For most unpaid invoices under £10,000, the cheapest route to legal action is to send a letter before claim yourself and then issue a small claim online, where the court fee runs from £35 to £455 and gets added to what the customer owes. A solicitor's own fees are largely unrecoverable on the small claims track, so they tend to make sense only for larger or contested debts. An online regulated law firm or a debt collection agency sits in between, depending on how much of the work you want to hand over.
In this article
The short version
- The court fee for a small claim up to £10,000 runs from £35 to £455, and you add it to the claim.
- On the small claims track, most of a solicitor's bill stays with you even if you win.
- On a business invoice you can add statutory interest and £40, £70 or £100 of fixed compensation.
- Send a letter before claim first: 14 days for a company, 30 days for an individual or sole trader.
- Check the customer can pay and the work isn't disputed before you spend anything.
The four routes compared
Once reminders, a phone call and a final notice haven't moved an invoice, you're choosing who does the formal work and how much of it you'll pay for. The court fee is the same whoever issues the claim, but the cost of the work around it varies a lot, and so does how much of it you can get back.
| Route | What you pay | What you can get back | Your effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself | Court fee of £35 to £455 for claims up to £10,000, plus a hearing fee if it's defended | Court fees and limited expenses, if you win and the customer pays | Highest: you write the letter, file the claim and attend any hearing |
| Solicitor | Hourly rates or a fixed fee, plus court fees | Court fees and a small fixed amount for issuing the claim; most of the solicitor's bill stays with you on small claims | Low |
| Debt collection agency | Usually commission on what's recovered, plus legal costs if a claim is needed | Depends on the agreement and whether the customer pays | Low, but the agency speaks for you |
| Online regulated law firm | The firm's own charges, plus court fees | Court fees and fixed costs, as with a solicitor | Low to medium: you approve each step |
Doing it yourself is the cheapest in cash, and the small claims process is built for people without a lawyer. If you instruct a solicitor, the court can usually award only fixed issue costs of between £50 and £110 towards their bill, so on a £3,000 claim most of what you pay them is a cost you won't recover.
A newer option is an online law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority that uses AI to prepare the letter before action and the claim, with a solicitor accountable for its work. Garfield.Law, the first firm of this kind the SRA authorised, focuses on helping businesses recover unpaid debts through the small claims process. Adfin's escalations can hand a very overdue invoice to Garfield.Law, Adfin's partner law firm, passing over the customer, invoice and reminder history so you don't have to put the file together. You connect your own Garfield account, you stay the claimant, and Adfin doesn't take legal action itself or act as a debt collection agency.
What you can add to the debt
If your customer is a business, you can add statutory interest and fixed compensation unless your contract sets its own late payment terms. Interest is 8% above the Bank of England base rate, which is 11.75% a year for invoices falling overdue between 1 July and 31 December 2026. Fixed compensation is £40 on a debt under £1,000, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99 and £100 on £10,000 or more, and you can also claim reasonable recovery costs above that.
Say a business owes you £4,000 and the invoice is 60 days overdue. Interest comes to £77.26 and compensation is £70, so you'd claim £4,147.26. That falls in the £3,000.01 to £5,000 band, so the court fee is £205, which goes on top of the claim. If the customer defends and it goes to a hearing, there's a further hearing fee of £346 at that size.
If your contract has its own interest rate, you claim that instead of the statutory rate. Individual customers aren't covered by the statutory scheme, so you can only add interest your terms allow.
From letter before claim to getting paid
Before you issue a claim, the court expects a letter before claim. A company usually gets 14 days to reply in a straightforward case. An individual or sole trader gets 30 days under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, and the letter needs a statement of account, an information sheet, a reply form and a financial statement form.
If the deadline passes without payment, you can issue the claim online through Money Claim Online for claims under £100,000, and the fee is worked out for you. If the customer doesn't respond in time, you can ask for judgment without a hearing. A judgment is an order to pay, not the money itself, so if they still don't pay you may need enforcement: a warrant of control costs £96, and an attachment of earnings order, a third-party debt order or a charging order costs £139 each.
When legal action isn't worth it
A claim works best against a solvent customer who owes an undisputed sum. Before you spend anything, it helps to check a few points.
Check whether the customer can pay. A company's status and filed accounts are on Companies House at no cost. If it's in administration, being wound up or about to be struck off, a judgment is unlikely to get you paid.
Check whether the work is disputed. If your customer raised a complaint you never answered, deal with it first, because it's likely to come up as their defence, and a judge may see the claim differently.
Check whether the amount justifies your time. On a £200 invoice the court fee is only £35, but a defended claim can still take hours of your time. Sometimes a payment plan, a small discount for settling now or writing the debt off is the better use of your week.
Related guides
- How to write a final notice for an unpaid invoice (with template wording)
- Letter before action: what to send and when
- Taking an unpaid invoice to the small claims court
- Using a debt collection agency: when it is worth it
- UK late payment rules: a complete guide
Common questions
How much does it cost to take someone to small claims court for an unpaid invoice? The court fee to issue the claim runs from £35 for claims up to £300 to £455 for claims between £5,000.01 and £10,000. A hearing fee of £27 to £346 applies if the claim is defended.
Can I get my legal costs back if I win? On the small claims track you can usually recover court fees, a small fixed amount for issuing the claim and limited expenses, but not most of what you paid a solicitor.
Do I need a solicitor to make a small claim? No. The small claims track is designed for people to run their own claims, and most invoice claims can be made online.
How long does a customer get to reply to a letter before claim? A business usually gets 14 days in a straightforward case. An individual or sole trader gets 30 days under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.
Can I add interest to the amount I claim? On a business invoice you can add statutory interest of 8% above base rate and fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100, unless your contract sets its own terms.
Does Adfin take legal action on my behalf? No. Adfin can hand a very overdue invoice to Garfield.Law, its partner law firm, or back to you, and you remain the claimant.
Sources
- GOV.UK - Make a court claim for money: court fees (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/fees
- GOV.UK - Civil court fees (EX50) (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fees-in-the-civil-and-family-courts-main-fees-ex50/civil-court-fees-ex50
- Ministry of Justice - Practice Direction 45: fixed costs (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part45-fixed-costs/practice-direction-45-fixed-costs
- GOV.UK - Late commercial payments: claim debt recovery costs (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/claim-debt-recovery-costs
- Solicitors Regulation Authority - SRA approves first AI-driven law firm (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.sra.org.uk/garfield-ai
