ECP / DCB Legal - Mediation Call Advice

WobblyJelly25

Hi,

Quick summary of where we are at.

My wife got a "PCN" for a 19 minute overstay in a free carpark operated by Eurocarparks a few years ago, after having her appeal rejected she had the usual sets of scary letters from various debt chasing companies until it finally landed at DCB Legal last year and they proceeded to make a claim.

We followed the newbies thread and submitted a defence based on the template and advice found on threads with similar cases on here at the start of the year. We then got a DQ in the post which we filled in following further advice from the newbies and other threads on here.

I was going to take the mediation call for her as we have three young children and she can barely get to the phone to answer it most of the time so we put my details in and specified dates to avoid as I am soon to be out of the country on work.

Unfortunately the mediation call has been set for a date/time which was within the specified "dates to avoid" and I will actually be in the middle of a long haul flight so I will be unable to answer it.

In the email from the small claims mediation service they state "The dates to avoid which you provided on your Directions Questionnaire have been noted but they exceed the deadline we have to arrange a mediation appointment. We are unable to hold on to cases for significant periods of time. Your case has therefore been assigned the above appointment."

Not sure how long they can "hold on to a case" but they set the mediation date for 4 weeks time and the DQ says dates to avoid "in the next three months".

We emailed them back explaining the situation and they have since replied basically saying that they are not going to change this date "except for exceptional circumstances such as an accident or a family bereavement."

Currently it looks like our options are:

1. change the details to my wife's phone number, however the call is scheduled during school pick up times so it is very unlikely she will be able to answer the phone.

2. Find someone else to take the call.

Is there anyway to get them to reschedule the mediation call?

If we go with option 1 what are the ramifications if she were to actually miss the call?

In their last reply they state:

"The scheduled appointment will still go ahead during the time/date offered. If the mediator cannot contact you, your appointment will be cancelled and if not already done so the claim will be transferred to a local county court to be listed for a hearing.  If you do not attend the appointment, the judge will take this into consideration at any court hearing and may issue a penalty. This could include the judge automatically ruling in the other party’s favour or ordering you to pay for some or all the other party’s costs. "

So it sounds like if she were to miss the call then it would get allotted to the local court anyway for a hearing, however it will/might count against her?

I was hoping that the first thread we were going to create on here would be the "discontinuation" proof .

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Gr1pr

If she misses the call the case will progress in the usual manner anyway,  probably no biggie at court,  but it's judge bingo 

Ideally nominate someone else to take the call on her behalf and offer £zero,  or £5! Then say £10, no more than say £20 if they are only claiming for a single pcn   ?

If no compromise is reached,  politely end the call, 5 to 10 minutes should suffice,  because its about a compromise settlement,  or no settlement,  not about the case itself 

WobblyJelly25

Gr1pr said:

If she misses the call the case will progress in the usual manner anyway,  probably no biggie at court,  but it's judge bingo 

Ideally nominate someone else to take the call on her behalf and offer £zero,  or £5! Then say £10, no more than say £20 if they are only claiming for a single pcn   ?

If no compromise is reached,  politely end the call, 5 to 10 minutes should suffice,  because its about a compromise settlement,  or no settlement,  not about the case itself 

Thanks for the advice @Gr1pr, looks like I will ask someone else to do the mediation to play it safe. The mediation service attached the appropriate form in the last email they sent us.

I have someone in mind who might be able to do it so I will ask them.

Gr1pr

Good, frankly anyone who can answer and say on the telephone NO,  NO COMPROMISE,   I OFFER NO SUM AT ALL ,  or 5 POUNDS,  10 POUNDS,  or TWENTY POUNDS , NO MORE , SEE THEM IN COURT,  etc  will suffice 

ChirpyChicken

Don't bother 
It will make no difference to your case 

Car1980

Or leave a custom message on your voicemail and email the mediators to tell them to listen to it and forward it on to the other side. 

That message being that your offer is zero of course.

Coupon-mad

Your wife can take the call. Come on this isn't a Judge or a hearing.  It's as easy as phoning a shop.

She only has to say " Hello, I'll offer a fiver because this is a scam.  NO?  Bye then!"

WobblyJelly25

Coupon-mad said:

Your wife can take the call. Come on this isn't a Judge or a hearing.  It's as easy as phoning a shop.

She only has to say " Hello, I'll offer a fiver because this is a scam.  NO?  Bye then!"

Thanks @Coupon-mad

She has decided that she will make herself available to take the call. Hopefully she picks up the phone!

WobblyJelly25

So my wife took the call whilst I was away, it went something like this (similar to what we had been told to expect ):

Mediator: They are asking for £360

She offered £0

Mediator: They will accept £260

She offered £5

Mediator: They will accept £100

She offered £15 (She forgot to say £10)

Mediator: They will accept £50

She said no more than £15

Mediator: They will accept £20

She finally accepted that!

Clearly they weren't confident they would win or even turn up at a potential hearing.

We had previously decided £20 was fine to make this go away and not have to bother with the rest of the court process so we are happy with this.

Shame they get to count this as a win, but for the years they have been chasing this (and sheer number of scare letters) I cannot imaging £20 goes anywhere near covering their costs.

Thank you all for the great advice on these forums, you are performing a public service!

Gr1pr

It doesn't,  but well done to both of you,  a monkey off your backs, now please move on but be more wary when parking in future,  checking signage and everything 

Coupon-mad

WobblyJelly25 said:

So my wife took the call whilst I was away, it went something like this (similar to what we had been told to expect ):

Mediator: They are asking for £360

She offered £0

Mediator: They will accept £260

She offered £5

Mediator: They will accept £100

She offered £15 (She forgot to say £10)

Mediator: They will accept £50

She said no more than £15

Mediator: They will accept £20

She finally accepted that!

Clearly they weren't confident they would win or even turn up at a potential hearing.

We had previously decided £20 was fine to make this go away and not have to bother with the rest of the court process so we are happy with this.

Shame they get to count this as a win, but for the years they have been chasing this (and sheer number of scare letters) I cannot imaging £20 goes anywhere near covering their costs.

Thank you all for the great advice on these forums, you are performing a public service!

Yay! Make sure she pays the £20.

In fact, WE count this as a win! Filing this claim cost a £35 fee so these are losses for them.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!

Well done to your wife for poker-facing it.