Hi
I've just received an email from the solicitors with a copy of their witness statement, both of which I attach below.
Can anyone provide some advice please? Thanks
We act for the Claimant in the above matter.
By way of filing, please find attached the Claimant's Witness Statement.
CPR Part 27.9 notice of non-attendance
We kindly request that the Court decide the outcome of the Claim in the Claimant’s absence in the interest of proportionality and to save incurring further costs. No disrespect is intended to the Court or the Defendant.
Please accept this email as the Claimant’s notice of non-attendance sent in accordance with Civil Procedure Rules (“CPR”) 27.9. We kindly request that the Court consider the said Witness Statement in lieu of attendance.
We confirm the Claimant’s compliance with CPR Part 27.9 paragraphs (a) and (b).
Yours faithfully
Hannah Shaw
This is the witness statement. I have until Tuesday to send this off. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
I, Sala Ahmed, of Moorside Legal Services Limited (“Moorside”), Unit 1.01, Hollinwood Business Centre
Albert Street, Failsworth, Oldham, England, OL8 3QL, will say as follows:
INTRODUCTION
1. Moorside are the Solicitors instructed by the Claimant. I am a Solicitor employed by the firm,
authorised to conduct litigation and have responsibility for this matter. I am duly authorised by
the Claimant to make this statement on their behalf.
2. Unless I state otherwise, the facts and matters set out in this Statement have been provided to
me by the Claimant and are true to the best of my knowledge, information and belief.
3. I make this statement in support of the Claimant’s Claim for the hearing listed on 05/05/2026 at
10:00.
PARTIES
4. The Claimant is a company whose primary business is to manage parking on private land. It does
so by displaying signs on the land setting out the rules of parking and issuing private parking
charge notices to any vehicle found parked on that land without following the Rules.
5. The Defendant is indebted to the Claimant in relation to an unpaid private parking charge notice
issued by the Claimant with the following details (“the PCN”): -
GJ62WVL
TOYOTA YARIS EDITION VVT-I
Date issued 2nd March 2022
Vehicle Registration (“the Vehicle”) Vehicle details Location (“the Land”) and reason Broadway Surface Car Park The Broadway Crawley
A1
RH10 1HD
The motorist did not pay for sufficient parking in
contravention of the terms and conditions of the car
park
ACCREDITATION
6. At the time the PCN was issued the Claimant was a member of the British Parking Association
(“BPA”). The BPA is one of the two Accredited Trade Associations (“ATA”) for the parking
industry. To maintain its membership the Claimant must follow the BPA Code of Practice (“the
Code”).
THE LAND
7. At the time the PCN was issued the Claimant was instructed by the private Landowner to
manage parking on the Land.
8. Specifically, the Claimant was instructed and authorised to; display signs on the Land detailing
the parking rules that motorists must follow whilst on the Land, issue PCNs to those found
contravening the rules, collect payment of the PCNs, and take steps to recover payment from
those motorists that do not pay.
9. Exhibited to this statement at (“SA1”) is a redacted copy of the Agreement between the
Claimant and the Landowner. All material sections demonstrating the Claimant’s instruction
remain visible. The redacted sections contain commercially sensitive information or information
that bears no relevance to this matter.
10. The Claimant’s management practices are compliant with the Code.
MANAGING THE LAND
11. The Claimant manages parking on the Land by displaying prominent signs that set out the rules
of parking. The signs are large, written in plain English and highly visible to anyone entering
the Land. Any motorist entering the Land would be able to see and easily understand the signs.
12. Legally speaking, the signs make a unilateral offer to park, and form a Contract between the
Claimant and any motorist who chooses to park on the Land. The wording on the signs forms
the Terms and Conditions of the Contract. Because the offer is unilateral, it is accepted by
performance (i.e. by parking) and does not require verbal or written acceptance.
13. Any motorist that accepts the offer to park and complies with the Terms and Conditions can
remain on the land under a contractual license granted by the Claimant. Conversely, any
motorist that accepts the offer but breaches the Terms and Conditions set out in the Contract
will be liable to pay the contractual charge.
14. Exhibited to this statement at (“SA2”) are photographs that have been provided to me by the
Claimant showing signs in situ on the Land. I am instructed by the Claimant that these are an
accurate representation of the signs displayed on the Land when the Defendant was issued
with the PCN.
15. Exhibited to this statement at (“SA3”) is the artwork of those signs. These are included to ensure
there is certainty in respect of the content of the Contract.
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16. Exhibited to this statement at (“SA4”) is a site map showing where on the Land the signs were
displayed.
17. It is the Claimant’s position that the contractual charge is necessary to ensure the Land is used
appropriately and fairly for the benefit of nearby residents and/or businesses. It is therefore
commercially justified for that reason.
DETAILS OF THE PCN
18. The Vehicle was observed parked on the Land Parked in breach of the terms and conditions.
Exhibited to this statement at (“SA5”) is the Claimant’s photographic evidence of the vehicle
parked as described.
19. The vehicle was parked in breach of the Terms and Conditions because the signs stated the
following:
“Failure to pay the appropriate tariff may result in a Parking Charge Notice.”
