The £200 Ticket to a Legal Nightmare
You’ve hit a brick wall with your Pub Company. The Business Development Manager (BDM) isn’t listening. You threaten to “Refer them to the Adjudicator!”
You think the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA) is a free knight in shining armor who will swoop in and save you. Wrong.
First, there is the £200 referral fee just to open a case. But that’s pocket change compared to the real risk. Arbitration is a formal legal process. The Pub Company will send a barrister. If you turn up with a shoebox of receipts and a “gut feeling,” you will get crushed.
And while costs are generally capped at £2,000 for MRO disputes, if you act “unreasonably” (a legal term meaning “you wasted our time”), the Adjudicator can order you to pay the Pub Company’s full legal bill. That could be £10,000 or more.
The Litigation Burn Rate
Will you win the battle but lose the war?
*Average Arbitration takes 12-18 months.
Your “Net Win” Forecast
Estimated Legal Bill
£18,000
Your Take-Home
£2,000
Save thousands in legal fees by checking your evidence first.
The Fix: 3 Ways to Handle a Dispute
1. The “DIY” Approach
You pay the £200, fill out the form, and represent yourself.
- Risk: High. The PubCo’s legal team knows every precedent. You don’t. You might lose a winnable case just because you filled out the form wrong.
2. The “Lawyer Up” Approach
You hire a solicitor to handle the arbitration.
- Cost: £5,000 – £15,000.
- Verdict: Unless the dispute is worth £50k+, the legal fees might eat up your entire winning.
3. The “AI Pre-Check” (Pubs Code Guardian)
Before you pay the £200 referral fee, you ask Pubs Code Guardian. You type into the Ask the Expert chat: “My PubCo is refusing a stocking requirement waiver. Here is the clause. Do I have a case for arbitration?” The AI analyzes the 2016 Regulations and recent PCA arbitration awards to tell you if you are likely to win—or if you are wasting your time.
The Winner: Pubs Code Guardian
The Ask the Expert feature acts as a “Gatekeeper.”
- Case Law Check: It knows the outcomes of previous PCA arbitrations. It can tell you, “In the 2018 Star Pubs case, this argument failed because…”
- Form Helper: It helps you draft the “Statement of Claim” so you sound like a lawyer, not an angry landlord.
The Math: The Value of “No”
Sometimes, the best money you make is the money you don’t lose.
- Scenario: You want to fight a Dilapidations bill of £5,000.
- Cost to fight: £200 fee + Potential £2,000 costs order if you lose.
- AI Advice: “The lease clause 4.2 specifically allows this charge. You will lose arbitration.”
- Decision: You don’t go to arbitration.
- Savings: £2,200 saved (plus months of stress).
Cost of Tool: £29. ROI: Immediate.
Free Tool: The Arbitration “Win Score”
(Developer Note: A simple quiz: “What is the dispute about?” -> “Have you followed the MRO flow?” -> “Is the deadline passed?” -> Output: “Low Probability of Success” / “High Probability of Success”.)
Don’t pay the £200 fee until you know you can win.