Terms of Business

By accepting these terms, I am entering into an agreement with DCB Legal Limited (“DCB”) (company number 10633864) of Direct House, Greenwood Drive, Manor Park, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 1UG.  Solicitors Regulation Authority Number 638321.

1. Contacting us

Legal Director: David Croot

Once we have received your instruction, a new case file will be opened for you and allocated to a file handler. They will be in touch with you upon allocation to introduce themselves.

2. Obligations

1. Your obligation is to provide instructions and supply documents as requested in a timely manner.
2. Our obligation is to work in accordance with your instructions set out in Schedule A and Schedule B in order to provide our service.

Please note that Schedule A of these Terms of Business outline all of our services offered and therefore, for the purposes of your immediate instruction, you need only consider the relevant section.

3. General Terms of Business

Our General Terms and Conditions of Business apply and can be found on our website at https://dcblegal.co.uk/terms/ which are to be read in conjunction with this letter.

Before we are able to carry out any substantive work on your behalf, in order to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (as amended), we need to obtain evidence of your identity as soon as possible. Please provide us with a copy of your photo ID (passport/ driving licence) and a copy utility bill from the last 3 months (if you are an individual).  If you are instructing us on behalf of a company then we will need evidence from a Director of the Company.

DCB LEGAL BANK ACCOUNT

DCB Legal Ltd Client Account
Sort Code: 20-24-09
Account no: 60964441

Please quote your case reference when making payment. This will be provided to you once a new file has been opened on your behalf. Alternatively, card payments can be made via our website https://dcblegal.co.uk/response/pay-online/ and quoting your case reference.

PLEASE NOTE: WE WILL NOT AMEND OR CHANGE OUR BANK DETAILS VIA EMAIL.

Any changes will not be set out in the body of the email.  All notifications relating to payment will be provided to you via letter, which may be sent as an email attachment.  Please be aware of scam or malicious behaviour relating to your payment activity.

SCHEDULE A – YOUR INSTRUCTION

The case will be dealt with in stages as follows for the relevant instruction: –

OBTAINING A COUNTY COURT JUDGMENT

1. LETTERS OF CLAIM / LETTER BEFORE ACTION

STANDARD –

For debts under £500.00, we will issue each debtor with a basic Letter of Claim (LOC) / Letter Before Action (LBA). If the debtor is a Company, the letter will allow them 14 days to pay. If the debtor is a sole trader or an individual, the letter will allow them 30 days to pay. We will seek to recover payment in full wherever possible.  If payment is offered in instalments then we will refer the offer to you for your agreement.

The content of the LOC/LBA will usually be limited to: –

1. The debtor’s name and address;
2. Who the debt is owed to;
3. The amount sought; and
4. A very brief description of what the debt is for.

The cost for each LOC/LBA sent will be £65.00 + VAT.

Sending a basic LOC/LBA may impact your rights should the matter ultimately require more formal court action, or a more detailed explanation of your legal position.

PREMIUM –

We will issue each debtor with a LOC/LBA, following the same timeframes as the above. However, the letter will be drafted in full detail in accordance with the relevant Pre-Action Protocol.

The content of the LOC/LBA will usually be limited to: –

1. The debtor’s name and address;
2. Who the debt is owed to;
3. The amount sought;
4. A detailed description of what the debt is for, including any previous correspondence and contract terms relied on; and
5. All evidence relative to the debt owed.

The cost for each LOC/LBA sent will range from £250.00 + VAT to £1,000.00 + VAT*.

*If your matter relates to a construction dispute of over £10,000 the LOC/LBA will be at a fixed rate of £1,250.00 + VAT

If we do not receive a response to the LOC, with your instruction, we will move onto stage 2. If we receive a response, the response will be referred to you.  Should you wish to instruct us further at that time then any work carried out by us will be chargeable at an hourly rate.  Please refer to Schedule B of these Terms for our charging rate.

2. ISSUING A CLAIM

For debtors in England and Wales, we will issue County Court proceedings, subject to you instructing us to do so.

The court fee and our costs payable depend on the value of the claim. We will contact you to discuss these charges.

If the debtor does not pay or respond to the claim, we will ask the Court to enter Judgment in default. You must notify us immediately if you receive payment directly.

If the debtor does respond and admits the claim, but requests time to pay by instalments, we will seek your further instructions.

If the debtor responds and disputes liability, the matter will proceed as a defended claim.  We are able to continue acting for you, should you wish for us to do so, and if we do, the work will be charged at the appropriate hourly rate set out in Schedule B. Alternatively, we may recommend that the matter be passed to another firm of Solicitors, depending on the nature and complexity of the disputes raised, as well as the value of the Claim.

