Taking Debts To Court – How Much Does It Cost?

If you’ve not been paid by a customer and you’ve not been successful in recovering it any other way, you might be considering legal action. Taking a client to court might seem drastic, but sometimes it’s the only way to recover the money that’s owed to you. But the thing is, taking someone to court isn’t free. There are a number of costs involved in this course of action, so before you start anything, you should know what needs to be paid and who is responsible for paying it.

The Court Fees

When you want to take a customer to court, you will need to pay a court fee known as the court issue fee.  The amount to be paid is based on the amount of the claim as follows:

Value of your claim                                                                       Fee payable

Up to £300                                                                                               £35

Greater than £300 but no more than £500                                      £50

Greater than £500 but no more than £1,000                                   £70

Greater than £1,000 but no more than £1,500                                £80

Greater than £1,500 but no more than £3,000                               £115

Greater than £3,000 but no more than £5,000                              £205

Greater than £5,000 but no more than £10,000                            £455

Greater than £10,000 but no more than £200,000                       5% of the value of the claim

Greater than £200,000                                                                        £10, 000

How Are Costs Assigned?

While each case is different, the broad idea here is that if your claim is successful, the debtor, known as the Defendant in the court claim, will be liable for the court fees. Therefore, if you’re successful in obtaining a judgment (CCJ) against the Defendant, then the judgment will usually include the court issue fee, together with other costs and interest where applicable.

If your claim is defended, then it will proceed in one of the following tracks at court:

Small Claims Court: If you’re claim is under £5,000, then the case will be assigned to small claims court.

Fast Track Claims: A case will be assigned to the fast track if:

• The claim value is higher than £5,000 but less than £25,000
• The court hearing is expected to last no longer than one full day.

Multi Track Claims:  The multi track is reserved for cases where the value of the claim is over £25,000, if there are complex technical details involved in the case, and if the hearing is expected to last longer than one full day.

If the claim goes all the way to trial, there will be a hearing fee to pay to the court before the date of the trial.  The hearing fee is based on the track, as follows:

Small Claim Track:

Where the amount claimed is:

Up to £300, the hearing fee is £27

Between £300.01 and £500, the hearing fee is £59

Between £500.01 and £1,000, the hearing fee is £85

Between £1,000.01 and £1,500, the hearing fee is £123

Between £1,500.01 and £3,000, the hearing fee is £181

More than £3,000, the hearing fee is £346

Fast Track Claim: The hearing fee is £545.00

Multi Track Claim: The hearing fee is £1,175.00

There are of course other fees and costs payable if you instruct a solicitor or debt recovery agent or if counsel is needed to assist you with the claim or at the hearing or if an expert is needed, depending on the complexity of the case.  Though you may be entitled to claim your costs and interest if either the terms of your contract and/or statute allows.

At Debtcol we specialise in helping businesses understand their debt collection options and support them through the process at every step. If you’d like more tips for taking debtors to court, sign up to our newsletter or just get in touch with the team today.