Contradictory info re fee for set aside with consent

[Zoe21]

I'm doing due diligence on a couple of professionals to get my CCJ set aside with consent (I want to use professional help to get it done without any mistakes since there are too many different unqualified opinions on the internet and I'm not sure which to trust). I'm speaking with one party who otherwise seems on top of it but who insist on the court fee being £255.

From the excellent guide (https://legalbeagles.info/library/ho...-judgment-ccj/) it is very clear (to me) that the fee is £100.

I have a professional telling me (without me referring them to above link but after questioning them whether the court fee is not only £100) that the fee is £255 based on EX50 court fees (page 8) which say:

- Application to set aside a County Court judgment. £255
- Application by consent or without notice where no other fee is specified. £100

They basically say that they do not believe the £100 line is a recognised format for a set aside application for a CCJ as the £255 clearly say that is for setting saide a CCJ and hence the £100 is for other things with consent, but not CCJs.

Are they right?
May they be right (maybe grey area, maybe fees have changed, maybe CC accepts both payments as being acceptable, maybe other)?
Are they clearly wrong?

Please include justification for your reply if you can.

Would also be good to know if you have actually done it successfully recently with CCBC and paying only £100...please include rough date. Obviously if you have been asked to pay more after you paid £100 then I'd very much like to know this.

[R0b]

Personally, I would ditch that professional firm and find someone else. If they can't even get the basics right on fees then you might wonder what else might they get wrong or confused about.

EX50 is a summarised guide about the latest court fees but is not the law. Why the guide as specifically called out fees for set aside applications I don't know (maybe because of its popularity or confusion?) but it does not detract from the fact that an application by consent attracts a reduced fee than the standard application without consent - the obvious reason being that the court is able to use less resources dealing with a consent application than one which is disputed.

Anyway, if you want some authority, the you need to look at Schedule 1 of The Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 (link here) which sets out the full fees depending on the nature of the application/claim. I will let you verify on your own time but in the table there is no specific application cost for a set aside of a default judgment, rather it's a flat fee of £255 for an application on notice or £100 where the application is being made by consent.



I have done several consent orders to set aside a default judgment and have never been asked to pay the £255 fee, only £100 (and £50 before the fees were increased). They key point to note is that the fee applies where it is for an application by consent i.e. both parties are in agreement and have agreed to an order by consent which simply needs the court's rubber stamp.

As I mentioned before, EX50 is a summarised version, but if you want to see the full list then you need to review EX50A which is essentially a copy and past job of The Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 and again, doesn't provide for a specific fee to set aside because the fee is £255 without consent and £100 with consent.