Simple case: £3,500 – £7,500 (excluding VAT at standard rate of 20%).
Medium complexity case: £7,500 – £15,000 (excluding VAT at standard rate of 20%).
High complexity case: £15,000 + (excluding VAT at standard rate of 20%).
There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing of £1,000.00 per day (excluding VAT at standard rate of 20%).
If you are a member of our Regulatory only BACKup scheme, you may be entitled to a discount on our hourly rates. Please enquire if you are interested in becoming a member.
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties such as Counsel Fee, travel and postage to be agreed in advance. Counsel’s fees estimated between £1,000.00 to £2,500.00 per day excluding VAT at standard rate of 20% (depending on experience of the advocate) for attending a Tribunal Hearing (including preparation).
The duration from initial instructions to final resolution of a matter depends largely on the complexity and facts involved, as well as the stage at which a case is concluded. If settlement is reached during early conciliation, a case is likely to conclude within a month, albeit this time period can be increased with the agreement of the parties via ACAS. If your claim is issued and proceeds to a Final Hearing, a case may be listed within 36-48 weeks subject to Tribunal availability. Settlement or resolution can occur at any time during proceedings with agreement via ACAS. The above is an estimate and an updated timescale is provided throughout the conduct of the litigation.
Our team has over 30 years of collective experience in advising on employment matters.
We have six members of the team who may work on your matter. Regardless of who has overall conduct, they will be supervised by Steven Meyerhoff, Director of Backhouse Jones and head of the Commercial Litigation and Employment Department.
Steven Meyerhoff
Steven is a Director at Backhouse Jones and head of the Commercial Litigation and Employment team at Backhouse Jones. Steven qualified as a Solicitor in 2005 having completed his training contract at Backhouse Jones. He attended Liverpool John Moores University where he was awarded his Bachelors Degree in Maritime Business and Management with First Class Honours. He then attended the College of Law where he was awarded his Graduate Diploma of Law in Legal Practice and completed the Legal Practice Course in 2003.
Steven has been a Solicitor at Backhouse Jones since 2005, acting for clients in both an Employment and Commercial Litigation capacity. He is currently the lead Solicitor in the RHA’s Truck Cartel Legal Action which has been issued in the Competition Appeal Tribunal “CAT”. If granted, this will be the first action of its kind within the UK. Steven is also responsible for the supervision and development of the Trainees within the department.
James Lomax
James qualified as a Solicitor in 2010 having completed his training at Backhouse Jones. He attended Leeds Metropolitan University where he was awarded his BA Hons in Law and IT. He completed his Legal Practice Course at the University of Central Lancashire in 2008
James has been a Solicitor at Backhouse Jones since 2010, acting for clients in both an Employment and Commercial Litigation capacity. He is currently assisting in the RHA’s Truck Cartel Legal Action which has been issued in the Competition Appeal Tribunal “CAT”.
Laura Smith
Laura qualified as a Solicitor in 2012 having completed her training at Backhouse Jones. She attended Liverpool John Moores University where she was awarded LLB Hons in Law. She completed her Legal Practice Course at the University of Central Lancashire in 2010.
Laura has been a Solicitor at Backhouse Jones since 2012, acting for clients in both an Employment and Commercial Litigation capacity. She specialises in Employment law representing clients nationwide in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Heather Lunney
Heather qualified as a Solicitor in 2009 having completed her training at Brabners LLP. She attended Liverpool John Moores University where she was awarded her LLB Hons in Law and then completed her Legal Practice Course at the University of Central Lancashire in 2006.
Heather has been a Solicitor at Backhouse Jones since 2015, specialising in Employment law. She regularly represents clients in the Employment Tribunal and delivers employment training.
