Draft defence

[Mollygog]

Thank you for all your help, I’m just going to let the process proceed, if I end up having to pay in court , so be it, losing too much sleep over it. Appreciated all you did

[des8]

While you are waiting for matters to proceed, you might as well start preparing your witness statement.
If you start now there will be no reason to rush it when court directions are received.

I have noted that you possibly live on the road where the vehicle was parked, so if the claimant realises this you may be subjected to questioning about it

So be careful about labouring the point re the wrong address.
From your MSE thread I see that the road you parked on is actually the service road for the shops and flats of Mottingham road.
It is quite likely that the address is correct as the owner of the road is possibly the freeholder of the shops etc. so
just mention in passing that you parked on an unnamed private road connecting Mottingham Road to Court Road.

Also if you live there the claimant will argue that you must have been aware of the sign, and there might be a record of your requests for a permit.
However the sign itself gives you some arguments.
The claimant is arguing that you (or the driver) broke a contract as written on the sign but so much is unclear they have breached Section 68 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
1)The sign refers to "this area" but does not define the boundaries so is unclear
2)The sign directs "Vehicles must park in designated bays", but management does not provide any marked bays so is confusing
3)The sign refers to unspecified "additional costs" (see the draft addendum about this)

You should also think about the signage, or rather lack of it at the entrances to the road.

[Mollygog]

Today I received an email from DCBL legal, they are taking me to court, the date is April 9th. They have attached the claimants witness statement, can you advise my next step please

[des8]

What is the exact wording of the email?
Have you heard from the court?

[Mollygog]

Yes heard from court, date set 9th April. Can I copy and paste email on here?

[Mollygog]

WS.pdf

[Mollygog]

Don’t know if you can view the PDF, I’m not very computer literate

[des8]

Did you receive instructions from the court about filing and serving a witness statement (WS)?
Did you write a WS?

[Mollygog]

I haven’t done a witness statement. The court letter doesn’t mention one. It just says all documents must be emailed to the court 7 days before the hearing, I’m assuming they mean a WS it’s not clear

[des8]

I did suggest you start drafting your witness statement a year ago.
WS should normally be with court and other parties two weeks before the hearing date, but it seems you have been given a seven day deadline, so suggest you get down to it now

[Mollygog]

I was just going to dispute their evidence, is that what I need to do? ie No signs at entrance. 128 metres only 2 signs! No bays. The highlighted area in their evidence, he says he’s highlighted where the signs are, he hasn’t. In the evidence about the PCN it states “Land” which was never written on a PCN, just the council address of a public road. I think by his evidence showing one sign and a generic one off the internet is very poor. I have photos of all this to prove

[des8]

Your WS is an account of what happened from your point of view.
It needs to be written in the first person and should be sequential

Here's some guidance: https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...ness-statement

[Mollygog]

Thank you so much for your help

[Mollygog]

I’ve have done a witness statement, do I send my photographic evidence with that? I am sending by email so if that’s the case I’ll have to send some separately.

[des8]

you reference your evidence in the WS, and so need to send it in one bundle.

If there is a problem including everything in one email, send by post Royal Mail next day delivery