Lessen the burden of ratepayers already in difficulty. Councils and Ratepayers benefit from substantially reduced overdue rates collection costs.
As announced in the latest issue of CM Magazine for Council Managers, Linton Pitt Lawyers are offering NSW Councils an overdue rate collection service that greatly lessens the additional burden of solicitor’s fees on overdue ratepayers. Developed under an innovative new process for collecting outstanding rates, developed with our parent company The ARMS Group Pty Limited, the system has approval from Local Government Procurement.
Both councils and defaulting ratepayers will be better off under the system that guarantees a 60% discount on scale costs that currently are born initially by the council and subsequently passed to the debtor.
We can provide debt collection services from the initial contact right through the litigation process. Our aim is to ensure all your ratepayers and customers have their accounts settled in a professional manner protecting the council’s good name and rehabilitating your customers to current payers. For those under hardship, our hardship team will professionally manage the accounts under the terms of Council’s guidelines.
Following is a schedule of our discounted fee structure with no solicitor’s fees billed to you, only collected from successful payment of a matter.
Please feel free to contact Jeffery Joseph or myself to discuss how we may be able to assist you to reduce the collection cost to your ratepayers.
A. Recovery of Council and Water Rates
- Court disbursements to be paid as incurred.
- We discount the professional fees payable by your ratepayers to 40% of scale fees and will defer the solicitor’s fees incurred in any undefended litigation commenced pursuant to this tender. Our recovery will be from payments made by your ratepayers.
The court scales set varying amounts for costs, depending on the amount of the claim. The table below sets out the scale costs, what we propose to charge and an estimate of associated disbursements:
Statement of Claim
| Amount of Claim | Current Scale Fee | Our deferred Charges | Estimated Disbursements |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0-1,000 | $233.60+GST | $93.44 +GST | Filing Fee $172.00 Service Fee $36.00 |
| $1,001-$5,000 | $350.40+GST | $140.16+GST | Filing Fee $172.00 Service Fee $36.00 |
| $5,001-$10,000 | $467.20+GST | $186.88+GST | Filing Fee $172.00 Service Fee $36.00 |
| $10,001-$20,000 | $467.20+GST | $186.88+GST | Filing Fee $424.00 Service Fee $36.00 |
| $20,001- $100,000 | $584.00+GST | $233.60+GST | Filing Fee $424.00 Service Fee $36.00 |
Default Judgment
| Amount of Claim | Current Scale Fee | Our deferred Charges | Estimated Disbursements |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0-1,000 | $105.20+GST | $42.08+GST | |
| $1,001-$5,000 | $157.80+GST | $63.12+GST | |
| $5,001-$20,000 | $210.40+GST | $84.16+GST | |
| $20,000- $100,000 | $263.00+GST | $78.90+GST |
Writ
| Amount of Claim | Current Scale Fee | Our deferred Charges | Estimated Disbursements |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.00-$100,000 | $235+GST | $105.20+GST | Filing Fee $72.00 |
Garnishee Order
| Amount of Claim | Current Scale Fee | Our deferred Charges | Estimated Disbursements |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.00-$100,000 | $Nil.00 | $Nil.00 | Service Fee $60.00 |
Examination of Debtor
| Amount of Claim | Current Scale Fee | Our deferred Charges | Estimated Disbursements |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.00-$100,000 | $348.00+GST | $139.20 | Filing fee $74.00 Agent Fee $150.00 |
Where there is no recovery made from the debtor, the council will only be charged for disbursements incurred.
Where recovery is made 40% of the scale costs of the litigation proceedings, as shown above, will be deducted from amounts recovered from ratepayers.
Where work is done that is not provided for in the above scales (for example winding up or bankruptcy matters) we will provide you with an estimate for the costs associated with that work on a file by file basis and obtain your approval prior to proceedings.
Where debt recovery files become defended, the associated costs will be subject to individual agreements and we will send you an agreement setting out how our costs will be calculated for each of those matters as they arise. Usually costs will be calculated at an hourly rate of $280 per hour.
