Urgent advice kindly requested - County Claim (Gladstone Solicitors)

Here's a first draft of my witness statement, would be most grateful for any comments. i'm hoping it should be fairly simple:

XXX County Court
Case Number: XXX
Hearing date: 2nd Feb 2018

Defendant: Mr XXX
Vs
Claimant: Parking & Property Management LTD / Gladstones Solicitors LTD

Witness Statement: Mr XXX

I am the Defendant in this matter, I am unrepresented, with no experience of Court procedures. If I do not set out documents in the way that the Claimant may do, I trust the Court will excuse my inexperience.
In this Witness statement, the facts and matters stated are true and within my own knowledge, except where indicated otherwise.

I as the defendant deny I am liable for the entirety of this claim for the following reasons:

• On the date and time in question, the driver entered and parked at XXX Meadows residential parking area. The driver left the vehicle by foot and as per the photographic and video evidence supplied, there was insufficient signage or barriers that would inform any motorist that there were parking restrictions in place
• I believe that the signage on site does not comply with the BPA Approved Code of practice. There are no apparent entrance signs that can be seen clearly from a driver view as you can see the photos and video. The BPA code of practice point B4.2 states that signs must be placed at the entrance to the site and inform a driver that the location is private land and managed by a BPA member
• Furthermore, on later inspection, the signs that are indeed present use an unusually small font size and are located high on walls, making them inconspicuous and difficult to read

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.

Coupon-mad wrote: »

That is far too short and I can't say it is close to any WS you would have found in the NEWBIES thread, so take another look and let's see more than that, please.

Thanks, I think that was a strangely short example that I had come across. I've done more digging and come up with the following. Would be grateful for your review before I print and post next week.

To summarise / remind - I feel there is definitely inadequate signage on the private residential land where the vehicle was parked.

---

XXX County Court
Case Number: XXX
Hearing date: XXX Feb 2018

Defendant: XXX
Vs
Claimant: Parking & Property Management LTD / Gladstones Solicitors LTD

Witness Statement: XXX

I am the Defendant in this matter, I am unrepresented, with no experience of Court procedures. If I do not set out documents in the way that the Claimant may do, I trust the Court will excuse my inexperience.
In this Witness statement, the facts and matters stated are true and within my own knowledge, except where indicated otherwise.

I as the defendant deny I am liable for the entirety of this claim for the following reasons:

1. As an unrepresented litigant-in-person I respectfully ask that I be permitted to amend and or supplement this interim defence as may be required following a fuller disclosure of the Claimant’s case.
2. I deny any liability in respect of the claim.
3. On the date and time in question, the driver entered and parked at XXX Meadows residential area, under the impression that there was no charge for parking
4. The Claimant is a well-funded company with a dedicated legal staff and is a serial litigator. I submit that his issuing Particulars of Claim lacking in usable detail or that do not disclose a clear cause of action is not only remiss but smacks of a “Cut and Paste” approach to the issuing of proceedings. I further submit that this demonstrates a disregard for the dignity of the court and little concern for the Claimant’s duties in supporting the court to achieve the overriding objectives.
5. Additionally such scant Particulars leave Defendants to respond to what are at best vague details.
6. It is denied that the Claimant is the landowner of the property in question or that they have any other right or proprietary interest in the land or any demonstrable intention to occupy it sufficient to support this claim.
7. The Claimant is therefore put to strict proof that they were at the time of the alleged event in possession of sufficient authority to issue parking charges and institute proceedings in their own name and can demonstrate a clear chain of authority from the landowner.
8. If the court is minded to accept that the Claimant has standing then I submit that the signs on site at the time of the alleged event were insufficient in terms of their numbers, distribution and wording to reasonably convey a contractual obligation and did not in any event at the time comply with the requirements of the Code of Practice of the Independent Parking Committee’s Accredited Operators Scheme a signatory to which the Claimant was at the relevant time.
9. There are no apparent entrance signs that can be seen clearly from a driver view as you can see the photos and video. The BPA code of practice point B4.2 states that signs must be placed at the entrance to the site and inform a driver that the location is private land and managed by a BPA member
10. In due course I will ask the court to consider the frequently overlooked test established by Roskill LJ in the matter of Vine -v- London Borough of Waltham Forest ('Vine') insofar as it relates to the display of signage in conveying an obligation.
11. I further submit that such is the complexity and density of the text on the Claimant’s signs that the most onerous term – the £100 parking charge – is buried amongst a mass of small print and does not even begin to comply with Denning MR’s “Red Hand Rule”.
12. In the absence of any signage that contractually bound the Defendant then there can have been no contract and the Claimant has no case.
13. In the above circumstances I respectfully ask that the court dismiss the claim.

I believe that the facts stated in this Witness Statement are true.

muleskinner wrote: »

PPM are IPC members, not BPA.

is there an equivalent phrase i can replace the following with, to be IPC specific instead of BPA?

9. The BPA code of practice point B4.2 states that signs must be placed at the entrance to the site and inform a driver that the location is private land and managed by a BPA member