A woman is refusing to pay council "cowboys" a near £400 fine for entering a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) which she insists is wrong.
Kasia Lambert, 42, said she would rather donate the hefty amount to Ukraine than pay off Birmingham City Council.
The driver who lives in France was slapped with two CAZ fines totalling £378 after visiting Birmingham last summer.
She claims the council refused to remove the fines despite proving that she had tried to pay the £16 charge for the two days that she entered the zone.
Now embroiled in a seven-month battle with the local authority, Kasia maintains she is not willing to pay.
"I would rather give £380 to Ukraine than to those cowboys," she told Birmingham Live.
Kasia claims she thought she had made two £16 payments for her trip to Birmingham on August 14 and 15 last year when she entered the clean air zone.
Thinking nothing of it, she then returned to her home in the French town of Hyeres.
Days later, she received the penalty notices and checked her bank app to discover that the £16 payments had been returned to her account.
Kasia then launched an appeal believing there had to be a misunderstanding.
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 showed there were sufficient funds in place when she made the transaction.
The £16 was also shown as having left her account, before being returned later the same day.
Her initial £120 fines totalling £240, or £60 each if paid within 14 days, have since tripled due to late fees being added.
Kasia said: "They are currently sending letters threatening me with bailiffs. It's like something out of Kafka."
A council letter detailing Kasia's 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.
This means that 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 spokesperson 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.”
