Civil Enforcement Claim 2025 - Witness Statement Advice Needed Please

eliza2811

What Happened on the Evening of 25th February 2024

2. On Sunday 25th February 2024, at 18.47 hrs, the Driver drove into the Pear Tree Inn car park and parked up, along with a female companion, to have a slightly belated Valentines meal.

3. For those unfamiliar with the Pear Tree Inn, it serves mainly curry type meals/grills. The Registered keeper had visited the restaurant previously with friends.

4. Due to the time of the year, it was dark and possible bad weather. Signs regarding parking could be seen within the car park, but some were high up and small print could not be read. Driver and companion used the side door to enter the pub side of the building. No tablet to enter a car reg was seen. I am aware that there has been a tablet at some point as the manager of the Pear Tree Inn told me this.

5. To access the restaurant, you enter a lobby, which has a front door within it, which leads out to the pavement. Again no tablet seen to enter a car registration into.

6. Driver and companion ordered food at the hatch. Drinks were bought separately. The female companion was the bill payer. Bill was £31.40 for the food and £2.00 for 2 drinks of squash. Paid with a Lloyds Bank debit card. Bank statement and transaction details are Exhibit A. The meal was eaten within the Pear Tree Inn restaurant.

7. As it was a Sunday, the restaurant wasn’t busy, and Driver and companion left the car park at 19.43 hrs.

8. Just of note, this car park has unmarked bays, no time limit and no machines within it to buy a permit/parking ticket. It is my belief that if a private parking management company/restaurant wants a customer to enter a registration number into a tablet, they should be placed near entrances to the building or staff should direct customer’s to enter their registration number.

Evidence

9. Exhibit B shows signs within the Pear Tree Inn car park. The print out is taken from Google Maps, due to the signs being removed by late April 2024. Issue Date for the Parking Charge Notice was 15th April 2024.

10. At top of the blue and white sign, it reads ‘The Pear Tree Inn Customer Parking Only’. As per the Dictionary, a CUSTOMER is a person or business that purchases goods or services from another entity. I am including this definition for the benefit of Civil Enforcement Ltd.

11. On the Particulars of Claim (PoC) document dated 24 June 2025, it is unclear exactly with contract terms/condition, the Registered Keeper has breached. Two recent persuasive appeal judgements in Civil Enforcement Limited v Chan (Ref. E7GM9WFF) and Car Park Management Service Ltd v Akande (Ref. K0DP5J30) would indicate that the PoC fails to comply with Civil Procedure Rule 16.4 (1) (e) and Practice Direction Park 16.7.5. The Particulars of Claim is Exhibit C.

12. Further regarding the Particulars of Claim, Practice Direction 22 – Statements of Truth, 3.8 states ‘The individual who signs a statement of truth must print their full name clearly beneath their signature’. The PoC for Claim No. XXXXXX is simplysigned ‘S Wilson, Head of Legal’ regarding the Statement of Truth section.

13. It has been proven that the Driver and companion used the car park as customers of the Pear Tree Inn, through Exhibit A that money and time was spent at the restaurant. So again, why was the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) issued?

14. I highlight Exhibit D, which are screenshots of Whatsapp messages between XXXXXXX at Creative Car Park and XXXXX and XXXX. They are directors of Quad Glassy Ltd and appear to manage the Pear Tree Inn.Creative Car Park is the same company as Civil Enforcement Ltd, I am led to believe. 

15. From the Whatsapp messages, from XXXXXXX to XXXXXX dated 2nd July 2024, they appear to indicate that the restaurant thought that the ANPR system hadn’t been working since October 2023, Plus an email from xxxxxx to Customer Service (at Creative Car Park I assume) dated 23rd April 2024 stating that the system should have been offline from the last 4 months. This covers the 25th February 2024 when the PCN was issued to the Defendant.

16. It is fair to say, that I, the Registered Keeper of XXXXX have no legal training. I am not in the habit of not paying Parking Charges when issued for a legitimate reason. I happily paid a Council issued PCN as I’d strayed into a bus lane in error. I urge the Court to discontinue Claim XXXXXX as it is a waste of the Court’s time and resources, a waste of my valuable time and my female companion’s if she should have at attend court. Thank you.

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in the Witness Statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

Signed

Date:

eliza2811

Hi all, I've had another go at the Witness Statement, posted above Please give me your opinion.  Happy to add or take away parts, but nothing too complex please.  Paragraph 1 contains names, etc and will be added to the final version that court and cel get.  Thanks very much. 

