How Our Fees Work
We quote per stage, in writing, after we have seen enough of the file to say what the stage involves. We do not publish a single figure, because the work in an access request and the work in a contested application after a refusal are not comparable, and a number that fits one would mislead in the other.
The stages
Initial assessment
Reading what you have, saying what can be established and whether there is anything to argue. No charge.
Request for access
Preparing and filing the request, and reading the reply against the rules. Quoted before filing.
Application for deletion
The written submission and the evidential file behind it. The largest stage, and the one where scope varies most.
Application for revision
Only where deletion has been refused and new facts have emerged. Quoted separately.
What moves the figure
- Grounds argued
- A single documented ground costs less to run than four that each need their own evidence.
- Evidence to assemble
- Country-conditions material and judicial records take time to obtain and translate.
- Translation
- Filings go in a working language of the Organization; certified translation is a real line item.
- Parallel proceedings
- A live detention or extradition request means coordinating with local counsel, quoted separately.
- Stage reached
- A file that already has a refusal on it starts from a different place.
- Urgency
- Work that displaces other matters is quoted accordingly, and we say so rather than absorbing it silently.
We do not quote a success fee on an outcome the Commission alone controls, and we do not take a case we cannot argue on the merits in order to bill the assessment. If there is nothing to run, we say so and stop.
What the work consists of, stage by stage, is set out on our red notice removal service.
Frequently asked
Is there a fixed fee?
Per stage, yes, once the stage is scoped. Across the whole matter, no, because the number of stages depends on how the Commission responds.
What happens if the application fails?
The stage fee covers the work, not the outcome. Where a refusal opens a route to revision, that is quoted separately and only if it is worth running.
When is payment due?
Before each stage begins, against a written scope. Nothing is filed before you have accepted it.