Stephanie Walkerdine
Stephanie started at Backhouse Jones in 2015 and qualified as a Solicitor with us in 2019. She handles a range of employment matters day to day, from drafting documents such as contracts of employment, handbooks and settlement agreements, as well as advising on various issues including disciplinary and grievance procedures, managing sickness absences, redundancies and TUPE matters. Stephanie also regularly acts on behalf of clients in cases which have been referred to Employment Tribunals, either from the early stages of drafting and filing of the ET3 response to the initial claim, often assisting clients right through to the ultimate full merits hearings. Stephanie regularly advocates in case management/preliminary hearings, as well as some full merits hearings.
Gabrielle Scriven
Gabrielle started at Backhouse Jones in 2019 after studying a Law degree at University. She worked closely with the Regulatory team which influenced her decision to study the LPC whilst working in the London Office. She became a qualified solicitor in 2023 and works within our Employment department.
Usually, the process of recovering a debt starts with a letter advising the individual or company debtor that if they do not settle their debt within a specified timescale, you will take action to recover what you are owed. If payment is not received, the specific circumstances particular to your situation will determine if and what further action is required. This could range from issuing proceedings, seeking judgment, issuing a statutory demand, insolvency proceedings and could also later require enforcement. The various options will be outlined to you upon initial instructions including an indication of the likely costs.
Another factor which determines the particular action to be taken is if the debt is disputed or undisputed.
If the debt is disputed, we can progress the recovery for you and would provide details of our costs to do this and the various options available to you upon initial instructions.
If the debt is undisputed, we can offer a fixed-fee option and the details of this are set out below.
The cost to issue a letter of claim will be £100 plus VAT at standard rate of 20% for claims up to the value of £10,000 and £250 plus VAT at standard rate of 20% for claims over the value of £10,000 and up to the value of £100,000. For any claim over the value of £100,000 a price will be provided upon request.
These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid debt which is not disputed, and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one-off letter is required), or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.
| Debt Value | Court fee | Our fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £300 | £35 | 10% of the value of the sum recovered
If Court Proceedings are issued between £50-60 depending on service of the Court papers (if more than one Defendant £15 extra per Defendant) If Judgment is entered £22-£55 depending on the stage at which Judgment is entered
|
£95 to £180 |
| Greater than £300 but no more than £500 | £50 | 10% of the value of the sum recovered
If Court Proceedings are issued between £50-£60 depending on service of the Court papers (if more than one Defendant £15 extra per Defendant) If Judgment is entered £22-£55 depending on the stage at which Judgment is entered
|
£153 to £215 |
| Greater than £500 but no more than £1000 | £70 | 10% of the value of the sum recovered
If Court Proceedings are issued between £70-£80 depending on service of the Court papers (if more than one Defendant 15.00 extra per Defendant) If Judgment is entered £22-£55 depending on the stage at which Judgment is entered
|
£213 to £262 |
| Greater than £1000 but no more than £1500 | £80 | 10% of the value of the sum recovered
If Court Proceedings are issued between £80-£90 depending on service of the Court papers (if more than one Defendant £15 extra per Defendant) If Judgment is entered £22-£55 depending on the stage at which Judgment is entered
|
£282 to £375 |
| Greater than £1500 but no more than £3000 | £115 | 10% of the value of the sum recovered
If Court Proceedings are issued between £80-£90 depending on service of the Court papers (if more than one Defendant £15 extra per Defendant) If Judgment is entered £22-£55 depending on the stage at which Judgment is entered
|
£367 to £560 |
| Greater than £3,000 but no more than £5,000 | £205 | 5% of the value of the sum recovered
If Court Proceedings are issued between £80-£90 depending on service of the Court papers (if more than one Defendant £15 extra per Defendant) If Judgment is entered £22-£55 depending on the stage at which Judgment is entered
|
£457 to £600 |
| Greater than £5,000 but no more than £10,000 | £455 | 3% of the value of the sum recovered
If Court Proceedings are issued between £100-£110 depending on service of the Court papers (if more than one Defendant £15 extra per Defendant) If Judgment is entered £30-£70 depending on the stage at which Judgment is entered
|
£735 to £935 |
| £10,001 – £100,000 | 5% value of the claim | 2% of the value of the sum recovered If Court Proceedings are issued £500- £750 depending upon the complexities of the claim If Judgment is entered £30-£70 depending on the stage at which Judgment is entered |
£1230 to £7,820 |
If you are a member of our BACKup scheme, you may be entitled to a discount on our hourly rates. Please enquire if you are interested in joining.