20. In view of the fact the vehicle was parked on the Land in breach of the Terms and Conditions
of the Contact, the driver was liable to pay the contractual charge of £100.
21. To request payment of the charge, the details of the Registered Keeper were obtained from the
DVLA. The Claimant has the right to make this request pursuant to Section 4(1) of Schedule 4
of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“POFA”). Once those details were received a ‘Notice
to Keeper’ compliant with Section 9 of POFA was given, requesting payment. Exhibited to this
statement at (“SA6”) is a copy of the Notice to Keeper.
DEFENDANT’S LIABILITY
22. The Defendant is liable for the charge because they were the Registered Keeper of the vehicle
at the time the PCN was issued. The Claimant sent Notices compliant with POFA as set out
above, therefore permitting it to recover payment from the keeper.
23. The Defendant was afforded the opportunity to nominate a driver, if it was not them, and in this
case they did not.
APPEAL
24. The Claimant provides motorists with the option to appeal a parking charge if they believe was issued incorrectly. In relation to this PCN, the Defendant did not appeal.
it
ADDITIONAL CHARGE
25. As the parking charge continued to be unpaid by the Defendant, the Claimant escalated the
matter to debt recovery action, and levied an additional charge in the sum of £70.00, increasing
the amount owed to £170.00. This additional charge is levied by the Claimant to protect their
legitimate interest; the increase of the PCN amount represents a deterrent to encourage
debtors to pay at the earliest opportunity, without the need for matters to escalate further. In
this regard I refer to the Contract (i.e. the sign) which stated the following:
A3
“If the Parking Charge remains unpaid after 28 days, an administration fee may be
added and debt recovery or court action may be taken”.
26. The above clause of the Contract was agreed in the same way and at the same time the other
Terms and Conditions were. If the Defendant had paid the charge at the outset, the Claimant
would not have needed to take any such ‘debt recovery’ action including taking the time and
resource to instruct Solicitors, and as such the Claimant would not have increased the PCN
amount.
27. The additional charge is in line with the limits set by the Code of Practice and is not more than
is necessary to protect the Claimant’s legitimate interest. The additional charge is sought as an
increase of the PCN amount.
PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL
28. In compliance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, on behalf of the Claimant, Moorside
sent a letter compliant with the Protocol to the Defendant.
29. No payment was received from the Defendant, therefore, proceedings were issued to recover
the outstanding debt.
DEFENCE RESPONSE
30. By entering and parking the vehicle on the Claimant’s private land, the Defendant agreed to
enter into a contract with the Claimant and to be bound by the terms and conditions of that
contract.
31. The terms and conditions were clearly displayed in and around the private location. When
remaining on the premises, all motorists are required to make full payment for the duration there
vehicle is parked.
32. The additional charge which has been levied on your Parking Charge of £70 is the amount set
out in both the British Parking Association and International Parking Community Codes of
Practice as the amount which may be added to a Parking Charge when a Parking Charge
remains unpaid and when further recovery is required. Our Client adheres to the ATA’s Code
of Practice. The £70 does not represent the cost of recovery but is a reasonable amount in
relation to the Parking Charge amount, in order to encourage early payment of the Parking
Charge without the need for debt recovery. It is a fair amount set by our Client’s government-
approved Accredited Trade Association Code of Practice. There are however also costs
incurred by our client in relation to debt recovery services.
33. The Defendant was previously given the opportunity to settle the PCN at £60.00 within 14 days
of receipt. This opportunity has passed as the Claimant had to take debt recovery action and
issue legal proceedings.
34. The Claimant asserts that they gave the Defendant the opportunity to appeal this PCN, if the
Defendant believed they were not liable to make payment for this outstanding charge. The
Defendant disregarded this opportunity and made no appeal to the Claimant.
35. If the Defendant had a genuine dispute and believed that they were not liable for this Parking
Charge Notice, they had the opportunity to raise the same to the Claimant, as well as Moorside
Legal at the earliest stage they were given. As no appeal was made, the Claimant asserts that
the Defendant does not hold a sufficient defence.
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36. In view of the above, it is the Claimant’s position that payment of the PCN remains outstanding.
CONCLUSION
37. It is respectfully submitted that the Claimant has proven its Claim on the balance of probabilities,
and the Defence is entirely without merit.
38. The Claimant seeks Judgment in its favor for the balance of the Claim, including the following:
Amount claimed: 176.26 (plus interest)
Court fee on issue: 35.00
Solicitors’ costs on issue: 50.00
Hearing fee: 27.00
39. If the Court is minded not to award the Claimant Judgment, the Claimant submits that costs
should be limited to those allowed on the Small Claims Track pursuant to CPR 27.14. Further,
any costs awarded to the Defendant as a litigant in person should be limited to the rate of
£24.00 per hour pursuant to the Practice Direction 46.5 Part 3.4. Further, the Claimant submits
that it has not acted unreasonably in bringing this claim and has attempted to agree an amicable
resolution with the Defendant throughout proceedings.
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. I am authorised by
the Claimant to make this statement.
Signed:
Name: Sala Uddin Ahmed
Date: 17/04/2026
Position: Litigation Solicitor
