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AfterFraud.com
Fees

What this costs

Nothing up front. Nothing during. A fee applies only if money is actually recovered and reaches you — and if nothing is recovered, you owe nothing.

The rule

You pay nothing up front, nothing during, and nothing at all unless money is actually recovered and reaches you.

If a fee ever applies, it is 6.5% of what you actually received, including VAT — agreed in writing, in advance, before any work begins.

You can claim for free without us

  • If you sent money by Faster Payments or CHAPS on or after 7 October 2024, you can ask your own bank or building society for reimbursement under the APP scam rules — up to £85,000, at no cost.
  • You can complain to any bank or financial firm yourself, and if you are unhappy with the answer, take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Ombudsman is free and you do not need anyone to represent you.
  • Reporting to Report Fraud (or Police Scotland on 101) and to your bank is always free.

Many people choose help because the loss is complex, involves several firms or cryptocurrency, or they simply do not want to face it alone. That is your decision to make — and it only makes sense if you know the free routes exist.

How to complain to the Financial Ombudsman yourself →
Stage by stage

When money does and does not change hands

There is exactly one point at which anything is payable, and it comes after you have been paid — never before.

01Booking
No cost

Registering and choosing a time costs nothing. We call you at the time you picked.

02Your first appointment
No cost

We work through what happened, who needs to hear about it, and what your realistic options are. Free, whether or not you go any further with us.

03Deciding what to do next
No cost

If there is nothing worth pursuing, we tell you so and that is the end of it. You owe nothing. We would rather say that than take on a case that cannot go anywhere.

04While work is under way
No cost

No retainer, no deposit, no hourly billing, no administrative charges, no disbursements billed to you as we go.

05If funds actually reach you
Fee applies

Only once recovered money is in your hands does an agreed fee become payable, taken as a share of what you actually received. If nothing is recovered, there is no fee.

The critical distinction

A fee after recovery is not the same as a recovery scam

This is the most important thing on this page. Recovery-room fraud works by taking money before anything is recovered. The timing is what separates a legitimate arrangement from a scam — not the existence of a fee.

TestLegitimate arrangementRecovery-room fraud
When you are asked to payOnly after recovered funds have reached your own account.Before anything is recovered — that is the entire mechanism.
What the payment comes fromA share of money you have already received.Your own remaining savings, or new borrowing.
Whether it is in writingA written agreement signed before any work starts, stating the rate, with a 14-day right to cancel.Verbal, urgent, and the amount changes as you go.
What happens if nothing is recoveredYou owe nothing.You have already paid, and are then asked for more.
How they react to questionsAnswers them, in writing, tells you about the free routes, and encourages you to take advice.Pressure, deadlines, and discouragement from telling your bank or family.

The one-line test to remember

If anyone — including someone claiming to be us — asks you to pay before recovered money has reached your own account, it is fraud.

Report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (in Scotland, Police Scotland on 101). That rule holds no matter how convincing the story, how official the paperwork looks, or how urgent the deadline sounds.

What we will never charge you for

  • A fee to book, or to attend your appointment
  • A retainer, deposit or advance of any kind
  • A "release fee", "unlocking fee", "bond", "tax" or "HMRC charge" to free up funds
  • Payment in cryptocurrency, gift cards, or by bank transfer to an individual
  • Any payment at all before recovered money has reached you

Before any fee can apply

You get a written agreement setting out the rate, what counts as a recovery, and how the fee is calculated. You sign it before any work begins. Nothing is payable on a handshake or a phone call.

If you sign our agreement, you have 14 days to cancel it for any reason, without giving a reason and without charge. After that you can still end it at any time, and you owe nothing unless recovered money has already reached you.

We will always tell you when we think a case is not worth pursuing — or when you can simply claim from your bank yourself — even though that means no fee for us. An arrangement that only pays on success is worth nothing to you if we take on cases that cannot succeed.

Everything is in writing before you commit

You will have the agreement in front of you, in writing, before anything starts. Take as long as you need with it, ask us anything about it, and have anyone you trust read it over. We would rather answer questions now than have you agree to something you were not sure about.

It sets out the rate, what counts as a recovery, how the fee is calculated, your 14-day cancellation right, and how to complain if you are unhappy with our service.