Out of interest who told you not to bother?
I went to my case hearing, so I could add any mitigating circumstances
ie a Letter from my employers stating that I would lose my job if I lost my licence
Basically they said, well as I was expecting to get banned, and the points had all been accrued in a period of 3 months, I hadnt learnt, and would be banned
I would get a solicitor tho, or seek professional advice
I did for a different incident again many years ago, i didnt get off (and didnt expect to) but it certainly helped, and the outcome was much less severe than what could have been