3. ENFORCEMENT – HIGH COURT WRIT

If a County Court Judgment (CCJ) has been obtained, we are able to refer the matter to Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd (DCBL), if you instruct us to do so.  They are able to enforce the debt by obtaining a High Court Writ of Control and instructing the agents to attend the defendant’s property – subject to the CCJ being for a minimum of £600.00.  In this regard, you agree to be bound by DCBL’s separate terms which can be accessed at https://dcbltd.com/high-court-terms-of-business/. Please ensure you read these Terms of Business prior to signing this document.

The court fee payable to transfer the CCJ to the High Court is £80.00 per case (subject to any changes in Court fees)

If enforcement is successful, the debtor will pay the costs of enforcement in addition to the judgment amount.

If enforcement is unsuccessful, there is also a Compliance Fee payable to DCBL of £75.00 + VAT per case.

There are also alternative methods of enforcement which can be found under separate sections of Schedule A.

4. POST-JUDGMENT APPLICATIONS

Following the obtaining of a CCJ, the debtor may make an application to the Court, to set aside or vary the Order that has been made.  We are able to act on your behalf in these circumstances.

In the event of an Application being made, we would proceed on an hourly rate basis in accordance with schedule B, our work would include but not be limited to: –

• Reviewing the application and advising you in respect of the same;
• Drafting a witness statement in response where appropriate;
• Liaising with the debtor and/or their solicitors;
• Assessing the prospects of the application;
• Instructing an advocate to act on your behalf;
• Preparing all documents ahead of the hearing.

You would also be responsible for the advocates fee, we would obtain an estimate and agree the sum with you prior to instruction.  You would need to pay that fee in advance of the hearing.

ISSUING A CLAIM FOR POSSESSION

SECTION 8/ SECTION 21 NOTICE

INSTRUCTION

We will draft a Section 8 Notice/ Section 21 Notice and serve the same upon the debtor. Should the debtor remain in the property, we will quote you for us to issue a Claim for Possession.

If a Section 8 Notice was issued, we will also quote you for us to pursue the monetary element of the Claim.

POSSESSION ORDER FOLLOWING S8 NOTICE

If a s8 notice has been served upon the tenant, we will check the validity of the same.  If it is not valid, we will advise you and serve a valid notice.  An additional charge will be payable in these circumstances.

If the notice is valid we will draft the Claim Form and Particulars of Claim for Possession and file the same at Court on your behalf. If no Defence is filed, we will proceed to file a witness statement and arrange for an advocate to attend at the hearing on your behalf.  Please note that an additional fee will be payable for the advocate.  We will agree that fee with you in advance of the hearing.

Our Charges will be £1484 inclusive of VAT* broken down as:-

• £900 plus VAT (our fixed fee)
• £404 (Court fee)

Additionally, should you wish to instruct an advocate to attend any hearing that may take place then you will be responsible for the advocates fees at that stage.  We will obtain a quote for those fees and agree them with you in advance of the hearing.

In the event that a defence is filed, please refer to Schedule B of these Terms for our hourly rate. At this stage, we will contact you further to discuss our costs associated with representing you.

POSSESSION ORDER FOLLOWING S21 NOTICE

If a Section 21 Notice was served upon the tenant, we will review this first to ensure that it is compliant. In the event that it is not compliant, we will advise you and look to serve a compliant Notice upon the debtor.  If this is the case then an additional charge will be payable by you for the drafting and service of the notice.

If the notice is compliant, then we will draft the N5b Claim Form and the file the same at Court on your behalf. Should no defence be filed, we will then request a Possession Order.

Our Charges will be £1484 inclusive of VAT* broken down as:-

• £900 plus VAT (our fixed fee)
• £404 (Court fee)

Additionally, should you wish to instruct an advocate to attend any hearing that may take place then you will be responsible for the advocates fees at that stage.  We will obtain a quote for those fees and agree them with you in advance of the hearing.

*in the event you were quoted differently at the point of instruction, the oral quote will prevail.

In the event that a defence is filed, please refer to Schedule B of these Terms for our hourly rate. At this stage, we will contact you further to discuss our costs associated with representing you.

SECTION 42 APPLICATION

INSTRUCTION

We will prepare and file the Application with the County Court for permission to transfer the case for enforcement up to the High Court. In the event that the Court believes that the matter can be dealt with by the County Court Bailiffs, we will seek to persuade the County Court that the matter cannot be dealt with appropriately in the County Court.  We charge a fixed fee for this service.

Our Charges will be £723.00 inclusive of VAT* broken down as: –

• £500.00 plus VAT (our fixed fee)
• £123.00 (Court Fee)

*in the event you were quoted differently at the point of instruction, the oral quote will prevail.

