BW Legal/UK Car Park Management - Claim Form

Coupon-mad

Get rid of 3.1 which isn't needed. The template already covers landowner authority.

JPCN

@Coupon-mad
Thank you, made the changes and fits nicely into the MCOL 

Coupon-mad

Thanks - it's good to see what fits (with a few lines spare).

Come back in a week for the Public Consultation in depth discussion as we need all Defendants to respond to it to ban DRA fees and to ban POPLA & the IAS and replace those shonky appeals services with an impartial SINGLE appeals service. 

JPCN

FYI: I’ve just received the Directions Questionnaire (N180), which I have completed and submitted today.

I assume this means the case will now proceed and it is time for me to prepare the Witness Statement and evidence. Is it worth starting to prepare my evidence now, or should I wait until I receive their evidence pack?

JPCN

Quick update: I have received the Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track, and the hearing has been listed for 27 July 2026.

I will now begin preparing the evidence bundle and will go back through the forum to look for similar cases. If anyone has any relevant examples to hand that I could review, I would really appreciate it.

This is my first time going through this process, so any insight into what to expect on the hearing day — and how it typically runs — would be very helpful (and would definitely help calm the nerves!). 😊

Nellymoser

Watch this video to see how the hearing runs three or four people sitting round a table.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=n93eoaxhzpU

Also some advice in NEWBIES POST 2 - Small Claim scroll to THE HEARING

Coupon-mad

You'll need to include a link to what a double yellow line really means for disabled people - it's an invitation for 3 hours free parking - just in case you get a judge who thinks it means no parking.

JPCN

So, I have now drafted my witness statement. I know it’s very early 🙂, but I don’t like leaving things to the last minute, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Witness Statement_MSE Version for Feedback.docx

Coupon-mad

That's very good. 🙂

To 3.2, add that vehicle towing away on private land has been illegal since clamping was made a criminal offence in 2012 under the POFA.

To 4.3, I would add the words about HHJ Moloney's judgment (lift them from the current Template Defence) and quote his para 3.4 from ParkingEye v Beavis which proves the added £70 is double recovery of the same heads of cost.

And re your section about PCM v Bull : Search the forum for PCM Bull transcript and add it as an exhibit.

JPCN

@Coupon-mad, Thank you for the feedback and suggestions. I have incorporated your comments, but I have a couple of questions.

Updated 3.2:

"At the material time, any signage present was mounted high on a lamppost, well above normal driver eye level. As shown in Exhibit_JI_05A and in Exhibit_JI_05B, the signage consisted of:

1. A small “Parking Conditions” sign
   • A separate sign stating “Warning – Private Estate – Tow‑Away Zone”.

The signage was not positioned adjacent to the roadway and was not readable from a vehicle. Further, any reference to vehicle removal is misleading. Vehicle clamping and towing on private land has been unlawful since the enactment of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, and such wording is therefore intimidatory and incapable of forming a fair or lawful contractual term."

Question on 4.3 "HHJ Moloney's judgment (lift them from the current Template Defence)"

On the above point, would this not be repetition, as it is already included in my Defence submission? How does this work, the Judge will also be reviewing and considering my Defence, correct?

So to avoid repetition this is the updated 4.3 "The sum claimed (£170) is excessive and includes an additional £60 described as “debt recovery” costs. Such sums are not recoverable under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and represent double recovery. The Supreme Court in ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis confirms that a parking charge is set at a level that covers the operator’s ordinary costs of operation and enforcement (including the standard letter chain) and can generate profit. Further, in ParkingEye v Somerfield Stores [2011] EWHC 4023 (QB), HHJ Hegarty held (paras 419–428) that adding “admin costs” to inflate a parking charge was disproportionate and “would appear to be penal”. In correspondence dated 13 May 2025 from the Claimant’s solicitors (Exhibit_JI_07), it is expressly stated that the £60 relates to debt recovery activity and is justified by reference to IPC guidance. Trade association guidance cannot override statute or binding authority, and the additional sum remains unrecoverable"

Found the PCM v Bull transcript on this forum post. t https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77430198#Comment_77430198

It took some time, but I managed to extract just the transcript

PCM v Bull Court Transcript.pdf

Feel free to add it or flag it if others might find it useful. I now just need to work out how to include it in my Witness Statement :-)

Final question: is it worth including a witness statement from the disabled person I was assisting, or is it not necessary since I will be attaching the disabled badge anyway?