Mediation is not a judicial stage of the claim. It is not a hearing, no judge is involved, no evidence is considered, and nobody makes a decision about who is right or wrong. It is simply a settlement chat run by the Small Claims Mediation Service. The mediator cannot give legal advice, cannot order the claimant to do anything, and cannot strike out the claim. The only purpose is to see whether both sides will agree a deal. In private parking claims, it is very often a waste of time, but it is still a hoop the system expects parties to jump through.
So what happens after mediation, if it does not settle, is not “because of mediation” and not because you have failed at something. It is simply the normal continuation of the case you already set in motion when you filed the N180.
At that point, the court process resumes. The file is dealt with administratively, not by a judge. Because you have already filed the N180, the next step is allocation and transfer. You will then receive a Notice of Allocation (or a transfer notice with directions) telling you that the claim has been transferred out of the Civil National Business Centre (CNBC) to your local county court hearing centre. The reason for transfer is straightforward: small claims hearings are normally handled locally, so the local court becomes responsible for listing the case and giving the standard directions.
Yes, transfer to your local court is the route that leads to a hearing if the claim is not settled or discontinued. It does not mean a hearing is definitely happening; it means the court is preparing the case for one. You will be notified, usually by post, with the order/directions and either a hearing date or wording that it will be listed later.
In these parking claims, what happens next is that DCB Legal will let it run on until the hearing is getting close, and then discontinue shortly before they would have to pay the £27 hearing/trial fee. They do that to avoid paying the fee and to avoid the risk of losing at a hearing. That is why you can be told, truthfully, that it will go to your local court “in due course”, and also be told, realistically, that discontinuance is going to happen later on. Both statements can be correct at the same time.
Bottom line: mediation is not a “stage before the judge”. It is a non-judicial settlement hoop. If there’s no settlement, the case simply carries on, and the next formal thing you should expect is the transfer/allocation paperwork from the court.
