Fee and Disbursement Charges
For a fraction of the usual costs, your McKenzie Friend can help to prepare for your court appearance and support you there; advising on points of law, raising issues and questioning witnesses (where permitted).
However, for many people we help, the motivation is not mainly financial, but a desire to be in complete control of their case.
We help you to prepare your case, most of which can be done by email and phone and we will do as much or as little as you need us to.
Free Initial Consultation
Our initial consultation with you will always be free, usually this will be by telephone or video call. The initial consultation usually lasts up to 30 minutes but can be longer if required.
Call us today on 0333 090 9383 or fill in the contact form and our team will get in touch to arrange your free consultation.
Book Your Free Consultation
No-Nonsense Pricing
Our pricing model is straightforward.
After our initial free of charge consultation, for work we do ‘on your file’, in court, meetings with professionals or with you, we charge £75 per hour exclusive of VAT known as the “Retainer Fee”. The time charged will include advise to you after reading the file papers and attendance at any digital or face to face hearings as agreed by the court or tribunal.
Our minimum Retainer Fee at the early investigative and preparatory stage at the time of being instructed is £375.00 plus VAT on account, this amount represents our best estimate of the time required at this early stage and may increase depending on the amount of work required to service your case.
In addition to the hourly rate, we charge travel and other expenses at cost plus £25 per hour for travel time. (So if we travel for two hours and use a train costing £11.50 we would charge you £50 + £11.50 = £61.50). If we travel by private car, we charge mileage at 25p per mile.
We think our charges are very reasonable when you consider a solicitor might typically charge from £150 to £300 per hour with administrative rates typically being around £100 per hour.
All times are calculated rounded up to the nearest six minutes, each six minutes represent a unit fee time charged at £7.50 and there are 10 units in each hour, so if it takes us 60 minutes to prepare a letter you will be charged for 10 units equating to £75.
We do not normally charge for trivial items, like a brief phone call to confirm arrangements (“Just checking I’ll see you in court tomorrow at 11 am”, “Yes”). This is so you can have the peace of mind without having to worry about running up charges.
All prices quoted are exclusive of VAT
Disbursements
If we become aware that further disbursements will be necessary, we will discuss these with you.
Payment Arrangements
All payments are made upfront and on account. Please note we are unable to work in arrears.
It is agreed that you will pay £375.00 plus VAT on account for up to 5 hours of fee time. If the matter is concluded within the payment on account of 5 hours, the balance will be reimbursed to you.
Payments can be made securely via Debit or Credit card, or via BACS transfer.
At any point should you have any queries regarding your fees please do not hesitate to contact us.
