Civil Court Fees set to increase again
Despite Court fees having recently increased in May 2021, a further increase in Court fees have been proposed in a blow to Civil Court users.
Creditors seeking to recover debts will see an increase in application fees, hearing fees, enforcement fees and fees relating to insolvency proceedings. A full list of Civil Court fee increases are set out in the Government response from page 43.
Rob Thompson, the Chair of the Civil Court Users Association, stated:
“Unsurprisingly, the CCUA’s calls for a full review of the fee charging structure have again been refused and the latest increase will now be going ahead.
They (the Government) continue to essentially rely on their mantra that the service costs more than the fees which are generated. This is despite the fact that we have continually pointed out that based on their own figures, the civil courts actually generate a considerable profit at the court user’s expense.”
The Court Fee increase is blow to Creditors already facing cash flow issues due to non-payment of debts. In response to the Court fee increase, Michael Higgins, Managing Director of Chase Mckenzie, says:
“Creditors have been facing a raw deal for a long time. The Government have seen fit to increase Court fees twice in the matter of months but fixed recoverable costs for issuing Court proceedings have not seen an increase for over 20 years.
In addition, Civil Court users are funding the Court service but are faced with a poor service and long delays. This needs to change.”
The Statutory Instrument in relation to the increase of Court fees was laid before Parliament on Monday 6 September 2021. Subject to Parliamentary procedure, the Statutory Instrument will come into force at 00:01 on Thursday 30th September 2021. It will result in an immediate increase in 128 fees, covering civil, family, magistrates’ courts, and the Court of Protection.27 September 2021
