What it Costs...
Costs for Magistrates’ Court Driving Offences
If you are eligible for Legal Aid we will advise you of this and we can help you to apply. However, you are unlikely to be able to obtain Legal Aid for driving offences which are “summary only” – meaning that they can only be heard in the Magistrates’ Court. There are a range of summary only motoring offences, for example drink driving, speeding, driving without due care, or failing to stop at the scene of an accident.
Where Legal Aid is not available, we are usually able to agree a fixed fee with you at the start of your case, subject to an initial assessment to establish that your case is suitable. This will depend upon, for example, the complexity of the case and the nature of your plea.
Guilty Pleas:
If your case is suitable for a fixed fee, our fixed fees for summary only motoring offences (based on an average case of average complexity) are as follows:
- Attendance at a single hearing at a court local to our office £500 plus VAT at 20%
- Attendance at a single hearing at a court in excess of 30 mins travel from our office £750 plus VAT at 20%
The fixed fee includes:
- 2 hours attendance/preparation to consider evidence, take your instructions, and provide advice on likely sentence, plus
- Attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court
The fixed fee does not include:
- 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 any appeal
Key Stages:
The key stages of your matter are based on the presumption that you have already entered a guilty plea and have a date for your hearing. The key stages are as follows:
- Meet with your solicitor to provide instructions on what happened.
- We will consider initial disclosure and any other evidence, and provide advice.
- Arranging to take any witness statements if necessary (this will have an additional cost of £120 per hour plus VAT at 20%).
- We will explain the court procedure to you so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing, and the sentencing options available to the court.
- We will conduct further preparatory work, obtain further instructions from you if necessary and answer any follow up queries you have.
- We cannot provide a precise timescale for the hearing date, as this depends on the court listing for that day.
- We will attend court on the day and meet with you before going in to the courtroom. We anticipate being at court for half a day.
- We will discuss the outcome with you. If advice is required on appeal, this will carry an additional cost.
The fixed fee is payable in advance of any work being undertaken on your behalf. If
we represent you at your first hearing on a fixed fee basis as set out above, and your
case is then adjourned by the Court to another date, for example, for a sentence
hearing, a trial or a special reasons/exceptional hardship argument and mitigation,
our normal hourly rate would apply for the subsequent hearing as follows:
Our hourly rates for summary only driving offences are as follows:
- Solicitor/Experienced Paralegal – £120 per hour plus VAT at 20%
Trials:
In cases where a Not Guilty plea has been entered and the case adjourned for trial,
the hourly rate above will apply. No two trials are the same and therefore it is very
difficult to provide a set estimate of costs. However, for an average case of average
complexity the typical costs would be in the region of between £1000 and £2000 plus
VAT at 20%.
Disbursements:
On occasions there may be additional costs, such as the cost of a third party/ expert
required to assist with your case. These are known as disbursements. A typical
example of this might be a back calculation report in a drink driving case where you
intend to defend your case on the basis that alcohol had been consumed after and
not before driving. We have access to the most experienced experts in the field and
can gain competitive prices for their expert opinion. Experts reports in motoring
cases generally cost in the region of between £500 and £1,500 plus VAT at 20%.
Expenses may also be incurred. Experts fees are payable to the expert in advance
of them carrying out any work for you. We promise that no additional fees will ever
be incurred by us on your behalf without your express approval in advance.
How long will my case take?
In guilty plea cases, the average timescale is less than 3 months, but this will depend on the court date which is set by the court for the final hearing.
In not guilty plea cases, the average timescale is between 3 and 6 months, and again depends on the availability of court time to list your trial.
Each case and each court is individual, and we can advise you further during your consultation with us.
Who will work on my case?
Our motoring offence work is supervised by Daniel Frazer who leads our Magistrates’ Court Department. Court advocacy will be provided by our specialist solicitors, and attendance / preparation will be undertaken by our specialist solicitors or experienced paralegals depending on the complexity of your case. Specific experience and qualifications can be viewed on our individual team member profiles.
Please note that every case is different. Should you wish to discuss a fixed fee and
the option is not outlined above, we would be happy to consider this on a case by
case basis.
For more information please contact our Driving Offences experts on 01254 274 700,
or email info@fmbsolicitors.co.uk