The key stages of the process depend on what type of action you choose to take. Below outlines the typical stages of us trying recover an undisputed debt where the debtor does not respond, which is a fairly common occurence.
In the event that judgment is not paid then we will contact you to discuss the enforcement options.
How long will my matter take?
Matters usually take between 3-12 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. Timescales are subject to change dependent on the level of response received from the defendant and the time taken by the Court to deal with correspondence. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.
Our team has over 30 years of collective experience in advising on commercial disputes, including debt recovery.
We have five members of the team who may work on your matter. Regardless of who works on your matter, they will be supervised by Steven Meyerhoff, Director of Backhouse Jones and head of the Commercial Litigation and Employment Department.
Steven Meyerhoff
Steven is a Director at Backhouse Jones and head of the Commercial Litigation and Employment team at Backhouse Jones. Steven qualified as a Solicitor in 2005 having completed his training contract at Backhouse Jones. He attended Liverpool John Moores University where he was awarded his Bachelors Degree in Maritime Business and Management with First Class Honours. He then attended the College of Law where he was awarded his Graduate Diploma of Law in Legal Practice and completed the Legal Practice Course in 2003.
Steven has been a Solicitor at Backhouse Jones since 2005, acting for clients in both an Employment and Commercial Litigation capacity. He is currently the lead Solicitor in the RHA’s Truck Cartel Legal Action which has been issued in the Competition Appeal Tribunal “CAT”. If granted, this will be the first action of its kind within the UK. Steven is also responsible for the supervision and development of the Trainees within the department
James Lomax
James qualified as a Solicitor in 2010 having completed his training at Backhouse Jones. He attended Leeds Metropolitan University where he was awarded his BA Hons in Law and IT. He completed his Legal Practice Course at the University of Central Lancashire in 2008
James has been a Solicitor at Backhouse Jones for since 2010, acting for clients in both an Employment and Commercial Litigation capacity. He is currently assisting in the RHA’s Truck Cartel Legal Action which has been issued in the Competition Appeal Tribunal “CAT”.
Libby Pritchard
Libby qualified as a Solicitor in 2012 and joined Backhouse Jones in 2015 as a member of the Commercial Litigation Team, specialising in Commercial Litigation.
Libby’s litigation experience spans 11 years as Libby worked as a fee earner whilst studying for the Legal Practice Course.
Libby covers a broad range of commercial disputes ranging from sales of goods, debt recovery, disputes with insurers due to refusal to indemnify, HM Revenue & Customs disputes, professional negligence claims and high value recoveries.
Ellie Kenyon
Ellie Kenyon started at Backhouse Jones in January 2016 as a paralegal in the road regulatory department, which was then followed by a successful two-year training contract. Ellie qualified in 2020. Ellie now works within the firm’s dispute resolution department and enjoys assisting a range of clients to resolve their commercial disputes.
Kai Leyland
Kai completed his legal course in 2021 then started as a Paralegal at Backhouse Jones in August 2021 in the Commercial Litigation team. Kai started his training contract in September 2022, then qualified as a solicitor in September 2024 into the Commercial Litigation team. Kai will be dealing with litigated civil matters and representing clients in a range of business-related disputes.
We represent both operators and drivers in numerous different types on prosecutions before the Magistrates Court. These cases can be with regards to driving in commercial vehicles, vans or cars. The types of offence that we can help you defend in the Magistrates Court include:
What will it cost?
When we represent you in the Magistrates court, we will often look to agree a fee with you. However, this fee can vary, depending on whether you plead ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’, the number of allegations that you face and the amount of evidence and witnesses involved.
