Witness Statement

[Golden]

Hello,

Has anyone used a company called Statement Drafting Services before to prepare a witness statement? They are based in Liverpool ( www.statementdraftingservices.com ). If so, do you have any feedback?

Thanks in advance.

[Pezza54]

No I haven't but I have had a look at their website.
The company appears to specialise in taking statements in the witnesses first language and then translate it.
They mention a lot of their work covers witnesses who have suffered injuries, accident, in the workplace and probably have a list of set questions to ask the witness.
Seems over the top for a witness statement to verify a deceased person had the mental capacity to make a will.

[Pezza54]

I have read some reviews on trustpilot. Interviews are carried out over the telephone. How can the company be sure they are speaking to the right person? I would have thought a proper legal witness statement should be taken face-to-face with the witness providing suitable ID

[atticus]

Seems over the top for a witness statement to verify a deceased person had the mental capacity to make a will.

Not when that is an important issue in the case!

[Golden]

Thanks PEZZA54 and ATTICUS for your input.

PEZZA54 - You make a valid point about how they can check the ID of the person they are speaking to if it is over the phone. Don't Solicitors sometimes do it this way too though? Perhaps Solicitors have more measures in place to ensure they can confirm the ID of the person they are speaking to.

I received a quote from the statement drafting company yesterday. It is quite a lot more than I anticipated so I have sent them a few questions to try and find out what I should expect in terms of statement detail, etc.

I have also been in talks with a contentious probate Solicitor who offered to assist for an amount not much more than the quote from this company. Now that I can compare both estimates (which are similar), perhaps it would be safer to use the Solicitor, rather than the drafting company as he is experienced in the area of contentious probate.

[Pezza54]

I don't know if there are any current legal procedures that allow the solicitor to check the identity of the person they are speaking to over the phone. Years ago I had to answer questions under oath in a solicitors office as well as providing ID for a probate/executor application.
You could try asking the probate Solicitor and find out if he or she conducts phone interviews.

[Golden]

Yes, I will do that. Thanks for your time.

[atticus]

I have interviewed witnesses by zoom, so I could compare their face with ID documents scanned and sent by email. I think that there was a protocol for this during the pandemic lockdown.

[Pezza54]

Yes, and Practice Direction 32 Witness Statements 18.1 (5) states " the process by which it has been prepared, for example, face-to-face, over the telephone, and/or through an interpreter"
So CPR does allow witness statements made over the phone without ID. I assume once drafted it has to be sent to the witness for signature.