A woman has received two Clean Air Zone (CAZ) fines amounting to £378 despite proving she tried to pay the daily charge. Kasia Lambert, 42, visited Birmingham on August 14 and 15 last year and made a payment of £16 to cover the two days she entered the CAZ.
However, days after she returned to her home in Hyères, France, she received a CAZ penalty notice from Birmingham City Council. After checking her bank app she realised the £16 had been returned to her account.
Kasia launched an appeal which is still ongoing to this day, seven months later, reports Birmingham Live.
She said: "I included a screenshot of the 'refund' and explained there had been an error. I even offered to pay the £16 again, but I was told they didn't see any reason to remove the fine."
Kasia's full bank statement had sufficient funds in place when she made the transaction. The £16 is shown as having left her account, before being returned later the same day.
Now embroiled in a seven-month battle with the authority, Kasia maintains she is not willing to pay. She added: "I would rather give £380 to Ukraine than to those cowboys."
Her initial £120 fines totalling £240, or £60 each if paid within 14 days, have since tripled due to late fees being added. "They are currently sending letters threatening me with bailiffs," said Kasia, "it's like something out of Kafka."
A blunt council letter detailing her unsuccessful appeal read: "Your vehicle registration was within the CAZ without paying the daily charge at the time, and in the manner, required." It is not the first time the appeal process has come under fire, with some believing the council 'preys on fear' when issuing fines.
Criticism is also levelled at the authority for the time it takes to process an appeal. When a driver appeals a fine it may take longer than two weeks - the time allocated for a reduced £60 rate - for the authority to respond.
Meaning, if it goes beyond 14 days, the standard charge of £120 would apply if proven guilty. The fine is therefore not 'frozen' while an investigation takes place - giving drivers no choice but to fork out the extra cash despite the council overrunning.
A Birmingham City Council spokeswoman said: "For anyone receiving a PCN, which they believe has been issued incorrectly, there are a number of opportunities for challenge or appeal. The first opportunity is with the council. Then there's an additional option to appeal with an independent adjudicator.
"The purpose of the Clean Air Zone is to encourage the owners of the most polluting vehicles on our roads to do something different. This could be to avoid the zone, upgrade or replace a vehicle or to make more use of public transport and other active forms of travel.
"We want to remind and encourage everyone to check whether or not their vehicle is subject to the Clean Air Zone daily fee, familiarise themselves with the payment process.”
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