Why should I use early neutral resolution?

What is ENR?

When there’s a disagreement (‘dispute’) between two parties, both sides can decide to submit their evidence to a neutral evaluator. The evaluator reviews the evidence submitted by both sides, considers the legal arguments and decides what is owed, and to whom.

The alternative to using ENR is asking a judge to make a ruling through the county court process.

How does ENR work?

Both sides sign the ENR terms and conditions, which set out a short timetable for the ENR process. It usually takes less than a fortnight. The evaluator looks at the evidence that both sides to the dispute have sent in, and then decides what the outcome should be. Both sides agree that the evaluator’s decision will be final and binding on them.

Who is the evaluator?

The evaluator is an independant, neutral person. Depending on what the dispute is about, they may be a lawyer, or have other expertise eg in mechanics, or building work.

Calmly has a panel of vetted, independent evaluators.

Who pays for ENR?

When a dispute goes to court, the costs are paid by the side that loses the case. ENR works in the same way. But the difference is that ENR is [nearly always] much cheaper than going to court. The losing side in a small claim that goes to trial typically pays £xxxx in costs to the other side. This includes the court fees, witness fees, fixed costs.

ENR avoids all these charges — there’s just one fee to pay. And as with a court case, this is paid by side that loses the case. If you’re confident that you’re going to win, then you can be confident that you won’t end up paying the fee.

What are the advantages of ENR?

It’s cheaper — even if you lose the case and have to pay the ENR fee, the bill is much less than going to court

It’s easy — court is stressful and time-consuming, with formal documents and processes

It’s quick — court cases can drag on for months, or even years, and all that time 8% interest is accumulating on the claim. So if you’re facing a £5,000 claim against you which takes a year to come to court — you’d end up paying an extra £400 in interest if you lost the case.

It’s less risky — there’s no danger of ending up with a county court judgment being registered against you, which would impact on your credit rating, and even on things like being able to get mobile phone contracts. Everyone involved agrees that the process is confidential.

What’s the process?

Both sides sign the ENR terms and conditions, which set out a short timetable for the ENR process. It usually takes less than a fortnight. Calmly then prepares and agrees with both sides a short summary of the dispute and sets out the questions the evaluator is being asked to make a decision about. Both sides can then send the evaluator written statements of their case and other supporting documents.

The evaluator then looks at all the evidence and makes a decision in writing, which is sent to both sides. This decision is binding. The dispute is brought to an end.