Charge-out rates
| Grade | Charge-out rate (£ per hour) | September 15 |
|---|---|---|
| Partner - appointment taker | £350 | £375 |
| Senior Manager | £200 | £220 |
| Manager | £140 | £150 |
| Supervisor / Senior Administrator | £125 | £130 |
| Case Administrator | £95 | £98 |
| Cashier | £95 | £98 |
| Support Staff | £50 | £65 |
Time costs are calculated using 6-minute updates.
Time spent by support and secretarial staff for carrying out shorter tasks, such as typing or dealing with post, is not charged to cases but is carried as an overhead of the firm. Only where a significant amount of time is spent at one time on a case is a charge made for support staff.
Any potential voluntary arrangement or Trust Deed fees would be on a Fixed Fee basis in respect of work done at the pre-appointment stage and on a percentage basis once the solution was formally confirmed.
Expenses
Expenses are amounts properly payable by the office holder from the estate including but not limited to realisation costs such as agent fees, tax liabilities, solicitors and claims management companies. Any expenses not disclosed on the estimated outcome statement will be disclosed in the annual report to creditors.
Disbursements policy
The costs charged by suppliers will be reviewed at least annually by the Pinnacle Board.
In accordance with Statement of Insolvency Practice 9 (SIP9) the basis of disbursement allocation in respect of disbursements incurred by the Office Holder in connection with the administration of the estate must be fully disclosed to creditors. Disbursements are categorised as either Category 1 or Category 2.
Category 1 – expenses are directly referable to an invoice from a third party. These disbursements are recoverable in full from the estate without the prior approval of creditors either by a direct payment from the estate or, where the firm has made payment on behalf of the estate, by a recharge of the amount invoiced by the third party. Examples of category 1 disbursements are post, couriers and specific bond insurance. An itemised breakdown of the estimated disbursements will be included at Appendix C of the Proposal.
Category 2 – expenses incurred by the firm are not recharged to the estate.
Disbursement policy schedule
| Disbursement | Cost | Third party provider | Frequency of disbursement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AiB Advertising Fee | £40 - for the advertisement of a Trust Deed on the Register of Insolvencies. | AiB | Once (unless re-advertised) | 1 |
| AiB Registration Fee | £40 - for the registration of the Trust Deed with the AiB. | AiB | Once | |
| AiB Supervision fee | £100 - for the supervision of a Trustee in a Protected Trust Deed. | AiB | Annually | |
| AiB Sequestration fee | Various fees - charged at cost | In the event of Sequestration proceedings | ||
| Assignation of salary and other enforcement | Charged at cost | Stirling Park LLP | N/A | |
| Bank charges | Monthly cost per case determined by bank. | Barclays Bank Plc | Annually to 2016, quarterly from 2017 | 2 |
| Books of Council & Session | For the formal entering of a Protected Trust Deed in the Registers of Scotland - £10 | Registers of Scotland | Once after protection | |
| Bordereau | Charged annually and based on level of anticipated total asset realisations. Invoices received and paid monthly. | Kingsbridge Risk Solutions Ltd | Annually | 3 |
| Courier | £60- £120 - based on level of service which may include, the collection of proposal/Trust Deed and other associated documents from the debtor throughout the period of the arrangement | Collect a Case Limited | As and when required | |
| Credit search | Up to £28 plus VAT depending on the type of search requested | Cast Light Limited | As required | |
| Creditor guarantee cover policy | Pinnacle has not adopted this policy. Premiums already paid to the insurer by Knightsbridge Insolvency Services Limited will be recovered to the extent funds are available. | Kingsbridge Risk Solutions Ltd | N/a | |
| DTI IVA registration fee | £15 | Insolvency Service | Once (once per client in the event of an interlocking IVA) | |
| Equifax | £2.70 - confirmation of a debtor's identity where required. | Equifax | As required | |
| HPI Check | £3.60 per search until February 2017, reduced to £2.73 per search after this date - finance search for motor vehicles | CAP HPI | As required | |
| Inhibition Fees | Charged for registering (£15) and releasing (£15) inhibitions against clients at the Registers of Scotland | Registers of Scotland | Once | |
| Property valuations, equity reviews and IVA month 54 obligations | Property valuations for Trust Deeds are undertaken by DM Hall and cost up to £120 per property. The Select Partnership undertake any IVA equity reviews which cost £50+VAT per case. | The Select Partnership, DM Hall, | Once | |
| IVA and TD software charges | The cost of software that is directly attributable to the case will be recharged. Set up fee of £180 plus £60 annual charge payable in advance. | Chapel Outsourcing Limited | Annually | 4 |
| Land Registry / Searches | Different services charged at prevailing rate | Land Registry | As required | |
| Legal Fees | As required | Various | Determined by the nature and complexity of the instruction | |
| Realisation costs | Realisation costs vary depending on which specialist company has been instructed. | Various | Upon receipt of the realised funds. | 5 |
| File management. Including inter alia storage, scanning, destruction and postage. | £36 per case | Chapel Outsourcing Limited | Once |
Notes:
- Accountant in Bankruptcy (‘AiB’).
- Negotiations regarding free banking on the client hub account are ongoing will continue until resolved.
- Non-recoverable bond paid by Pinnacle to cover returned creditor payments on closed cases up to a total of £1,000,000. Kingsbridge Risk Solutions Limited is an independent 3rd party with no associations or connections with Pinnacle other than as their insurance broker.
- Chapel Outsourcing Limited, an independent third-party company, has been engaged to provide a number of the services that could not be carried out by the office holder, to the insolvent estates, as detailed above. They are contractually obliged to deliver best value and service. To achieve this they are contractually entitled to outsource any element of the service at their discretion. The full service must be delivered direct to the insolvent estate by Chapel Outsourcing Limited.
- APJ Solicitors, an independent third-party company, has been engaged to pursue PPI and ‘Plevin’ claims on a no win, no fee basis. The majority shareholder is a previous employer of the current Pinnacle Insolvency practitioners.Third party fees on set off balance outcomes are only payable if specific criteria is met. On 10 May 2018, the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 (“the Act”) received royal assent. The Act prohibits fees of more than 20%, excluding VAT, being charged for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claims and restricts claims management companies (CMCs) and legal services providers from charging a client where no award has been recovered. This cap came into force on 10 July 2018 (two months from the date of royal assent)