Witness statement and evidence help required

khranger1186

Hi all,

I am currently in the process of contesting a claim from DCB/UKPC from 2019 for the sum of ~£300 for overstaying slightly at night in a 2hr limit car park. Unfortunately, I did not appeal at PCN stage but I have followed the newbies forum since by acknowledging service, filing a defence, and submitting the DQ N180. I am now awaiting a hearing date and thought I would be proactive and start on my WS. However, I have hit a bit of a stumbling block in providing evidence.

My initial line of defence was that the car park was severely underlit (no lights whatsoever to the point it was pitch black) and so no signage was clearly visible that could stipulate the parking conditions. However, rather conveniently, lighting has been installed recently, which does somewhat improve the visibility in the car park. Going back through Google Streetview images of the car park shows that the lighting was possibly installed sometime last year. I have contacted UKPC to ask them when the lighting was installed, but they have replied that the responsibility of the lighting falls with the landlord, and again conveniently, they cannot disclose who the landlord is due to “GDPR and data protection regulations”.

My question is, is there any way I can find out who the landlord of the car park is? I have tried numerous searches online, including HM Land Registry, without avail. Also, would google images suffice in showing the lack of lighting at the time of the parking charge?

B789

I wouldn't worry too much about it. You have obviously read the forum and you will be aware that UKPC/DCB Legal claims that are robustly defended end up being discontinued before they ever reach a hearing.

You just need to state in your WS that there was no lighting at the time of the parking event and you put the C to strict proof that there was at the time. Don't rush to submit your WS. The odds are that you will receive either a letter, email or phone call from DCB Legal at some time before any hearing date and they will make a without prejudice offer to settle, which you ignore. 

Coupon-mad

It's their case to prove.  Not yours.  If you state that "it was unlit" then it was unlit, unless they prove otherwise with photos from the day!

The NEWBIES thread links the latest WS bundle example by @baz417 and he won today (discontinuance).

khranger1186

Understood. Thank you both for your quick responses

Le_Kirk

If you do decide to pursue your search for the landlord and the signs at the car park do not state it, search the forum, as one of the regulars, @Umkomaas, regularly posts ideas on how to do this and I often repeat his post.

milkybk

Coupon-mad said:

It's their case to prove.  Not yours.  If you state that "it was unlit" then it was unlit, unless they prove otherwise with photos from the day!

The NEWBIES thread links the latest WS bundle example by @baz417 and he won today (discontinuance).

The point Coupon has made here was something the Judge in my case was extremely clear about to the claimant. He told them it was their case to prove against me, not the other way around. He also dismissed their attempt to claim that lighting (my alleged charge happened at night) could have been different and ruled that on the balance of probability it is likely that the lighting was as poor in 2017 as it was in 2021, which is when I took my evidence photos.

Umkomaas

Le_Kirk said:

If you do decide to pursue your search for the landlord and the signs at the car park do not state it, search the forum, as one of the regulars, @Umkomaas, regularly posts ideas on how to do this and I often repeat his post.

SOME IDEAS ON DETERMINING WHO OWNS THE LAND

1. Google searches

2. If a retail park, check on any signage which lists the on-site outlets

3. Ask retailers on the site if there is a managing agent

4. Ask retailers on the site to whom do they pay rent

5. Contact the local authority and ask who pays the non-domestic/business rate for the car park (some councils have a spreadsheet on their website)

6. Contact the local Valuation Office and ask if they know. They often have a website which might provide the information 

7. Contact The Land Registry and for around £3 they should be able to provide definitive detail

8. If you haven't already done so, give us the name of the car park/site/location, we may have seen other cases there.