CCR2 Litigation


The calculation of High Court fees


The industry is now working under a new fee structure, but it still leaves some elements open to interpretation


Michael Jackson Director of High Court services, Marston Group Michael.Jackson @marstonholdings.co.uk


One of the questions I am often asked is how High Court fees are calculated. Sometimes, the fees from one High Court enforcement officer can be different from another, even though they are at the same stages of enforcement. We apply fees in the spirit of the regulations and encourage a defined break between the appliance of enforcement stage one and enforcement stage two fees.


The regulations The fees are calculated in accordance with the regulations that were implemented in 2014, under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act. This introduced statutory fees for each enforcement stage to increase transparency and provide consistency. The principle behind the approach was


that a judgment debtor should be given every opportunity to pay, and benefit from paying a lower fee as a result of earlier engagement. Also the fees reflected the work required of a High Court enforcement officer in securing payments – the more work required, the greater the costs incurred in enforcement, and the greater the fees. In High Court, there are four stages of fees: l Compliance stage. l Enforcement stage one. l Enforcement stage two. l Sale or disposal stage.


This introduced statutory fees for each enforcement stage to increase transparency and provide consistency


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Compliance stage and enforcement stage one This is the process in all cases; a significant number of cases are being paid at either the compliance stage, which attracts a £75 fee, or at enforcement stage one. In High Court, we also have enforcement


stage two and a sale or disposal stage. What are these stages and how do the fees apply? The application of fees at compliance stage


and enforcement stage one are clear, with timescales, but enforcement stage two and the sale or disposal stage are action-focused, and so are open to interpretation. It is this interpretation that at times can seem unclear.


Enforcement stage two The regulations under the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 6 (1) (c) (i) (ii) states that enforcement stage two applies when the enforcement agent and the judgment debtor do not enter a controlled goods agreement, or when they enter into a controlled goods agreement but the judgment debtor breaches the agreement. The sale or disposal stage applies when a


removal or intended removal commences (6 (1) (d)). The appliance of enforcement-stage-two


fees can be a little ambiguous in terms of the gap between enforcement stages one and two, where no controlled goods agreement exists. If the spirit is followed, then a gap should exist between the stages – as a result of either an action or time period – and it is this area where confusion can arise. If the matter is paid on, or during, the


first visit, then ordinarily only the fee for enforcement stage one should apply.


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Sale or disposal stage The application of sale or disposal stage fees is clearer and can only apply when appropriate action is taken to proceed; either by securing the premises or removing goods, in which case some evidence of the action taken should exist. What is clear is that it is not sufficient to


simply say that a stage has been reached where there are no goods available to remove, or the goods are of an insufficient value to justify removal. A threat of removal does not provide sufficient evidence of the action to warrant the fee being applied. Whilst different interpretations of the


application of the stages may exist, it is important to question and ask for an explanation, when the fees appear unclear, as to how they have been applied. The regulations, introduced in 2014,


encouraged a clear break between the application of enforcement-stage-one and enforcement-stage-two fees. We ensure this method is followed in our own fee structure. CCR2


January 2017


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