Thanks BazzaS I'm trying the links. It looks like I'm too far away from them all but I'm trying to see if I can do it over the phone. They ignored my attempts at mediation for 2 weeks, until I sent them a case ref I'd found saying that was unreasonable conduct. Upon which they said I hadn't made a valid offer of mediation. I suggested they choose a mediation service they prefer and they just responded again that I hadn't made a valid offer. By this time we were getting close to the hearing. I kept offering they choose the mediators but they just ignored me after that. I'd read the next thing to do was ask the court to force it so I made an application that they be ordered to engage constructively or pay costs, but the judge threw it out at hearing because apparently that was an attempt to subvert the jurisdiction of the court. (I had referred it to the TDS earlier, before they had responded, but that wasn't really the point). Every time I think I've properly researched something, I get blindsided by something else.

I'm on the wrong end of a county court case that has been total chaos. I never got the original application. I had moved (this was about possession, originally, but was settled and I moved out) the landlord had the papers sent to my old house, and didn't use my forwarding address. Eventually I found out about it and managed to get a copy of the application from the court a couple of days before the hearing. I got a "response" in but because it was late the judge didn't have it and it got adjourned and I got told to pay costs. I went to the PSU, asked court staff, went to CAB, asked about legal aid. Noone seems to be able to help. We had another hearing just recently, 3 days before the hearing the court told me they had no record of my original response. I sent another copy by fax and another by email to the court. They never acknowledged it. I called them back and all the court said was "anything you have sent will be provided to the judge". When I said I was worried as they could not specifically identify my response (while they could identify other things I had sent) they got stroppy with me. At hearing, I checked and the judge said he had got something from the date or the original response, which I took to mean he had received it. during the hearing he didn't seem aware of anything I had said in it and I when I tried to refer specifically to one thing I had to give him a copy of it. He found against me, taking my deposit away, in giving his judgment he said a number of things which lead me to believe he had not, in fact, seen any of my evidence. He said some things that are contradicted by the evidence I provided. The only evidence he referenced, at all, was that provided in the original application (by the other side). I don't know if the judge ever got my defence, or if he did, if it was complete, or whether he read it. I just learned (on CAG) about a thing called an Allocation questionnaire? I never got one of those. I I don't know what "track" this was allocated to. I didn't get a notice of hearing for the most recent hearing. I never got a copy of the orders made at the first hearing. It goes on... I'm a litigant in person. I have nothing left and am single parenting a disabled child on benefits while trying to find work (and fighting the council to get my child into school). I'm looking after my mum with Alzheimer's. I desperately need help. I tried to get the other side to mediate but they ignored me. At the end of the day, I can let the main matter go (that would be morally wrong, but I can live without it). The problem is the costs. I can't pay any costs, that will bankrupt me. I need to appeal. I have lost a week trying to get help from the CAB but I don't know where to start. I want to try to get pro bono help but I need to be referred to that? Anyone who has any advice on this, or knows where we can get real help...