PCN - Overstay - 22/12/24 @ Southgate Park, Stansted

[CD!]

Afternoon!

I've just received an e-mail from HMCT re the mediation date for 20/07/26.

I will follow your previous advice and ask if solicitor authorised to negotiate agreement and offer £0 etc.

Is there anything else you think may be likely to come up as they stated the appointment slot is an hour, but I assume that's generic as I don't think there's much to chat about!.

CD!

[b789]

@CD!, it’s not a solicitor acting for the claimant. It will just be the ‘tea boy: or a youth work experience bod talking to the mediator.

Don’t lose any sleep over the mediation call. It is a complete and utter waste of everybody’s time.

The only legal requirement is to “attend” the call. You offer £0 and that will be the end of the matter.

After the time wasting call, the case will be transferred to your local county court and you are then waiting for the Notice of Allocation to arrive in the post. When that arrives, please show it as it will contain the all important deadlines of hearing date and the deadline for the claimant to pay the £27 trial fee.

The trial fee deadline is usually four weeks before the hearing date. It is just before this deadline that DCB Legal will throw in the towel and discontinue the claim. Expect them to try and contact you with a reduced offer to settle. Ignore them. They will issue an N279 Notice of Discontinuance.

Then it will be over.

[CD!]

Ha Ha - tea boy comment made me laugh. Thanks for all the info will keep it all to a minimum in mediation and then wait for the letters to arrive as you set out.

Will update once I've completed the mediation and received any letters.

Thanks!

CD!

[CD!]

Good Morning,

I have my mediation call this afternoon. Just wanted to be clear that all I have to do is request details who is representing from claimant side and whether they have authority to make settlement and then offer £0 settlement and request case is strike out.

From your previous entries I note you say I do not need to discuss my defence if the mediator / caller probes it so is it just best to ask in what capacity they are asking / are they legally trained to do so and refer them to my previous defence submission.

Will do above, just wanted to make sure I'm following what I need to and I'm not missing anything before the call.

Just as a last point I have never confirmed driver details and the claim form sets out they persue the claim both as the driver of the vehicle and as the alternative as the keeper under POFA 2012, Schedule 4. I know in the defence response you provided it points out they need to clarify which they make the claim in as it can not be both. If the mediator specifically asks if I was the driver (not sure if they would) I take it I decline to provide any further detail at this stage. 

Thanks

CD!

[CD!]

Good afternoon.

I just had the mediation call which lasted lasted around 15 mins.

I followed your advice and asked for the name and position of the claimants representative before proceeding which they gave as Lidia Dolan working as Litigation Support. I was informed they did have the authority to make a settlement today and so I thanked her and made my offer of £0 with no costs.

The mediator went back with my offer and then came back with a refusal with a long list of reasons why they had refused like I was the registered keeper and could have appealed earlier through their appeals process and that they believed I had overstayed etc etc. They came back with a counter offer of £170 (Total amount claimed on Form £270.88). I politely refused and made it clear my position would remain a £0 settlement as I denied all liability, as set out in my defence, which they had a copy of and I was not going to discuss in any detail at mediation.

The mediator accepted this and said given my position and the fact that Lidia Dolan had made clear they were unwilling to drop the case she would mark the case as "unable to reach an agreement" and refer it to be assigned to a local court.

I guess I just wait now for the case to be assigned to my local county court and for the relevant dates to be set out, during which hopefully they will decide not to proceed.

[b789]

Yes, this whole mediation process for these parking charge claims is a total waste of time. You now wait for the allocation to your local county court.

Once allocated, there will be an order made with a hearing date and a deadline for them to pay the £27 trial fee, which is usually 4 weeks before the hearing date. It is just before this date that they will discontinue.