Defending Euro Car Parks (DCB legal) claim (2 PCNs) – now at hearing stage – advice appreciated

Gr1pr

They can discontinue at any time up until entering the courtroom

They will follow their clients wishes, whatever those might be

The Only incentive is if there are multiple PCN's, rather than a single pcn

Nobody is saying that any of it is fair, quite the opposite in fact

Car1980

You're not near Runcorn or St. Helens by any chance?

Can we see their witness statement?

Coupon-mad

And did you do yours in time, as advised?

If your claim form was dated before Oct 2025 and was signed by Sarah Ensall just adapt the recent WS by @Horizon_Dawn

ready2rumble

ok guys as requested here is my WS . Let me know if you guys need to see anything else .

“WITNESS STATEMENT OF THE DEFENDANT (REGISTERED KEEPER)

Claim No: [REDACTED]
Between:
EURO CAR PARKS LIMITED (Claimant)
and
[REDACTED] (Defendant)

⸻

I am the Defendant in this matter and the registered keeper of the vehicle. I state as follows:
1. I am the registered keeper of the vehicle in question.
2. I was not the driver on the dates of the alleged parking events ([DATE REDACTED] and [DATE REDACTED]).
3. The driver on both occasions was another individual, who has provided a separate witness statement.
4. The Claimant seeks to rely on keeper liability under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA).
5. The Defendant’s position is that the vehicle was being used by a genuine gym guest with express permission to attend the premises.
6. The car park in question serves a gym facility and exists to accommodate users of that site.
7. The driver was an authorised guest on both dates, as evidenced by documentation provided.
8. There was no misuse of the car park, no overstay beyond what would reasonably be expected for a gym visit, and no loss caused to the landowner.
9. The purpose of the parking management scheme is to prevent abuse by unauthorised users. The vehicle was parked while the driver was lawfully attending the gym.
10. The Defendant submits that imposing a parking charge in these circumstances is disproportionate and not commercially justified, particularly where the driver was within the class of persons the car park is intended to serve.
11. The Claimant has added additional sums which appear to be debt recovery charges. Such sums have been widely criticised in similar cases as being unrecoverable and an attempt at double recovery.
12. The Defendant respectfully invites the Court to dismiss the claim.

⸻

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

Signed: [REDACTED]
Date: [REDACTED]

⸻

⸻

WITNESS STATEMENT OF THE DRIVER

⸻

I state as follows:
1. I was the driver of the vehicle on the dates in question.
2. On both occasions, I attended the gym as an invited guest.
3. I received confirmation emails for both visits (see attached exhibits).
4. The car park serves users of the gym and is located directly adjacent to the premises. It is the only available parking facility for that site.
5. On both occasions, I parked solely for the purpose of attending the gym.
6. I did not overstay and did not park for any other purpose.
7. At the time, the vehicle registration system inside the gym had recently been introduced.
8. I did not enter the vehicle registration on the in-gym terminal on those dates. This was an oversight and not an attempt to avoid compliance.
9. I was a genuine authorised user of the gym and reasonably believed I was permitted to park while attending.
10. No loss was caused to the landowner or operator.
11. Had I been aware that failure to input the registration would result in a parking charge despite being an authorised guest, I would have complied immediately.
12. I am willing to attend the hearing to give evidence if required.

⸻

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

Signed: [REDACTED]
Date: [REDACTED]
“

Also guys I have provided the following evidence in support of my witness statements:

Exhibit 1 & 2 – Gym Invitation Emails
• Emails confirming the driver was invited to attend the gym on both relevant dates.
• Each email shows:
• the gym brand
• confirmation of the visit
• date and time of attendance
• These align with the dates of the alleged parking events.”

Gr1pr

Your statement of truth is 5 years out of date, old , dead !

It worries me when I see that woefully short statement, especially twice.

Coupon-mad

It covers one main issue but not the killer point: the lack of prominent additional signs as per the Code of Practice clause about recent new regulations.

Dig that clause out and raise it at the hearing, looking at their evidence and pointing out the lack of extra signs.

If challenged by their rep that this point wasn't in your WS, you can say:

1. Unclear signs was in my defence, and in any event, I didn't have to raise it because:
2. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA), at section 71, imposes a duty on the courts to always apply a full 'test of fairness' to all terms and notices in a consumer contract case - whether the point about terms or signs (notices) was raised by a party or not - and
3. Breach of the Code of Practice clause about mandatory 'extra signs' (required so as to alert regular site users to new restrictions) must breach the CRA. Lack of extra signs is also a 'misleading omission' which makes the resulting parking charge term unrecoverable.
4. A misleading omission is a breach of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) specifically Part 4, Chapter 1, which governs unfair commercial practices. As of April 6, 2025, this Act replaces the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs).

ready2rumble

That’s really helpful, thank you — I hadn’t focused much on the signage / “new system” angle.

I’ll go back through the Claimant’s photos and check whether there’s any clear evidence of prominent or additional signage alerting users to the requirement to input the registration.

I understand the point around fairness and transparency, especially for regular users, and how that ties into the CRA — that’s a really useful angle to raise at the hearing.

Appreciate the guidance 👍

Car1980

Any reviews for them online? There are usually loads of complaints from other people in the same boat. You can collate them into an exhibit to demonstrate that the contractual terms are inadequately communicated.