The costs include several items: lawyer’s fees (variable depending on the amount claimed and the complexity of the case), solicitor’s fees (mandatory representative before the courts in most proceedings), court fees to be paid when filing the claim and possible expert costs if expert evidence is needed. As a general guideline, claiming a debt of €10,000 can cost between €1,500 and €2,500 in total. However, if you win the proceedings, the judge normally orders the debtor to pay the costs, which means that you can recover these expenses. Therefore, in claims with a high probability of success, the final effective cost for the creditor is usually zero or very low.