Gladstones Witness Statement

Aelayt

Hi All,

A friend has shown me some correspondence she has received from Gladstones Solicitors. The letter simply states a sentence along the lines of 'please find enclosed our client's witness statement. A copy of the witness statement has been filed at court.'

The witness statement includes a claim number. They have also enclosed copies of reminder notices with photographic evidence of the alleged offence and photographs of the signage (that being the 'contract').

In simple terms the alleged offence is that the vehicle was parked on private land where parking is only permitted when displaying a valid permit - the offences argues to have take place in 2015.

My question that I was hoping you kind forum members would assist me with is:- how can Gladstones file a witness statement with the court and obtain the claim number when, to my knowledge, a claim form has not been filed and not served in the defendant? Is this even possible as it was to my understanding that the claim form was filed, issued by the court and served on the defendant for acknowledgement (and defence) with exchange and filig of witness statements coming later?

As the letter has no mention of CPR Rules, ADR, etc I would not consider it to be a LBA so at the moment we are trying to assess the severity of the issue given that they are implying that they have begun court proceedings by filing the witness statement and having been issued with a claim number.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Umkomaas

Do you know which court is involved? If so, call them and see if they have any information on this.

Has your friend moved house in the past 5 years or so? Earlier papers may have been delivered to a former address, but subsequently a tracking company has been used to find the current address.

Has the parking charge come completely out of the blue, or has your friend some prior knowledge of it?

Half_way

Was this a residential sure where your friend is/was a resident?

Coupon-mad

The witness statement includes a claim number.

At the top it should say 'In the County Court at xxxxxxxx'

Where? The friend's local court? Or the PPC's local court? Who is the parking firm named in the WS? When is this letter dated and where are the letters from the Court?

Even better, please scan the entire WS and host it in Dropbox and show us please (covering any name/address of your friend).

To have got this far, the friend MUST have filled in a claim form defence. Oh dear, I am dreading them remembering what they might have written in the defence box of what they must have thought was some sort of appeal form because they didn't bother to read or research it.

given that they are implying that they have begun court proceedings by filing the witness statement and having been issued with a claim number.

If it has a claim number and the WS refers to this case, this car, this location, then it IS at court. What has the friend filled in by way of defence, they need to think about it and recall urgently, what they did and said before Christmas in a court form. there is no point panicking and paying because the sum in play is inflated (turning up at court would be better) but this friend needs to dig out the other paperwork.

Show us that WS please, openly on the forum.

The_Slithy_Tove

Aelayt wrote: »

In simple terms the alleged offence is that the vehicle was parked on private land where parking is only permitted when displaying a valid permit

In which case there can be no offer to park, no contract. So unless Gladstones are acting for the landowner and pressing a charge of trespass (which is almost certainly not the case), then they have no case.

But unless this has been put as a point in any skeleton defence submitted within the required timescale, and assuming that this is a live case, then the OP is going to struggle to add this killer point.