Issuing Legal
After receiving the Letter of Claim, the customer is given a 30-day period to respond. Depending on their response, or lack thereof, the creditor has the option to initiate legal action by filing a County Court Claim for the outstanding debt. Once the proceedings commence, the customer becomes the defendant, and our client, the creditor, becomes the claimant.
The County Court Business Centre (CCBC) in Northampton handles the issuance of proceedings. Upon filing, the appropriate court fee is paid to the court and added to the claim amount, along with solicitors' costs for preparing and filing the claim.
The below fees and costs are what we charge to proceed with obtaining a CCJ. The Court Fee is a set amount as outlined by the courts, a breakdown of which can be found below:
| Balance of Claim | Court Fee |
| £0 - £5,000.00 | £205 |
| £5,000.01 - £10,000.00 | £455 |
| £10,000.01 - £200,000.00 | 5% of the claim |
| £200,000.00 + Up | £10,000.00 |
The CCBC generates and prints a claim form along with a response pack, which is then served to the defendant at their last known address via first-class prepaid post. Special delivery or signed-for post is not used for service to prevent the defendant from refusing
delivery.
The response pack comprises an N9a form for admission, an N9b form for defence, and an Acknowledgement of Service. Upon being served, the defendant has 14 days to respond using one of the provided response pack forms. If the defendant fails to respond within this timeframe, the claimant can proceed to apply for Judgment after the expiration of the 14-day period, known as 'Judgment in Default'.
A Judgment signifies the court's determination that the defendant owes a specified amount to the claimant. It also stipulates a deadline for payment, which may be immediate, by a specific date, or in instalments.
If the defendant fails to adhere to the terms of the judgment, the claimant may initiate enforcement proceedings. In the event that your collections package with us includes litigation, you may not be liable for all of these legal fees, due to the higher commission rate.