1 hour ago
All normal comms and as expected. Mediation is not part of the judicial process. There is no judge involved, no solicitor deciding anything, and the mediator is not there to assess the merits of your defence.
The mediator will usually speak to the Claimant first, then speak to you and tell you, in broad terms, what the Claimant has said. They may then ask you to summarise your defence.
You do not need to do that. The Claimant already has your filed Defence. The court has your filed Defence. A telephone mediator does not need a legal argument from you and is not there to adjudicate on it. They are not legally trained.
The safest and simplest approach is this:
If the mediator tries to continue the discussion, simply repeat:
That should end the mediation.
Mediation can be useful where both sides accept that something is owed and the only dispute is the amount. Private parking claims are usually binary: either the charge is enforceable, or it is not. In that sort of case, mediation is usually a pointless box-ticking exercise and defendants should not be pressured into paying something merely to make the claim go away.
The mediator will usually speak to the Claimant first, then speak to you and tell you, in broad terms, what the Claimant has said. They may then ask you to summarise your defence.
You do not need to do that. The Claimant already has your filed Defence. The court has your filed Defence. A telephone mediator does not need a legal argument from you and is not there to adjudicate on it. They are not legally trained.
The safest and simplest approach is this:
Quote:"To save everyone's time, my offer is £0. Please advise the other side. That concludes the mediation from my side."
If the mediator tries to continue the discussion, simply repeat:
Quote:"I deny the claim. My Defence has already been filed and served. I do not accept that any sum is owed. My offer is £0."
That should end the mediation.
Mediation can be useful where both sides accept that something is owed and the only dispute is the amount. Private parking claims are usually binary: either the charge is enforceable, or it is not. In that sort of case, mediation is usually a pointless box-ticking exercise and defendants should not be pressured into paying something merely to make the claim go away.
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience. - Mark Twain
