The HVCA now provides an in-house mediation service that is designed to resolve disputes quickly and inexpensively.
The current Civil Procedure Rules require parties to any dispute to consider the use of some form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) before proceeding to litigation.

Indeed, the courts are empowered to penalise a successful party, through its award of costs, if it believes that an attempt to settle the matter via ADR has been unreasonably refused.

Mediation is by far the most popular form of ADR, in that it allows disputes to be settled without the need for expensive and time-consuming adjudication, arbitration or litigation.

'Put simply, mediation is a form of negotiation carried out with the assistance of a neutral third party - ie, the mediator,' said Rob Driscoll, a solicitor within the Association's Commercial and Legal Department and manager of the HVCA mediation service.

'It is a quick, inexpensive, informal, entirely confidential process with a very high success rate, in which the parties to the dispute remain in control throughout,' explained Driscoll, who was granted Accredited Mediator status by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in 2006.

And he added that the vast majority of mediations last no more than a day, and can cost each party as little as £300.00 + VAT.

The HVCA Mediation Service is being offered in collaboration with the Electrical Contractors' Association.