether a step is worth taking.
We charge fixed fees for the work, agreed in writing before it starts. We do not take a percentage of what we recover, so the money that comes back is yours.
The three steps most debts actually need:
A formal final demand from a legal name, with the interest and compensation calculated and added. Most commercial debts are paid at this stage.
A different regime applies, with prescribed contents, prescribed enclosures and a 30-day clock. Getting it wrong costs you on costs later.
If the deadline passes and the debt is not genuinely disputed, the claim is issued by a regulated firm — on the same file, with us still on it.
Every step, what it covers and what it costs. Nothing escalates without you agreeing it first.
Who legally owes it, whether it is still in time, and what it is worth once statutory interest and compensation are added. Done before you commit to anything.
Where the first letter produced contact but not payment, or produced nothing and the debtor is worth one more push before a claim.
They have replied — with an offer, a dispute or an excuse. What it actually means and what we would do about it.
A plan in writing with the interest preserved and the consequences of default spelled out, so a default puts you back to the claim stage rather than back to the argument.
Drafted and issued by RHF Solicitors, with judgment in default requested if unanswered.
As above, on a larger claim.
As above, on a larger claim again.
Where the debt is clearly undisputed, the debtor is trading and you are prepared to petition if it is ignored. We will tell you when it is the wrong tool.
Instructing a County Court bailiff, or transferring up to a High Court Enforcement Officer on a judgment of £600 or more.
Where you have judgment against an individual or a sole trader who is in employment.
Securing the judgment against property, or catching money held for the debtor by their bank. Which one fits depends entirely on what they actually have.
Bringing the debtor to court to answer questions about their means under oath. Often the cheapest sensible first move against a debtor you know nothing about.
Ten debts or more. We triage the ledger with you first and quote on the entries where escalation would change the outcome — not on all of them.
Worth doing the arithmetic before deciding it is an expense. On a £10,000 invoice 90 days late, the fixed compensation alone is £100 and the statutory interest is about £290 — so a £75 letter is more than covered by what it puts onto the claim, before the debt itself is recovered. That is the whole argument for costing a debt properly rather than just chasing it.
This is the part most businesses do not claim, and on an aged ledger it is frequently larger than the cost of recovering it.
Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Implied into business-to-business supply contracts by statute — it does not need to be in your terms. Calculate it on your invoice.
Set by the Ministry of Justice, not by us, and added to the claim so they are recovered from the debtor if you win. The scale in force from 13 July 2026:
| Amount claimed | Court fee |
|---|---|
| Up to £300 | £35 |
| £300.01 to £500 | £50 |
| £500.01 to £1,000 | £70 |
| £1,000.01 to £1,500 | £80 |
| £1,500.01 to £3,000 | £115 |
| £3,000.01 to £5,000 | £205 |
| £5,000.01 to £10,000 | £455 |
| £10,000.01 to £200,000 | 5% of the claim |
| Over £200,000 | £10,000 |
| Step | Court fee |
|---|---|
| Warrant of control (County Court bailiff) | £96 |
| Writ of control (transfer up to a High Court Enforcement Officer) | £82 |
| Attachment of earnings order | £139 |
| Third party debt order | £139 |
| Charging order | £139 |
| Order to obtain information from a debtor | £69 |
Hearing fees only arise if a claim is defended and allocated to a track — see court claims for that scale. A winding-up petition is different again: £352 court fee plus a £2,600 deposit to the Official Receiver, which is why statutory demands are a considered decision rather than a routine step.
An illustration, not a quote — the arithmetic is real but your debt is yours.
Interest continues to accrue daily until the debt is paid. If a claim were issued, the court fee and fixed costs would be added on top and would also be recoverable from the debtor.
A one-page summary of statutory interest, the fixed compensation sums and recoverable costs, with the current rate.
Tell us what you are owed and who owes it. You get back what the debt is actually worth once interest and compensation are added, what we would do first, and the fixed fee for doing it.