Our civil litigation department is headed by Sarah Spence who has over 25 years’ experience of dealing with litigation claims and is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

Range of fixed fees for a business to business debt that is undisputed

Court Claims

These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed and enforcement action is not needed. If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one off letter is required), or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed.

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:

• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor.
• Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
• The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt.
• We request that outstanding debts are paid directly to you.

Our fee includes:

• Taking your instructions and reviewing documentation
• Sending a letter before action
• Receiving payment and sending onto you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing claim
• Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgement in default
• When Judgement in default in received, write to the other side to request payment
• If payment is not received within X days, providing you with advice on next steps and likely costs
• Our fee does not include undertaking any searches required

Matters usually take 2 – 3 months from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.

Sarah can advise you regarding the steps involved in issuing court proceedings and recovering monies. It may be possible to instruct us on a fixed fee basis depending on your requirements.

Please contact Sarah by email at sarah.spence@dodds-solicitors.co.uk or by telephone on 0116 262 8596 if you wish to discuss matters further.

Often clients who come and see us are going through difficult and stressful times trying to resolve disputes in respect of house ownership property or inheritance disputes so it is very satisfying to be able to help clients and help them find solutions to their legal problems.

Please see below the following comments recently made by clients

“At a difficult time your dedication and direction helped me to resolve the situation” Ms R Leicester

“I would like to commend Sarah Spence on her conduct she made a very upsetting case bearable” Miss O Leicester

“I was very happy with Mrs Spence’s advice and would certainly recommend her to my friends” Mrs W Leicester.

If you need any advice regarding house or inheritance disputes please contact Sarah Spence on 0116 2628596 or at sarah.spence@dodds-solicitors.co.uk. You can arrange an appointment for a face to face interview at a fixed cost of £72 including VAT which will be followed up with confirmation of the advice given in writing.

By contrast in the Autumn Statement late last year the Chancellor George Osborne announced that the right to claim for “minor” whiplash injuries would be removed within the next two years although at this stage the exact level of compensation which will be classed as minor is not known. Such a “minor” injury might involve someone perhaps needing a few days off work losing earnings and having to go to the hospital their GP and physiotherapy sessions.

Although I might have been annoyed at being delayed I wasn’t forced to take time off work or needing to take painkillers because I was in pain. I think that being injured in an accident would definitely have been worse than simply having a train cancelled.

At the moment it is still possible to claim following an accident if you have recently been involved in a road traffic accident or any other type of accident and need advice please contact Sarah Spence on 01162628596 or at sarah.spence@dodds-solicitors.co.uk

Despite the wind, snow and frost turning us blue, we will, as local Solicitors and Supporters of Leicester City, our local team, be putting a bit of blue in everything we do on Blue Friday although a suggestion of dressing as Smurfs may be going too far. No reds under the beds here!  We’re hoping that there will be a Blue Monday of celebration. Perhaps have a celebratory pizza at Peter Pizza (www.peterpizzeria.co.uk) and something stronger than blueberry juice. If it was good enough for Claudio and the boys it’s good enough for us. So let’s keep the faith, remain fearless and never quit!

In our Family Department we have a full team in itself with a major strike force of four of the Partners. Our Crime Team has ‘Premier Defenders’ to assist you, remember ‘in a cell give us a bell’. Our Property Department can help with complicated moves and sidesteps to avoid major pitfalls. If you may be permanently retiring from the beautiful game of life then our Wills and Probate Team are there to help you and your families. Long or short term injury then our personal injury specialist may be able to help.

Dodds – For All of Your Legal Needs.

To celebrate a dream season we will be offering 25% off all our fixed fee Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney to Foxes Supporters.

In the case of Chekov v Fryer and Fryer 2015 which was recently decided in the High Court two sons tried to challenge a claim brought by their step mother against their late father’s estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The circumstances were a little unusual as the dad and stepmother here had been married had then divorced and then got back together some time after their divorce. The stepmother claimed against the father’s estate on the basis that she had been cohabiting with the father however the sons claimed that the final order made in the divorce proceedings which said that neither party could claim against the other’s estate should apply. The High Court decided that in fact the step mother was entitled to make a claim.

If the father had stopped to consider the position then he would have been able to draw up a Will which could have provided for both his partner and his sons which could well have avoided costly litigation and provided certainty for the family involved.

If you would like to make a will to provide for your loved ones please contact Samantha Downs on 01162628596 or at samantha.downs@dodds-solicitors.co.uk

If a close relative or partner has died without making financial provision you may be able to make a claim in certain circumstances but there are very strict time limits so if you would like further advice please contact Sarah Spence on 01162628596 or at sarah.spence@dodds-solicitors.co.uk

Many people would be shocked to learn that if a couple live together in a property owned by only one of them that the person whose name is not on the house deeds might not be entitled to any share of the house if the couple spilt up.

It is a common assumption that if a couple live together for a set period of time they are then treated as a common law husband and wife. In fact this is not the case and even if a couple live together for many years this does not give them any particular rights in the event of them breaking up.

Whilst it may not seem very romantic there are certain steps which you could take to protect your position before moving in together such as instructing a solicitor to draw up a Living Together Agreement to confirm what would happen in the event of a separation.

It may also be a good idea to consider making a Will as again in the event of a person dying without making a Will if they are cohabiting there would be no automatic entitlement for their partner to receive anything.

Another point to consider is to how to arrange finances if a couple buy a house together. If one person puts in a large sum of money as a deposit then it is possible to instruct a solicitor to draw up a trust deed to ensure that when the property is sold the person who has paid in the large deposit gets that returned first before the proceeds of sale are divided between the parties.

Here at Dodds solicitors we can deal with any of the above matters for you.

To make a Will, please contact Samantha Downs on 0116-2628596 or by email at samantha.downs@dodds-solicitors.co.uk

When buying or selling a property, please contact our conveyancing team on 0116-2628596

To find out where you stand in relation to settling any disputes about property or if you would like a Living Together Agreement to be drawn up, please contact Sarah Spence on 0116-2628596 or by email at sarah.spence@dodds-solicitors.co.uk

Many people will have formed their impression of what Richard III may have been like from the famous Shakespeare play Richard III which portrays him as a villain.

Richard was a controversial figure both during his lifetime and afterwards. He lived in turbulent times where power often changed hands quickly and he took his chance to seize power in 1483 when he deposed the previous King Edward V who was his nephew. He imprisoned his nephews Edward V and Richard Duke of Gloucester in the Tower of London and they became known as “The Princes in the Tower”. As to whether he also murdered them there are a number of theories but no one can be sure.

However as the queues of people around Leicester waiting to get into the cathedral to pay their last respects are growing longer and longer you may be interested to learn that in fact during his short reign Richard III also brought in some important changes to the legal system to benefit ordinary people. He brought in the first legislation to standardize weights and measures to encourage trade.

He also set up the Court of Requests which allowed some poorer people who would not normally have had access to justice to petition the King directly which might be described as an early form of legal aid. At the time of his reign the laws of the land were written in either Latin or French which only the upper classes would have spoken. Richard had the laws of the land translated into English so that ordinary people could understand them.

Whilst laws and the legal system have changed quite a bit since 1485 when Richard III died, here at Dodds Solicitors we try to explain how the law might affect you and the different options available to you in straightforward language rather than using legal jargon. For all your personal legal matters please contact Dodds Solicitors on 0116-262 8596.