Alderson Law

Debt Recovery Pricing

Debt Recovery Pricing

Who will be handling my Case?

Most of our debt recovery cases are handled by Tracey Murray who is a Solicitor and Partner in the Firm. Tracey is a Graduate of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and qualified as a Solicitor in 1997.

We provide advice on both individual and commercial debts and on all aspects of debt recovery work. This includes small claims up to the £10,000 limit through to high value and contested matters with multiple defendants. Our advice and services cover the debt recovery process from start to finish providing advice and assistance on the prospects of successful recovery, cost effectiveness and the range of options available from the initial demand letter through to enforcement depending on each client’s circumstances.

Fixed Fee Work

We may offer to carry out the work associated in recovering a debt and or seeking a Court Judgement for a fixed fee. In all other cases our charges will be time based on our hourly rate charges set out below. Where we agree a fixed fee it will be charged as follows:

Debt value up to £5000 fee £600 plus VAT (£720 inc VAT)

Debt Value £5001 to £10000 fee £800 plus vat (£960 inc VAT)

Debt Value £10001 to £50000 fee amounts to 5% of value of claim

Payment of our fees is not contingent upon successful recovery of your debt and will be payable whether or not you recover any monies owed to you.

Hourly Rate Work

Our fees vary depending on who carries out the work. Our Partner and Senior Solicitor rate is £220 per hour (£264 inc VAT). Our Solicitor rate is £200 per hour plus VAT (£240 inc VAT).

Disbursements

These are payments which are made to others in dealing with your case. They include for example Court Fees, expert or witness fees, travelling expenses and Barristers/Counsels fees. We will endeavour as far as possible to inform you of what disbursements will be payable before they are paid and agree these with you. We will require you to pay us for disbursement in advance of them being paid

Key Stages in Debt Recovery Cases

The following are a summary of the usual stages in claims involving typical cases. No two cases are the same however. Cases differ in issues and complexity. Some are straightforward involving few issues or little application of the Law but others may involve consideration of a lot of case law or research. Some cases may involve little documentation or involve few witnesses and others may involve substantial documentation and multiple witnesses. These are all factors which will necessarily involve more time being required to be spent on your case and which will increase costs.

Obtaining a Court Judgment (a CCJ) is not the end of the process and often enforcement action will be required to be taken to recover a debt. This is additional work in the process and is not covered in our fixed feed referred to above. It is a separate process after a Judgment is obtained.

The usual steps in debt recovery cases are:

Taking your instructions to advice on the strengths or weaknesses of your case and prospects of recovery.
Conducting searches and Preparation of a Letter of Claim pursuant to the Pre Action Protocol (where applicable).
Preparing your Court Claim form (County Court Claim form or High Court Writ) and supporting particulars of the claim
Considering any Acknowledgment of Service and advising you further.
Preparing request for default Judgment or Judgment in Admission where appropriate.
Considering any Defence with you and advising you further.
Preparing a Request for Summary Judgment if appropriate and evidence/supporting statement.
Considering Court Directions Order and advising you further.
Attending Court Directions appointment and preparing for the hearings.
Preparing Lists of Documents to be considered and witness statements to be used.
Considering and advising on opponents witness statements and documents.
Attending any pre hearing appointment at Court.
Preparing the bundle of documents to be considered at the hearing.
Instructing a Barrister/Counsel in your case if required.
Preparing submissions or skeleton arguments.
Agreeing any statement of issues and list of cases to be considered by the Court.
Representation at the hearing either by us or with your Barrister/Counsel.
Negotiations throughout the process and advising on settlement/compromise options and if mediation is appropriate.
Advising on the outcome of a hearing and any Court Orders/ Judgments made.

How Long Will my Case take?

This is difficult to predict accurately and much depends on how the debtor responds to your claim. If payment follows in response to the letter of claim this may be a week or two however if Court proceedings are required and become protracted the case could take several months. Most claims are determined within 6 -12 months but can take longer.

Contact Us

Telephone Blyth: 

01670 352293

Telephone Morpeth:

01670 519714

Telephone Whitley Bay:

0191 2533509

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SRA number 402010

Alderson Law LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England and Wales under company number OC307338.
Registered office: Pethgate House, Castle Square, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 1YL

Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under SRA ID number 402010.

ICO No. Z729984X

FCA No. LS 596109

Equality & Diversity Survey

Mary was born and has lived all her life in the North East of England. Her first interest was science and she originally studied Biomedical Science at Northumbria and worked in the scientific research field and the NHS, before studying part time, again at Northumbria University, to obtain her degree in Law. Since then she has enjoyed a varied career covering many different areas of law, before specialising in Children Law, which she has done almost exclusively for the past 5 years.

Mary loves reading and history and at a weekend can often be found at one of the many historical sites the North East has to offer and has even been known to play video games when she can find the time.