CHARGING ORDER

INSTRUCTION

We will conduct a Land Registry Search for the property(s) provided, if instructed to do so. We will then prepare the Charging Order Application and file the same with the Court and organise the correct service of the Interim Charging Order (‘ICO’). We will then register the ICO with the Land Registry and inform you once the Final Charging Order (‘FCO’) has been received.

Our Charges will be £1058 inclusive of VAT* broken down as:-

• £750 plus VAT (our fixed fee)
• £135 (Court Fee)
• £23 Land Registry Fee

*in the event you were quoted differently at the point of instruction, the oral quote will prevail.

In the event that the Application is contested, please refer to our hourly rate as set out in Schedule B of these terms if you wish to instruct us further.

THIRD PARTY DEBT ORDER

INSTRUCTION

We will prepare the Application for the Third Party Debt Order, file it with the Court, and serve the interim Order.

Our Charges will be £1035 inclusive of VAT* broken down as:-

• £750 plus VAT (our fixed fee)
• £135 (Court fee)

*in the event you were quoted differently at the point of instruction, the oral quote will prevail.

In the event that the Third Party Debt Order is contested, please refer to our hourly rate as set out in Schedule B of these terms if you wish to instruct us further.

STATUTORY DEMAND

INSTRUCTION

We will prepare a Statutory Demand to wind up the debtor’s company and arrange for it to be served on your behalf.

Our Charges will be £720.00 inclusive of VAT* broken down as:-

• £500 plus VAT (our fixed fee)
• £100 plus VAT (process server’s fee)

*in the event you were quoted differently at the point of instruction, the oral quote will prevail.

In the event that the statutory demand is contested, please refer to our hourly rate as set out in Schedule B of these terms if you wish to instruct us further.

ORDER FOR QUESTIONING

INSTRUCTION

We will prepare the Application, file it with the Court and instruct an agent to attend the hearing (unless you wish to attend yourself). If you wish to ask any questions other than those in the standard Court Application Form, you will need to provide those to us in writing.

Our Charges will be £967 inclusive of VAT* broken down as :-

• £750 plus VAT (our fixed fee)
• £67 Court fee

*in the event you were quoted differently at the point of instruction, the oral quote will prevail.

In the event that the order for questioning is contested, please refer to our hourly rate as set out in Schedule B of these terms if you wish to instruct us further.

ORDER FOR SALE

INSTRUCTION

We will draft new proceedings in respect of the Order for Sale, which will comprise of a new Claim Form, Particulars of Claim and a Witness Statement. We will also assist in liaising with estate agents in respect of the value of the property.

At this stage, we would advise that the Court may not grant an Order for Sale where the equity in the property far exceeds the debt. In those circumstances, our charges would still be payable.

Our Charges will be £1877.00 inclusive of VAT* broken down as :-

• £1,250 plus VAT (Our Charges)
• £377 (Court Fee)

*in the event you were quoted differently at the point of instruction, the oral quote will prevail.

In the event that the order for sale is contested, please refer to our hourly rate as set out in Schedule B of these terms if you wish to instruct us further.

In the event that we are instructed on a case and for any reason, outside of our control, we recognise it cannot proceed, we reserve the right to bill for the time spent on the case up until closure at our standard hourly rates as set out in Schedule B.

SCHEDULE B – FURTHER WORK CHARGED AT HOURLY RATES

Further work that you may instruct us to carry out includes, but is not limited to: –

• Responding to pre-action correspondence as appropriate in accordance with Pre-Action Protocol.
• Carry out all necessary action on defended claims with a view to obtaining judgment, including, but not limited to:
  • Reviewing, drafting and filing legal documents.
  • Liaising with the Court, other Solicitors and Legal Representatives.
  • Instructing agents to attend hearings where appropriate to do so (this may be carried out in-house and you will be notified in the event the fee will exceed £200 plus VAT – which will be rare, if at all).
  • Advising you if we do not think you have a reasonable prospect of success.
• Carry out all necessary action to respond appropriately to applications (including threats of applications) made by Defendants (e.g., applications to set aside judgment). This may involve either opposing or consenting to the application. This does not include appeals.

The applicable hourly rate will be £380.00 plus VAT.

SCHEDULE C – DISBURSEMENTS AND OUR CHARGES

Disbursements – You will be liable for all disbursements in any event including (but not limited to), claim issue fees, hearing fees, advocate attendance fees, high court fees, telephone hearing fees, and adverse costs. Because they are disbursements, they are susceptible to change.

Recoverable Fixed Fees – Fixed Solicitors Fees awarded by the Court (for cases under £10,000) that you are entitled to recover are as follows: –

Please note the above Fees in Table A are not our costs. They are simply the portion of costs that we may be able to recover from the defendant if we were to issue legal proceedings.