What it costs
- Letter before action, drafted and served
- £75
- Debt more than 180 days overdue
- +5%
- County court claim, £1,000–£3,000
- £215
- Statutory demand, individual
- £250
- Statutory demand, company
- £350
- Charging order
- £295
- Defended claim under £5,000
- £495
Plus 15% of sums recovered
Added to the success fee
Fixed, plus court fee
Fixed
Fixed
Fixed, plus disbursements
Fixed, hearings hourly
All figures include VAT. Court fees and disbursements are additional and set by HMCTS, and are normally recoverable from the debtor if you succeed.
The 15% is charged only on money actually collected. Where a matter cannot sensibly be fixed-fee, such as a contested claim or an unusual enforcement route, the hourly rate is €300, or £255 where the matter is billed in sterling, including VAT and varying with complexity. You get a written estimate before I start rather than an open meter.
How a debt is recovered
Most debts stop at step one. The stages exist so you can decide how far to go, with the cost of each known in advance.
- 01£75
Letter before action
Drafted and served within two working days of instruction, in the form the rules require for that debtor — 30 days and three enclosures for an individual, 14 days for a company.
- 02From £215
County court claim
Issued if the letter is ignored. Court fees scale with the amount and are recoverable, as is interest and, above the small claims limit, a contribution to costs.
- 03£250 / £350
Statutory demand
Where the debt is undisputed and the debtor can pay but will not. Twenty-one days, then bankruptcy or winding up. Powerful leverage, and the wrong tool if the debt is genuinely disputed.
- 04From £80
Enforcement
A judgment is not payment. Bailiffs, charging order, attachment of earnings or a third party debt order, chosen against what the debtor actually has.
Cross-border debts
This is the part most UK firms hand to a correspondent lawyer abroad, and where a second set of fees and a translation layer appear between you and the money.
I am admitted in England and Wales and registered with the Lithuanian Bar, and the work is done in English, Lithuanian or Russian without a translator in the middle. A Lithuanian company that has not paid a UK supplier, a UK judgment that needs recognising in Lithuania, an EU judgment to be enforced here — one solicitor, one file, one fee.
When I will tell you not to bother
Recovery is only worth pursuing where there is something to recover from. A judgment against a debtor with no assets and no income is an expensive piece of paper, and a winding-up petition against a genuinely insolvent company puts you at the back of the unsecured queue.
- The debtor is dormant, dissolved or already subject to other creditors' enforcement.
- The sum is small enough that the small claims track makes doing it yourself the better economics — I will point you at the guide instead.
- There is a genuine dispute about the quality of the work, in which case this is a contract argument rather than a debt.
- The debtor has left the jurisdiction and has no assets here worth pursuing.
Proof
Vincentas is a great lawyer and was instrumental in forming and negotiating an international joint venture, drafting and submitting a tender bid for the Kudirka-Kybartai hydrocarbon resource area, and worked on the project tirelessly. I value his professionalism and integrity.
Common questions
How much does a debt recovery solicitor cost?
Here, £75 to draft and serve a letter before action, plus 15% of what is actually recovered. Later stages are fixed: £215 for a county court claim between £1,000 and £3,000, £250 or £350 for a statutory demand. All figures include VAT; court fees are additional and usually recoverable from the debtor.
How long does debt recovery take?
A letter before action goes out within two working days of instruction. The debtor then has 14 or 30 days depending on whether they are a company or an individual. Most debts that are going to settle settle in that window. A defended county court claim can take several months.
Do I have to send a letter before action first?
Effectively yes. The courts expect it, and issuing without one lets the court stay your claim and order costs against you even if you win. The requirements differ depending on whether the debtor is an individual or a company.
Can you recover a debt from a company in Lithuania?
Yes. I am qualified in both England and Wales and Lithuania, so cross-border debts are handled on one file rather than by instructing a second firm abroad. That covers both directions — Lithuanian debtors of UK creditors and the reverse.
What if the debtor has no money?
Then enforcement spends good money after bad, and I will say so before you commit. A judgment lasts six years and can be enforced later if their circumstances change, so parking it is often the right answer rather than a failure.
Is there any charge if you do not recover the debt?
Yes, the £75 introduction fee is payable whether or not the debt is recovered. The 15% success fee is charged only on sums actually collected. I would rather state that than describe the arrangement as risk-free and leave you to find the exception in the small print.
This page states the law of England & Wales and Lithuania as at 18 August 2026. It is general information, not advice on your matter, and reading it does not create a solicitor-client relationship.