Chris was originally a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives from 1997 and qualified as a Solicitor in 2001.

He has over 25 years experience in private client work comprising Wills, Trusts, Probate, Powers of Attorney and other Court of Protection Work such as Deputyship applications. Chris has been a Partner in several firms in the North East, being Head of Wills, Trusts and Probate.

He brings a wealth of experience to his role and works closely with clients, providing them with a service tailored to their needs

Susan was born and bred in the North East, spending all of her working life in Blyth. She qualified in 1981 and, after some years at Alderson Law, began to specialise in family law, covering both private and legal aid. Susan was a member of the Law Society Family Panel and an accredited Resolution specialist, specialising particularly in private children law and domestic violence.

Susan took part-retirement in December 2018 but still works as a Solicitor here at Alderson Law. Outside of work she enjoys cooking, walking, reading, and spending time with her family. She has also been a Brownie leader for over 40 years.

Originally from East Yorkshire, Jasmine moved to the North East in 2012 to study at Northumbria University undertaking the M Law Exempting (BPTC) course (the only undergraduate course in England and Wales which incorporates the Bar Professional Training Course), graduating in 2016 with a First Class Honours and a Very Competent in the Bar Professional Training Course. Prior to joining Alderson Law Jasmine specialised in RTA Fraud in a Personal Injury firm, before moving to another firm to work as a Family Law Paralegal.

In 2018 she joined our team as a Family Law Paralegal and before qualifying as a Solicitor within the Family Law Department based at our Morpeth office. Jasmine represents clients in a wide range of matters including; divorce and matrimonial finance, disputes regarding the arrangements for children as well as parents who are subject to Local Authority involvement both before and during Court proceedings.

In her spare time Jasmine likes visiting the beach, going to the gym, watching live music and looking after her pet rabbit.

Julie is a highly experienced property solicitor. She studied Law at Northumbria University and, after qualifying in 2000, went on to work at national and international firms prior to joining the team at Alderson Law in 2017. She works alongside her clients, advising on residential and commercial property development, property investment, portfolio management, property finance, landlord and tenant, easements and restrictive covenants.

Fiona is a specialist private client lawyer providing advice and assistance with wills, trusts, tax planning, probate & estate administration, lasting powers of attorney, court of protection and elderly client work. Having previously worked with a number of Newcastle-based firms listed in The Legal 500, Fiona brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. She is a full member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners), the association for specialists in family inheritance and succession planning.

Fiona grew up in Northern Ireland and studied law at Durham University, and has remained in the North East ever since. She enjoys spending time with her family at their cottage in Northumberland.

Mark Hipkin, partner at Alderson Law LLP, has been advising businesses and claimants since he qualified as a solicitor in 1982.

Mark’s passion is for representing claimants on two wheels in complex, serious and catastrophic motorcycle, scooter and cycle injuries, but he also has extensive experience of acting for claimants in many other personal injury areas including occupiers and public liability work and accidents at work. He specialises in challenging and complex cases. Mark always puts the client first, looking from the first day of instruction to obtain the best and fairest outcome for a claimant, no matter how long a case may take. He is a fan of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and early neutral valuation as alternatives to litigation. Sometimes, however, litigation is the best option, together with the necessary drive to see every matter through to a fair conclusion.

Mark also, having started his own business, advises business clients, often with motorcycle-, scooter- or cycle-related businesses and also deals with complex commercial disputes, professional negligence cases, and general civil litigation.

Mark likes to spend what free time he has with his family and practising Tai Chi and Tang Soo Do (Korean Karate – in which he is a second Dan).

Having worked in family law for over 25 years, Julie is a highly accomplished specialist in her field. She has a vast body of experience in dealing with family law, from divorce and related financial issues to complex child-related cases. Julie was the first person in North Tyneside to achieve the status of an accredited advanced family law specialist, and is a member of the Law Society Advanced Family Panel, which demonstrates her experience in complex contested family cases and other subject-specific matters.

Though multi-talented and highly experienced, Julie’s particular speciality is in complex ancillary relief (financial settlement) claims and complex residence and contact disputes.

In her spare time Julie enjoys relaxing and spending time with her family and three grandchildren. She attends clients at our Whitley Bay and Blyth offices.

Tracey is one of our Partners and qualified as a solicitor in 1997. Throughout her career she has had a varied caseload undertaking matters in most areas of civil and private client law. Tracey can assist clients in a wide range of matters including: Wills, Probate, Powers of Attorney, Debt Recovery, Residential and Commercial Conveyancing as well as Licensing and Landlord and Tenant matters.

Tracey is one of our most senior practitioners with over 20 years of local experience, having graduated from both Newcastle University and Northumbria University. When not in the office she enjoys walking, cycling, and cooking with her family.