Costs

* The mediator/mediation provider should agree in advance whether the Small Claim should be dealt with in one or two hours. For the one hour rate the option is available to facilitate settlement over the telephone if appropriate, and if the parties agree.

If the claim is for more than £50,000, the fees will need to be agreed with the organisation providing the mediation.

Counter Claims

There have been a few cases where the original claim has been in one band but with substantial counter-claims and counter counter-claims. These in theory can push disputes from one cost band to another e.g. original claim for £4,000 but c/c for £30,000 making an aggregate claim of £34,000.

Court referred mediations should not present this issue as they will have already been allocated to track before referral to the helpline.

However, if you receive a referral from the NMH that presents as above the following policy should be applied:

The NMH fee is set according to the original claim value, if a counter claim or counter counter claim presents itself then the fee will be set according to aggregate value and parties will need to liaise amongst themselves if they are unhappy with this.

Example

claim £5,000 but c/c £20,000 then fee payable would be £750 + VAT (shared between parties)

Multiple Parties

If a case has more than one claimant and/or defendant there should be an additional comment to the tariff structure stating that:

'The above fees are based on single claimant / defendant disputes. If there is more than one claimant and/or defendant the length of the mediation session may need to be increased, and the next fee tariff applied - the mediation provider or mediator will discuss this matter with you when organising the mediation.'

Refunds

Refunds will only be granted if one or either of the parties contacts the Mediator/Mediation Provider by either email, phone call or letter before 5 working days of the mediation date.

Additional Costs

Parties should try, where possible to provide a suitable venue for the mediation. If a venue has to be hired, the costs of the same are to be paid by the parties.

If you are in receipt of public funding (legal aid) you may be able to claim reasonable costs of mediation. Either speak to your solicitor or the local Citizens Advice Bureau.  You can use the Community Legal Service Direct online calculator [http://www.clsdirect.org.uk/legalhelp/calculator.jsp?lang=en ] to find out if you qualify for legal aid.

Please tell the helpline advisor if you are receiving any benefits as you may be eligible for a reduction in the costs.

Dispute value changes

If during a mediation it becomes apparent that the amount in dispute is higher than that originally discussed with either the NMH adviser or the Mediation Provider allocated, and upon which the mediation fee invoiced by the Mediation Provider was based; then the Mediation Provider reserves the right to invoice the Parties for any additional amount that would have been due, in accordance with the published NMH fee scales,