Accidental small underpayment

Jimsnap

I finally got my defence off the Northampton.
Thank you to everyone on here who has held my hand along the way, much appreciated.

MothballsWallet

@Jimsnap Now you can work on your WS - the sooner you can compile that, the better, as your memory of the events will be fresh, and you can make sure you have all your supporting evidence together ready for when you receive the claimant's paperwork.

Jimsnap

Here's the first draft of my witness statement, please feel free to advise.
Thanks
On the evening in dispute, The defendant alone with his wife arrived at the car park at approx 7.20 pm.

We were going to The Hippodrome to see the 7.30 pm showing of Swan Lake, a Christmas present from our children.

We arrived with little time to spare, there were roadworks in the area and our usual parking place was unavailable, causing us to frantically search for an alternative.

After parking in the PPL car park I asked the parking attendant, (who was in the process of issuing a ticket to another car) what the charges were, he said £3 for one hour or £6 to park until 8 am the following morning.

We needed about three hours so I went back to the car and my wife gave me 6 one-pound coins from the purse of change we keep for parking meters, I inserted them into the payment machine, took the ticket, and placed it on the dash.

When we returned to the car after the show I was surprised to see a parking notice on the windscreen and at first thought that somebody had placed it there as a joke but soon realised it wasn’t.

When I examined the ticket I’d bought I found it showed the machine had registered only £5, which was printed on the ticket, and that the ticket only allowed one hour parking time.

It’s clear that I wasn’t intending to underpay and in fact, did pay the correct amount but the machine didn’t show this

I’m amazed that I’m being hounded by PPL’s solicitors nearly a year after a minor event possibly caused by a fault in one of their own machines, PPL is merely exploiting a technicality and in the process adding on unwarranted costs.

Jenni_D

That's a story ... but is only a very minor part of what your WS needs to be - the WS needs to support your defence; every element of your defence.

See other threads where people have posted their WS so you can get an understanding.

Fruitcake

Unlike the Defence, the WS is done in the first person, so, I did this, I did not do that, etcetera all the way through, not, The Defendant.

nosferatu1001

Numbered para, as ever
You must re3ference your exhibits, ie documented proof of whatever youre stating here, in the WS. The referencingt format IS INITIALS/001.....

Jimsnap

Thanks for the advice.
I thought it was a more informal story sort of thing.
I'll try again.

Le_Kirk

The defendant alone with his wife arrived at the car park at approx 7.20 pm.

Something wrong there; you cannot arrive "alone" and with somebody else "his wife".  Also it is written in the first person so you would say "I" and "my wife" not "the defendant".

BrownTrout

Le_Kirk said:

The defendant alone with his wife arrived at the car park at approx 7.20 pm.

Something wrong there; you cannot arrive "alone" and with somebody else "his wife".  Also it is written in the first person so you would say "I" and "my wife" not "the defendant".

or did they arrive alone and met some one elses wife......

nosferatu1001

Jimsnap said:

Thanks for the advice.
I thought it was a more informal story sort of thing.
I'll try again.

Erm no. What makes you think a court process is informal?! 
Did you read the obvious example WS in the newbies thread?