Resolving Disputes
Going to court or tribunal to solve a problem can be expensive, stressful and time-consuming. But there are many ways of sorting out complaints and legal problems without having to go to court.
Going to court or tribunal (often called litigation) to solve a problem can be expensive, stressful, and time-consuming.
But there are many other ways of sorting out complaints and legal problems without having to go to court. Together these are called alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and include things like mediation, arbitration and ombudsman schemes
Problems which may be resolved using one of these alternative methods of dispute resolution can include family issues, such as custody disputes, financial issues such as problems paying your council tax, employment issues such as unfair dismissal and consumer issues such as problems with goods and services.
With most types of problem, courts often encourage people to try these sorts of schemes first before they resort to litigation.
In this section we explain what these options are, how to decide when to use them, how they work and where you can get further information.
But if your problem can't be resolved and you do have to go to court, we’ll also point you in the direction of who can help to make the process as stress-free as possible, as well as how to obtain Legal Aid.
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