For the mediation call, the only requirement is for you "attend" the call. It is not part of the judicial process and no judge is involved. SO you DO NOT discuss anything!!!
This is what I advise you to say when you receive the call from the mediator:
Before I set out my position, please confirm from the claimants side:
the full name of the person attending for them;
their role/position at their firm; and
whether they hold written authority to negotiate and settle today.
Please relay that back to me before we continue.
After the mediator calls back...
If identified and authority confirmed:
Thank you. Im content to proceed on that basis. My settlement offer is £0, or I invite the claimant to discontinue with no order as to costs.
If no/unclear authority:
Please record that the claimants attendee has not confirmed settlement authority. My position remains that liability is denied and my offer is £0, subject to prompt approval by an authorised person if they choose to discontinue.
If the mediator probes your defence:
In what capacity are you asking that question? Are you legally trained? If not, please refrain from offering opinions. I will be reporting any attempt to do so as inappropriate.
All you need to know is the name and the position of the person acting for the claimant and report that back to us. It will be over within minutes. Complete waste of time otherwise.
You never, ever, 'call' these people! A phone call is not worth the paper it isn't written on should you need to revert back to anything said!
Can we please clarify how much did you pay? How much is the claim for? Show us the Particulars of Claim (PoC).
If you have proof of having paid the PCN in full, then send the following email to DCB Legal at info@dcblegal.co.uk and CC yourself:
Re: G24 Ltd v [Defendant] Claim no. [xxxxx]
Dear Sirs,
The alleged parking charge dated 06/02/2025 was paid in full on 18/02/2025. Enclosed/attached are:
Bank statement extract (payer: [name], payee: G24 Ltd, date 18/02/2025, amount £[ ], reference [xxxxxxxx])
G24 payment confirmation/receipt showing the same reference.
Your clients claim is therefore hopeless. Please confirm by return that the claim will be discontinued.
Failing discontinuance within 7 days, the Defendant will apply for strike-out under CPR 3.4(2)(a)/(b) and seek costs under CPR 27.14(2)(g) for unreasonable conduct.
Yours faithfully,
[full name]
I'm assuming you "paid" G24 the charge for the PCN but they have continued to chase you for the money. Have you checked to see whether your original payment actually went through?
You seem unaware that you are being sued for whatever the charge is they are chasing you. You have defended the claim and eventually this will all go away when the claim is either struck out or discontinued.
For now, just follow the advice. Having received your own N180 (make sure it is not simply a copy of the claimants N180), do not use the paper form. Ignore all the other forms that came with it. you can discard those. Download your own here and fill it in on your computer. You sign it by simply typing your full name in the signature box.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673341e779e9143625613543/N180_1124.pdf
Here are the answers to some of the less obvious questions:
The name of the court is "Civil National Business Centre".
To be completed by "Your full name" and you are the "Defendant".
C1: "YES"
D1: "NO". Reason: "I wish to question the Claimant about their evidence at a hearing in person and to expose omissions and any misleading or incorrect evidence or assertions.
Given the Claimant is a firm who complete cut & paste parking case paperwork for a living, having this case heard solely on papers would appear to put the Claimant at an unfair advantage, especially as they would no doubt prefer the Defendant not to have the opportunity to expose the issues in the Claimants template submissions or speak as the only true witness to events in question.."
F1: Whichever is your nearest county court. Use this to find it: https://www.find-court-tribunal.service.gov.uk/search-option
F3: "1".
Sign the form by simply typing your full name for the signature.
When you have completed the form, attach it to a single email addressed to both dq.cnbc@justice.gov.uk and info@dcblegal.co.uk and CC in yourself. Make sure that the claim number is in the subject field of the email.