Coupon-mad

It doesn't read like any other WS we see.

For example, in para 11 why are you helping CEL by exhibiting their POC, yet you haven't exhibited the transcripts of Chan & Akande which your defence relies on, in part?

And you haven't exhibited CEL's sign next to the Beavis case yellow sign, which the Exhibits list in the second post of the NEWBIES thread tells everyone to always include.

And I didn't see the Beavis case quotes?

Or Excel v Wilkinson?

All of which are on the list of exhibits we recommend which are carefully put together in the sticky thread. I don't understand why, at the later stages, posters often forget the NEWBIES thread exists (it seems)?

From my notes, good recent WS that might be like yours / worth you copying from are by:

@Feyla

@Char27

@aza123 is recent & has Chan & Akande

eliza2811

Coupon-mad said:

It doesn't read like any other WS we see.

For example, in para 11 why are you helping CEL by exhibiting their POC, yet you haven't exhibited the transcripts of Chan & Akande which your defence relies on, in part?

And you haven't exhibited CEL's sign next to the Beavis case yellow sign, which the Exhibits list in the second post of the NEWBIES thread tells everyone to always include.

And I didn't see the Beavis case quotes?

Or Excel v Wilkinson?

All of which are on the list of exhibits we recommend which are carefully put together in the sticky thread. I don't understand why, at the later stages, posters often forget the NEWBIES thread exists (it seems)?

From my notes, good recent WS that might be like yours / worth you copying from are by:

@Feyla

@Char27

@aza123 is recent & has Chan & Akande

Thanks Coupon-mad. It's work in progress.

Regarding being different, I don't see that many CEL posts or many regarding restaurants.  Most seem to be overstaying, parking in wrong place, ticket machines not working, airport related etc. None apply to my case.

The POC exhibit is the courts benefit? 

Will do some work tonight 🙂

Thanks 

Le_Kirk

Witness statements are written in the first person, so not "the defendant" but "I".

Car1980

This is a claim based upon contract law.

Address offer, acceptance, consideration and intention to agree legal relations.

It needs to be a witness statement (what happened) but also address the legal aspect as to why you don't owe the money because there was no contract between the parties.

eliza2811

Car1980 said:

This is a claim based upon contract law.

Address offer, acceptance, consideration and intention to agree legal relations.

It needs to be a witness statement (what happened) but also address the legal aspect as to why you don't owe the money because there was no contract between the parties.

How do I demonstrate no contract between parties? Please. Thanks. 

eliza2811

The Facts known to the Defendant

2. On Sunday 25th February 2024, at 18.47 hrs, the Driver of XXXXX drove into the Pear Tree Inn car park and parked up, along with a female companion, to have a slightly belated Valentines meal.

3. For those unfamiliar with the Pear Tree Inn, it serves mainlycurry type meals/grills. The Registered keeper had visited the restaurant previously with friends. Meals can also be collected and taken away.

4. Due to the time of the year, it was dark and possibly bad wet weather. Signs regarding parking could be seen within the car park, but some were high up and small print could not be read. Driver and companion used the side door to enter the pub side of the building. No tablet to enter a car registration into was seen.

5. To access the restaurant, you enter a lobby, which has a front door within it, which leads out to the pavement. Again no tablet seen to enter a car registration into.

6. Driver and companion ordered food at the hatch. Drinks were bought separately. The female companion was the bill payer. Bill was £31.40 for the food and £2.00 for 2 drinks of squash. Paid with a Lloyds Bank debit card. Bank statement and transaction details are Exhibit A. The meal was eaten withint the Pear Tree Inn restaurant.

7. As it was a Sunday, the restaurant wasn’t busy, and Driver and companion left the car park at 19.43 hrs.

8. Just of note, this car park has unmarked bays, no time limit and no machines within it to buy a permit/parking ticket. It is my belief that if a private parking management company/restaurant wants a customer to enter a registration number into a tablet, they should be placed near entrances to the building or staff should direct customer’s to enter their registration number.

Evidence

9. Exhibit B shows signs within the Pear Tree Inn car park. The print out is taken from Google Maps, due to the signs being removed by late April 2024. Issue Date for the Parking Charge Notice was 15th April 2024. The signs within the Pear Tree Inn fail to show terms clearly displayed and accessible, especially in darkness/wet weather.  

