At the beginning of 2015, there has been a huge increase in Court fees, especially for claims over £10k where creditors are expected to pay 5% of the amount of their claim upfront. This is the result of the Ministry of Justice having to be self-financing… Overnight, the upfront fee to pay into Court has increased from £910 to £5,000 for a claim of £100k. This has marked the end of a fair justice system which used to be accessible to all.

Import Export creditors need to check their T&Cs and especially their jurisdiction clause and give themselves options so they have a choice of legal system when it comes to issuing legal action. When dealing with businesses in England, comparing the costs and effectiveness of different jurisdictions and/or making the most of the EU Cross-Border Procedures like (EEO, EOP, ESCP, Brussel I – recast) is an increasingly attractive option ! Finally, creditor should obviously explore all prelegal debt collection options and carefully assess the solvency of their debtors before investing large sums of money in a Legal Procedure.

The new court fees vs old fees are as follows:

• £10,000.01 – £15,000 -> 5% of the claim value (previously £455)
• £15,000.01 – £50,000 -> 5% of the claim value (previously £610)
• £50,000.01 – £100,000 -> 5% of the claim value (previously £910)
• £100,000.01 – £150,000 -> 5% of the claim value (previously £1,115)
• £150,000.01 – £200,000 -> 5% of the claim value (previously £1,315)
• £200,000.01 – £250,000 -> £10,000 (previously £1,515)
• £250,000.01 – £300,000 -> £10,000 (previously £1,720)
• anything above £300,000 -> £10,000 (previously £1,920)

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