Cases before the Magistrates Court are often concluded at the first hearing. This is when you attend court and plead guilty. If we have not agreed a fixed fee with you, our average costs for dealing with such a hearing – based on our senior solicitors’ standard charging rate of £400-£575 per hour and within one hour’s travel from our office – is £2,000 plus VAT at standard rate of 20% and travel disbursements. The cost of travel will be either the direct cost, such as a train fare, or if driving, a mileage charge (currently charged at 45p per mile plus VAT at standard rate of 20%).
The key stages of work in your matter and covered by the fee (based on the presumption that you have entered a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing) are as follows:
If additional work is required, and if we have not agreed a fixed fee with you, the extra work will be charged at our standard hourly rates. These range from £400 per hour to £575 per hour depending on the level of seniority of the solicitor involved. VAT at standard rate of 20% should also be added to these rates.
If additional expertise is required, such as instructing an independent expert for accident reconstruction purposes, a vehicle examination or independent tachograph analysis, further charges will also be applicable. These will be the costs charged by that expert to us. We will discuss these in detail with you before we instruct anybody to carry out this additional work.
VAT at standard rate of 20% will be charged at the current applicable rate. At the current time, this is 20%.
If you are a member of our BACKup scheme, you may be entitled to a discount on our costs including on our hourly rates. Please enquire if you are interested in becoming a member.
Experience and qualifications of those who will carry out the work
Our regulatory team, dealing with Magistrates Court prosecutions is made up of eight solicitors (with between 8 and 40 years post qualification experience). The team is supervised by Mark Davies who is the head of the team.
Mark Davies
Mark Davies is a director and solicitor at Backhouse Jones. He qualified in 2006 and specialises in road transport law covering goods and passenger carriage. His extensive experience involves dealing with Public Inquiries concerning matters such as maintenance, drivers’ hours, bus reliability and environmental objections in addition to serious transport related crime, for instance, Crown Court cases involving causing death by dangerous driving, manslaughter and health and safety prosecutions. Other types of road transport cases which Mark typically deals with include Inquests, police interviews evolving out of road traffic investigations or serious road traffic accidents.
Mark also provides advice to assist clients with compliance within the regulatory framework of operators licensing including advice regarding business structure. He is also head of Backhouse Jones’ road transport regulatory team.
John Heaton
John Heaton is a solicitor at Backhouse Jones who qualified in 1981. John specialises in road transport law (both prosecuting and defending), Magistrates Court and Crown Court advocacy, regulatory work before the Traffic Commissioners. He has been involved in many cases that have helped changed the way that the law is interpreted including Bird v Vehicle Inspectorate, case C235/94; Mahmood v Vehicle Inspectorate, 1988 (18WRTLB163, DC); Birkett & Naylor v Vehicle Inspectorate, (1998) RTR 264.
John writes articles and publications in legal journals and textbook on road transport and criminal law, and lectures and gives seminars in these areas.
Andrew Woolfall
Andrew is a director of Backhouse Jones. He qualified as a solicitor in 1993 and has been specialising in transport law since 1995. In 2011 he qualified as a Higher Courts Advocate in criminal proceedings.
Andrew specialises in representing clients in the Magistrates and Crown Courts as well as at Public Inquiries. He has also been involved in cases before the High Court and the House of Lords. He has acted for companies and individuals in relation to drugs and smuggling seizures on the continent and provides consultancy advice to companies on their internal systems for compliance with road transport law and operators licensing requirements. Andrew regularly writes articles for the transport press.
Charlotte Fowler
With initial experience in Insurance Litigation, Charlotte began her career with Backhouse Jones in 2018, qualifying as a Solicitor into the Regulatory department in November 2022.
Charlotte’s experience involves working with the senior regulatory team in the preparation of Public Inquires before the Traffic Commissioner and undertaking Operator Compliance Reviews with written reports detailing process recommendations. In addition to this, Charlotte deals with cases before the Magistrates Court and Crown Courts, particularly in relation to Section 172 offences.