Thanks for getting back to me and hence I have updated witness statement as below, the first few points seem to be needed to give the background but have then moved up the point that I have paid the £100.
If I don’t get any more feedback I will send tomorrow morning.
Note: I still have not received the witness statement from DCB Legal so seems like they are leaving it to last minute, don’t know if they want to get my witness statement first…
Thanks,
Helen
WITNESS STATEMENT
IN THE CREWE COUNTY COURT
Claim No.: XXXXX
BETWEEN:
EURO CAR PARKS LTD
Claimant
and
XXXXXX XXXXXX
Defendant
---
WITNESS STATEMENT OF XXXXX XXXXX
I, {Name and address}, will state as follows:
1. I am the Defendant in this claim. This witness statement is made in support on my defence.
2. I travelled to Birmingham on 19th October 2023 to attend a show and parked in Hill Street Birmingham, owned by Euro Car Parks.
3. The claimant is alleging the parking payment did not cover the date and time of parking.
4. Initially I received letter from Euro Car Parks stating I owed £100 for the overstay.
5. I received letters from Debt Recovery Plus on behalf of Euro Car Parks related to this, stating I owe £170, of which I assume, per previous point, £100 is for the overstay.
6. Hence on 2nd April 2024 I paid the £100 for the overstay to Debt Recovery Plus so this money and any interest is not owed as it has already been paid.
7. I did not pay the additional £70 as this appears to be an attempt at double recovery, representing neither costs incurred by contract, or a genuine reflection of the costs incurred in the debt collection process
8. Further to previous point it is now publicly acknowledged by the DLUHC’s July 2023 impact assessment that so-called ‘debt recovery’ costs are routinely inflated and rarely reflect actual costs. The Government has stated that the average cost to operators is around £8.42, however claims such as this seek £70 or more under that heading.
9. Also I believe I paid for my car parking but do not recall the details of this nor how long I stayed, nearly 3 years later.
10. However the claimant has provided insufficient information to date in relation to this claim as they have not clarified in any correspondence or court documents how much I did pay and what period this covered.
11. Therefore I do not believe, even if I did overstay, I owe any money for this claim.
12. Attached to this statement are the following documents:
· Exhibit A: Initial letter received from Euro Car Parks asking for the amount of £100 for parking overstay at Hill Street Birmingham by Euro Car Park for 19th October 2023.
· Exhibit B: Last Letter received from Debt Recovery Plus asking for the amount of £170 for parking overstay at Hill Street Birmingham by Euro Car Park for 19th October 2023.
· Exhibit C: Bank statement showing £100 paid to Debt Recovery Plus on 2nd April 2024.
I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.
Signed: _________________________
Dated: _________________________
