Help with witness statement

Coupon-mad

You can't just rock up with evidence on the day.

The NEWBIES thread tells you how to handle this stage and who to file & serve it all to, and how (the local court version is not done by email and nothing is posted either).

El_Tortuga

Hi Everyone,

I just thought I would give some feedback on my day in court today, quite frustrating really.

I posted my witness statement to PCM by special delivery, on time. I had a receipt to prove as such. I also handed the witness statement into the court by hand, on time.

When I had my hearing neither the judge nor parking control management had copies of it.

The judge gave me the option to pay £160 to the PCM solicitor and come back when they both had the statements and evidence. I subsequently said that I would prefer to have it adjourned and come back when they both had the whiteness statements.

I subsequently found out after the hearing that the witness statement was filed on the system downstairs but the judge just didn’t have it for whatever reason. He also insisted that because I didn’t file a “certificate of service” when I posted the witness statement to PCM that I hadn’t acted in “good faith”, or something to that matter.

So now I have to go back and do the whole process again, quite frustrating really. Maybe I was supposed to file the certificate of service at the time and didn’t read the newbies post probably. I will go back and look. However I just thought I’d post my feedback on here in case anyone is interested.

I’m not sure if if I should have to procure all the documents, evidence etc and post to PCM again or I should just fill in this certificate of service and staple the receipt from Royal Mail to it. Im guessing you guys will advise me to do it all over again properly.

Thanks

Coupon-mad

You should email the WS and evidence to Gladstones along with a screenshot showing their signature/tracking from the Special Delivery.

Your mistake was posting it to PCM instead of emailing it (free) to Gladstones.

I don't understand what you said about paying £160, the Judge didn't make you pay their costs did he? Or did he reserve costs till the next time?

El_Tortuga

Yes, the judge said “If you want to come back then Youhave to pay the solicitors cost, that amounted to just under £160.” They have given me 28 days to pay that.

I will do as advised coupon mad regarding emailing the WS.

I’m a bit disappointed that the judge didn’t have my witness statement though, as this was handed into the court and registered downstairs.

Coupon-mad

That was wrong - you had proof you served the WS!

IMHO you should never have been liable for costs; they should have been reserved until the second hearing outcome.

At the second hearing, if you win, ask for the previous order for costs to be awarded against the claimant, when you show (again - and you MIGHT get lucky with a different Judge next time!) that the Claimant was LYING about not receiving the WS, and that the court's version was in the building all along, so you were never at fault.

Show an abuse of process by the Claimant and push for that £160 to be ordered back against them.