Leaflet EX50 sets out the new fees to be paid in the Civil Courts. It is, of course, in these courts that disputes between parties are litigated.
The majority of claims are small claims and so the percentage fee model does not affect the cost of issuing a claim at court. The amount to be paid in these small claims is given below.
Current fees are as follows:
| Value of claim | Cost of issue at court    | Cost of issue online at Money Claim Online |
| Up to £300 | £35 | £35 |
| £300-£500 | £50 | £35 |
| £500-£100 | £70 | £60 |
| £1000-£1500 | £80 | £70 |
| £1500-£3000 | £115 | £105 |
| £3000-£5000 | £205 | £185 |
| £5000-£10000 | £455 | £410 |
Source: HM Courts and Tribunal Service
Clearly, it costs less to issue a claim through the online portal compared to issue at the court.
However, there has been a sharp increase in the cost of issuing any claim over £10,000. This applies to claims other than small claims. (NB, the value of the claim includes any amount of interest that a person bringing a claim has asked for on the claim form).
For claims between £10,000 and £100,000, the fee is now 5% of the value of the claim where a claim is issued at court and 4.5% of the value where a claim is issued online.
For example, a person claiming £20,000 from a defendant, will pay an issue fee of £1000 to issue with the court, and £900 to issue online.
Claims of higher value cannot be issued online and the fee is 5% for claims of £100,000-£200,000.
For all claims over £200,000, the maximum issue fee is £10,000.
Claims which are not for money still have issue fees (see leaflet EX50). Court fees can be paid by credit/debit card or by cheque payable to HMCTS. Failure to pay the issue fee means the claim won’t be issued. Additional fees must be paid for the hearing and any other applications made – these are paid later in the process.
Those who are genuinely in financial hardship and in receipt of certain benefits may qualify for a fee exemption and will not need to pay an issue fee. For more information, read leaflet Ex60 Application for a fee remission.
There has been much discussion over whether or not it is correct to raise issue fees, and potentially it results in an unfair system where a dispute can only be resolved where a person can afford to do so.
Court fees are regularly reviewed, so always check the correct fee is being sent with any claim issued.
Suzanne Alexander
Lecturer in Civil Litigation
DISCLAIMER: This article should not be regarded as constituting legal advice in relation to particular circumstances. This article is merely a general comment on the relevant topic.Â