Yes we do.
We know some providers don’t because of the extra work involved in calculating invoices and waiting for payment. It doesn’t bother us at all- it just means that we need to know whether an instruction is legally aided or not.
This is a question we ask on our online instruction form.
We charge out at the current legal aid rates.
We charge £95 + VAT, per individual.
Where matters are publicly funded, we’ll charge out at the current Legal Aid Agency Rates.
The attendance at the local police station isn’t included in the price. We’ll have to prepare a Statement for the Police confirming that the Order has been served and then drop this off at the local police station when its next open. Where we are charging on a fixed fee, we will charge an additional £15 + VAT for this. If this is a publicly funded instruction, we’ll provide a detailed account of this element in our invoice.
So, for fixed fee cases, this instruction will cost £110 + VAT.
Its worth checking to make sure you need to provide a copy of the Order to the Police as sometimes they might already have been provided with it. If you need to discuss your service requirements in a bit more detail. Please get in touch.
For our fixed fee assignments, we don’t charge on a per visit basis. We make as many visits as is necessary to complete our assignment. Where our assignment is publicly funded, we have to charge on a per visit basis, in line with the current Legal Aid regulations.
We might conclude that the subject (the person we are trying to serve) can’t be served at that address. If this is the case, we will contact you to discuss the next steps.
In all cases, we will provide a proof of service and we don’t eharge extra for this. Its all included in the price.
Most of our work is undertaken on a fixed fee as it makes it easier for everyone involved.
What you’ll pay depends upon what you need us to do. As not every instruction is the same we can discuss your requirements and the fee in more detail. Just get in touch.
We’ll need to serve at least 4 things:
- The Divorce Petition. This is usually a two page document that covers what you are applying for; some information about the marraige and the contact details and addresses for both parties.
- The Notice of Proceedings. This is also a two page document that looks a bit like a letter to your ex partner. It confirms that the divorce has been requested and provides information to allow them to go online and respond to the Petition.
- The Acknowledgment of Service. This is the form that your ex-partner will need to complete and return to Court if they dont want to respond online. If they choose to complete the paper form and post it back to Court, they will need to send this and the Unique Reference Number.
- The Unique Reference Number. This is a one page document. Your ex partner will need to send this back with the Acknowledgement of Service if they do not want to respond to the Divorce Petition online.
You can request these documents from the Court by email.
You can find out more information on our serving my divorce petition help guide.
Yes we can. Its best to call us before and discuss your requirements.
Some Courts, especially since the Covid pandemic, have restricted or closed their counter services which makes it very difficult to attend and collect documents.
We would recommend discussing with the Court the best way of making the documents available.
In most cases, we charge extra for collecting the documents from Court. How much depends on which Court we need to attend at.
For our fixed fee instructions, we charge £95 + VAT per service at a particular address.
We provide a discount where an instruction provides for service upon several individuals or at several addresses. This will be agreed at the point of instruction and before we start work.
For publicly funded cases we charge on an hourly basis for the work that we do at the current process server hourly rates. Our charges are in line with the current expert witness guidance for legal aid.
For documents relating to foreign proceedings, we charge £150 per service on an individual. Whether we need to charge extra depends on whether the documents need notarising or if there are any non standard arrangements with respect to service (such as having a witness attend). We will also need to use a courier service to get the proof of service back to you.
Notarising
If the proof of service needs notarising, which is often the case where the documents relate to proceedings issued outside of the UK, we will pass on the cost of the notary public (currently £95).
Please check if documents require notarising before instructing us.
Witness Attendance
If the instructions requires a witness to attend (such as some documents relating to proceedings issued under Scots law), we charge an extra £45 for this. Again, please check if service requires a witness to attend.
Getting the documents to me after service
We would always recommend using a reputable international courier to handle to delivery of the documents back to you– especially where the documents are notarised. We usually pass the cost of the courier on to you. We’ll be able to provide a quote for this at the start of our instruction, if its required.
We’d be happy to discuss your specific requirements relating to service. Please get in touch.
Serving documents quickly is crucial in some cases.
We take action on all instructions we receive within 24 hours of receipt of the documents. The general rule is that if we receive all of the documents quickly, we can complete the serve quickly.
In the majority of case (55% at the last count), we have been able to serve documents successfully within 24 hours. Our current average is 19 hours (as at August 2021) from receipt of the documents. Our target is to conclude all instructions within 4 working days.
Most of the time, our speed depends on whether the subject (the person we are trying to serve) is prepared to answer the door! There may be other factors to consider also, such as the subjects’ working patterns which will determine whether they are present at the address in the first place.
We would always suggest a discussion to confirm the best approach if there is an urgent requirement for your service. You can get in touch below.
Past experience has taught us that the most expedient way of getting documents from the UK is by reputable international courier. Whilst this is usually more expensive (in some cases its more than we charge for serving the documents in the first place!), its the most secure and, by far, the quickest.
We will pass the cost of the courier service on to you and can provide you with the cost of this before we start work.
We’ve served documents relating to legal jurisdictions all over the world. We will be able to provide an indication of how much an assignment will cost. Please get in touch if you want to discuss your requirements further.
We’re based in Boston, Lincolnshire, but we serve process all over the country.
We are able to offer urgent and same day service anywhere in the Greater Lincolnshire area (and a bit of Nottinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk!).
If you want to think of it in terms of postcodes:
Postcode Area | Localities |
---|---|
DN | Barton Upon Humber, Brigg, Cleethorpes, Crowle, Epworth, Gainsborough, Grimsby, Kirton in Lindsey, Scunthorpe, Winterton, Doncaster, Retford |
LN | Caistor, Horncastle, Lincoln, Louth, Mablethorpe, Market Rasen, Woodhall Spa, Wragby |
PE | Peterborough, Crowland, Boston, Bourne, Holbeach, Hunstanton, Kings Lynn, Market Deeping, Skegness, Spalding, Stamford, Sutton Bridge, Wisbech |
NG | Grantham, Newark, Sleaford |
LE | Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, Oakham |
Whilst it’s rare that people we’re serving don’t accept the documents, its often a concern that they will present as evasive or aggressive when we are carrying out the instruction. We’ll usually ask for information relating to the subject (the person we are serving) as part of our assignment. This is to assist us in trying to establish that the subject is present before we make out initial approach.
We always conduct ourselves with professionalism and sensitivity as we are effectively representing our client as their agent. This requires us to have a deep understanding of the process and effect of the documents we are serving. Fortunately, we have acquired this over 25 years of working in the industry.
Where subjects do start behaving in a manner that’s aggressive, we work diligently to defuse the emotion associated with the visit.
It’s always our preferred outcome to personally serve the documents, but, depending on the documents themselves, it might not actually be a requirement that the subject has to accept the documents from us.
We can advise you on the best approach and would be happy to talk through specific requirements in cases where its expected that the subject may be difficult to serve. Just click on the button below to get in touch.
In situations where the subject isn’t where you thought they were, we offer a tracing service.
You can instruct us via a number of ways.
You can instruct us using the ‘Instruct Us’ page of our website. You can upload documents securely through this portal.
You can also instruct us using the live chat feature (in the bottom right of the website). This allows you to talk to us about the case and upload the documents securely.
You can instruct us by email – hello@lincsprocess.co.uk
Alternatively, you can get in touch by phone on 01526 269110 or 07824 594055 and talk to us about how we can help.
Yes we are.
We carry professional indemnity insurance which covers us for the work we do. The limit on this cover is currently for £500,000.00 and we renew this in February each year.
Our partners’ brand reputation is very important to us and so our responsibilities must be aligned with theirs, particularly in relation to how we manage matters when they go wrong.