CEL , DCB LEGAL court claim, at WS stage

grgwm

I, ___ of ___, am the Defendant in this claim. I make this witness statement in support of my defence, and the facts contained herein are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Background

1. I was the registered keeper and driver of the vehicle on the dates in question. I regularly parked at the Aldi car park operated by the Claimant.

2. I always paid for parking at this site. I exhibit at Exhibit A evidence of 12 separate payments I made for parking at the same location, showing my consistent history of paying.

3. On the occasions leading to these PCNs, I also paid in the usual way. However, the payment machine at this car park was unreliable. At times, it would fail to print a ticket despite payment being processed. Tickets are not required to be displayed at this ANPR-operated site, so I did not consider there to be any issue.

4. On one occasion, I discovered that my card was charged for £2.50 and then refunded the following day. I exhibit at Exhibit B a copy of my bank statement showing this refund, which indicates a system failure in the Claimant’s payment processing. This demonstrates that I attempted payment, but their system malfunctioned.

Faulty Machine and No Breach

5. I had no reason to avoid payment. I regularly used this car park without issue and can prove payment was made on many other days. On the balance of probabilities, any alleged non-payment must be due to the machine or payment system failing.

6. Since payment was offered and accepted (or failed due to their own system), no breach of contract occurred on my part. The situation amounts to frustration of contract: I did everything required of me, but the Claimant’s equipment failed.

Inflated and Unfair Claim

7. The Claimant’s claim is grossly exaggerated. The alleged debt has been inflated well beyond the £100 maximum recommended by industry codes. I never agreed to pay such additional sums.

8. The Claimant has sought to add false “debt collection” or “admin” fees. The Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has recognised that such fees are disproportionate and harmful to consumers. I exhibit at Exhibit C extracts from the Government’s draft Impact Assessment (July 2023).

9. The Claimant’s conduct is an abuse of process and contrary to the principles of fairness under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The signage at the site was inadequate and not comparable to the prominent, clear signage in ParkingEye v Beavis.

Lack of Authority

10. I do not believe the Claimant has the authority to bring this claim in its own name. DVLA data is only released where there is a valid contract between the operator and the landowner. The Claimant is put to strict proof of landowner authority.

Unreasonable Behaviour

11. The Claimant’s pursuit of an inflated sum, reliance on faulty systems, and refusal to cancel despite evidence of payment demonstrates unreasonable conduct.

12. Most tellingly, just before trial, the Claimant offered to settle the entire matter for £90 — a fraction of their claim, barely covering their court fee. This strongly suggests they do not believe their claim has merit and are merely attempting to pressure me into paying.

Conclusion

13. I deny liability for the sums claimed. I did not fail to pay, and any alleged breach was caused by the Claimant’s faulty system.

14. I respectfully request that the claim be dismissed. I also seek my costs pursuant to CPR 27.14, including standard witness expenses and consideration of unreasonable conduct by the Claimant.

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.

Here is my planned WS so far. Please let me know any feedback.

Car1980

12. Most tellingly, just before trial, the Claimant offered to settle the entire matter for £90 — a fraction of their claim, barely covering their court fee. This strongly suggests they do not believe their claim has merit and are merely attempting to pressure me into paying.

You must remove this if they stated "without prejudice", which is 99% likely.

1505grandad

Also the SoT is well out of date.

grgwm

1505grandad said:

Also the SoT is well out of date.

I assume you just mean it should be 'I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.'?

grgwm

Any other feedback on this WS?

rachity

grgwm said:

Any other feedback on this WS?

I would suggest that you open your WS with "I do not admit to any of the Claimant's allegations, save what is admitted by me in this defence statement" or words to that effect. Personally I do not like the Glomar "neither admit or deny" version.....too 'CIA' for me

1505grandad

Don't forget the proper SoT:-

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this 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.

Le_Kirk

rachity said:

grgwm said:

Any other feedback on this WS?

I would suggest that you open your WS with "I do not admit to any of the Claimant's allegations, save what is admitted by me in this defence statement" or words to that effect. Personally I do not like the Glomar "neither admit or deny" version.....too 'CIA' for me

But it is not a defence statement it is a witness statement!

Coupon-mad

Good WS but that 's a 5 year out of date Statement of Truth. Look at a more recent WS, such as the ones by @Feyla and/or @Char27

grgwm

Okay I copied the one Feyla used and have sent it to the court.

I haven't received any WS from the Claimant. Should I have?