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I regularly see costs budgets from Claimants' solicitors based on inflated hourly rates that will never be allowed on assessment. I have just had two bills of costs from a large and well known Claimant personal injury practice in Sheffield based on £295.00 (8 years plus) against £201.00 guideline hourly rate for national grade 2. Inflating hours spent is one thing. Basing costs budgets and bills of costs on rates which will never be offered or allowed is quite another (and always strikes me as a pointless waste of time by the firms that do it). Presumably, they have agreed the rates claimed, contractually, with their clients. If this decision is correct, there will be a very long queue outside the SDT.