10. As per the guidance in ParkingEye vs Beavis (2015) UKSC 67, adequate notice of terms is essential to enforceability.I submit Exhibit C showing a clear Yellow and Black sign displaying notice of terms. The sign is easy to read in large, bold letters.

11. On the Particulars of Claim (PoC) document dated 24 June 2025, it is unclear exactly with contract terms/condition, the Registered Keeper has breached.

12. The first recent persuasive appeal judgment in Civil Enforcement Limited vs Chan (Ref. E7GM9W44) would indicate the PoC fails to comply with Civil Procedure Rule 16.4 (1)(E) and Practice Direction Part 16.7.5. On the 15th August 2023, in the cited case, HHJ Murch held that ‘the particulars of claim as filed and served did not set out the conduct which amounted to the breach in reliance upon which the claimant would be able to bring a claim for breach of contract’.Exhibit D is the Chan Transcript.

13. The second recent persuasive appeal judgment in Car Park Management Service Ltd vs Akande (Ref. K0DP5J30) would also indicate the PoC fails to comply with Part 16. On the 10th May 2024, in the cited case, HHJ Evans held that ‘particulars of claim have to set out the basic facts upon which a party r elies in order to prove his or her claim’.Exhibit E is the Akande Transcript.

14. Further regarding the Particulars of Claim, Practice Direction 22 – Statements of Truth, 3.8 states ‘The individual who signs a statement of truth must print their full name clearly beneath their signature’. The PoC for Claim No. XXXXXX is simply

signed ‘S Wilson, Head of Legal’ regarding the Statement of Truth section.

5. I highlight Exhibit F, which are screenshots of Whatsapp messages between Tiffany Beard at Creative Car Park and XXXXXX and XXXXX. They are directors of Quad Glassy Ltd and appear to manage the Pear Tree Inn.

16. From the Whatsapp messages, from Tiffany Beard to XXXXX dated 2nd July 2024, they appear to indicate that the restaurant thought that the ANPR system hadn’t been working since October 2023.

17. I urge the Court to strike out Claim XXXXXX as it is a waste of the Court’s precious time and resources.

• No valid contract was formed.

• The signage was not sufficiently prominent or clear enough to meet legal requirements.

• The means to obtain a permit was not present or prominent within the Pear Tree Inn.

• The claimant’s evidence is inadequate and does not reflect the actual conditions on site, when the Driver and companion visited the restaurant.

• No loss or legitimate interest justifies the charge.

• The Particulars of Claim are deficient and fail to meet the CPR requirements.

• Above all, the Driver and companion used the car park for what it meant for. A place to park while eating at the Pear Tree Inn as genuine customers.

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in the Witness Statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.

Signed

Date:

eliza2811

Another attempt at the Witness Statement.  I have mentioned Chan, Akande, Beavis as advised by you lovely lot of advisers.  Excel vs Wilkinson I can't get my head around.   Thanks again. 

Johnersh

So if the op isn't the driver, he needs to cover off both that and pofa presumably? Also with no overstay or *any* commercial loss whatsoever, isn't there at least a chance this IS a penalty?

1. I wasn't the driver
2. I am the keeper
3. Because I wasn't the driver there was no contract with me.
4. I now understand that the claimant contends we needed to use a restaurant terminal to record the reg. Even if I had been the driver I'd never have been aware. Unlit signs and no prominent terminal in the restaurant.
5. The terminal is merely a means of monitoring customers. The Claimant was provided with documentary evidence pre-action of the defendants custom and has elected to proceed with a claim which is without merit.
6. The parking restrictions were that only customers could use the parking. There is therefore substantial compliance with the parking terms since I was in fact a customer.
7. The primary obligation was to be a customer with a secondary obligation to pay in the event of failure to confirm that by means of a terminal. The PCN charge of £170 is disproportionate and "imposes a detriment on the contract breaker out of all proportion to any legitimate interests of the innocent party in the enforcement of the primary obligation"  per the supreme court in Beavis and therefore amounts to an unenforceable penalty.  This is because the business has had custom and there is no overstay or default that has had any commercial consequence (in contrast to Mr Beavis). 
8. If relying upon pofa, the claimant seeks a sum in excess of that permitted by the provisions of pofa.

All of these are really legal arguments that don't need to go into a witness statement at all. The factual evidence is important because the claimant PPC won't have any from the day or likely from anyone who has even visited the site.