Do you need a solicitor to chase an unpaid invoice — or can you do it yourself? A fair, factual comparison for a B2B debt, and an honest steer on when a solicitor is the better choice.
You can send a Letter Before Action and start a small claim yourself, without a solicitor. RobinReturn provides solicitor-drafted documents at a published price (LBA £9.50) while you act as the litigant in person. For disputed, complex or high-value matters, a solicitor's advice is the better route.
Neither is universally better — it depends on the debt. The comparison below is about the model, not a single firm; a solicitor's fee depends on the matter.
| Dimension | High-street solicitor | RobinReturn |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Usually by the hour or on a retainer; a per-matter fixed fee in some firms. | Pay-per-action, published upfront: reminder £2.00, LBA £9.50, claim preparation £35.00. |
| What you get | Legal advice and, if instructed, representation — a solicitor acts for you. | Document preparation and a guided workflow. Templates are solicitor-drafted; you act for yourself. |
| Who acts | The solicitor is your legal representative. | You are the litigant in person. RobinReturn is not a law firm and is not a legal representative under CPR 2.3(1). |
| Legal advice on the merits | Yes — a solicitor can advise on whether and how to proceed. | No. RobinReturn does not give legal advice. |
| Commission on what you recover | No (fees are for the work done). | No — RobinReturn never takes a percentage of the debt, interest or compensation. |
| Best for | Disputed, complex, high-value or consumer matters, or where you need advice. | Clear, documented, undisputed B2B invoices up to £10,000 in England & Wales. |
Choose a solicitor if the debt is disputed, the work or amount is contested, the matter is legally complex or high-value, the debtor is a consumer, or you simply want advice on whether to proceed.
RobinReturn fits a clear, documented, undisputed B2B invoice up to £10,000 in England & Wales, where a structured workflow at a published price is enough and you are happy to act for yourself.
RobinReturn is not a law firm, is not a legal representative under CPR 2.3(1), and does not give legal advice — the templates are solicitor-drafted and you remain in control.
Yes. A business can send a Letter Before Action itself. RobinReturn provides a solicitor-drafted LBA template populated from your case; you send it as the litigant in person. RobinReturn is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
RobinReturn publishes its prices upfront — an LBA is £9.50 and claim preparation is £35.00. A solicitor is usually charged by the hour or on a retainer, so the total depends on the matter. For a clear, undisputed B2B invoice the pay-per-action route is typically lower cost; for a complex or disputed matter a solicitor's advice may be worth more.
If the debt is disputed, legally complex, high-value, involves a consumer, or you need advice on the merits, a solicitor is the better choice. RobinReturn is built for documented, undisputed B2B invoices.
The templates are solicitor-drafted. There is no per-case solicitor sign-off under the litigant-in-person model — you remain in control and send the letter yourself.
For a clear B2B invoice, start with a reminder and escalate only if you need to.