Introduction
We believe in ensuring quality in our services and aim to ensure that the funding of your case is cost-efficient and entirely transparent. We thrive in providing you with dedication to your case but we understand that the costs of your case will be important to you and to those involved in your case. It is important that you are fully aware of how much you will need to pay. We will always agree costs in advance of any particular case once we have had an opportunity to assess the issues and the level of work and assistance required. We will take time to agree the costs with you by understanding you, your case and the work involved. However, in accordance with the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Transparency Rules and in order to provide a good estimate of the sort of level of fee you will pay (whether that be an agreed fee or a range of the costs involved in a typical case) if you were to instruct us, we have set out on our website a breakdown of our standard charges for this type of work. There may be other costs that you would need to pay over and above our fees and we aim to provide information of those in addition. Our aim is to enable you to have a good understanding of what it may cost you overall.
Set out below is service and cost information for advice and representation at the Magistrates Court in relation to summary only road traffic offences dealt with at a single hearing.
You may also have the benefit of other sources of funding such as legal expenses insurance or funding through a trade union or other representative. Please do not hesitate to contact us to explore your options.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
VAT @ 20% has to be added to our fees and some disbursements.
Who provides the service?
This work is undertaken by Peter Buckley who is a Solicitor and head of our Motoring Department. Peter has worked at Abbey Solicitors for a number of years having previously been a Senior Crown Court Prosecutor, he has a vast knowledge of experience in motoring law on behalf of both the prosecution and the defence. He specialises in defence of motoring offences as he has an appetite for this technical, and often complex area of law.
Peter’s knowledge of road traffic law is extensive, and he has the ability to advise clients in a calm and practical manner. Due to his experience with the Crown Prosecution Service, Peter has a considerable insight into Police and Crown Prosecution Service procedure, which he has used to his advantage when representing clients, especially when making representations to the Crown Prosecution Service to withdraw a trial hearing.
All of our motor law cases begin with a free triage with a solicitor via telephone. We will advise you as to the merits of your case and give you an honest appraisal based on the information provided. We will not advise you to pursue any case which does not have merits. All work will be completed by an experienced, qualified, solicitor.
At Abbey Solicitors, we understand that clients want an open and transparent fee structure without the hidden extras. We don’t have different fees for different matters as we don’t want to overcomplicate it.
Most cases complete after one hearing. We, therefore, charge a set fee which includes considering evidence, preparation, attendances upon you and any witnesses, advocacy at one hearing, letters and phone calls. We will provide you with advice in relation to plea and likely sentence. Where you cannot anticipate the likely sentence, advice on the options available to the court in relation to sentencing. Where appropriate, advice on whether an exceptional hardship or special reasons argument should be made. If there is a second hearing we charge a reduced fee for our attendance. We don’t charge any additional fee for travel, mileage, car parks for the hearings which take place in Greater Manchester. If the hearing is outside of that area we may charge expenses. If an expert report/court fee is required the cost is added as it is a disbursement of the case. We would advise on this and would only recommend if it added value to the case, for example deploying a crash investigation expert.
If your case is dealt with in the Magistrates Court:-
Basis of our fees – This work is charged at fixed rates.
For matters which are dealt with at a single hearing in the Magistrates Court, our fees are £750 plus VAT @ 20% (£200) (total £1,200) for a guilty plea hearing. For a not guilty trial, the fee is £2500 plus VAT (total £3000) and for any adjourned or extra hearings, the fee will be £350 plus VAT (£420).
We require a payment of at least half fees at the start of the case. If you choose to split the payment, the second and final payment is due 7 days before the hearing date.
Services included in the fee quoted
- attending you to take instructions either at the office or court
- considering evidence
- providing advice in relation to plea and likely sentence
- where we cannot anticipate the likely sentence, advice on the options available to the court in relation to sentencing
- where appropriate, advice on whether an exceptional hardship, or special reasons argument should be made
- where appropriate, making Written Representations to the Prosecution
- full preparation for the Hearing, including preparing your Full Mitigation
- attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates’ Court.
For hearings in areas in close proximity to our offices, we would generally attend the hearing ourselves but for cases in courts further away we may use counsel. Counsel’s fees are included in the quoted fee above.
Services not included in the fees quoted.
On most occasions where you are entering a guilty plea, the matter will be dealt with at a single hearing. If you plead not guilty or there are any circumstances which mean that the matter is adjourned, set down for a longer hearing or trial, this will usually require assistance at hourly rates (see below). In particular, the fixed fee quoted does not cover the following services:
- any trial and preparation for trial
- instruction of any expert witnesses
- taking statements from any witnesses
- advice and assistance in relation to a special reasons hearing
- advice and assistance in relation to an exceptional hardship hearing
- any additional hearings
- If you are unhappy with the outcome, the cost of challenging a decision or consideration of your options.
Any services which are not included in our fixed fee will be charged at our hourly rate which ranges from £180 ((plus VAT @ 20% = £36) (total £216)) to £250 ((plus VAT @ 20% = £50) (total £300)) per hour and we will discuss this with you should it become necessary and provide a bespoke quote depending on your circumstances.
Expenses and Disbursements not included in the fee quoted
Expenses and disbursements could include:
- interpreters fees at £30 plus VAT @ 20% (£6) (total fee £36) per hour if needed
- translation of documents at £30 plus VAT @ 20% (£6) (total fee £36) per hour if needed. It is not possible to predict the cost of these as this varies according to the particular circumstances.
- travel costs to the Court – there will be additional disbursements in respect of our mileage/travel expenses based upon a rate of £0.45 per mile or second class public transport (plus VAT @ 20%)
- if we need to stay overnight then hotel accommodation may be chargeable (amounts subject to VAT @ 20%) but we would try and avoid there where possible.
Key stages
The key stages will depend on the particular circumstances of the case but on the presumption that you have entered a guilty plea and have a date set for your hearing and the matter will be dealt with conclusively at the hearing, they will include:
- your attending us to provide your instructions
- our consideration of initial disclosure, any other evidence and provision of advice
- explaining to you the court procedure so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing
- explaining the sentencing options available to the court
- attending court on the day and representing you – this usually needs us to attend for up to half a day as there will be some waiting time
- discussing the implications of the outcome with you but this does not include advising on options to appeal.
Typical timeframes – how long will the process take?
In cases where a case is dealt with at a single hearing the whole case is usually completed within six months from the date of the offence. However, each case is different and we cannot provide a precise timescale of how long each key stage will take or when hearings will take place, as this depends on many factors such as the complexity of the matter and court listings.
We should be able to give you a more accurate idea of timescale when we’ve more details about your case.