I will try to keep this brief.
In September, I took my dd swimming on a Sunday morning at a council run swimming pool. I have done this a few times and I believed that the attached carpark, which is pay and display, was free on Sundays. It was for years and years. (That's one of the reasons why I go swimming on Sundays, to keep costs to a minimum.)
I glanced at the notice board when we arrived and saw, as expected the heading 'Charges Mon - Sat' with a list of charges underneath. Satisfied, I took my dd into the swimming baths.
On our return I found a fixed penalty notice on my car. I went over to the notice board and found at the bottom of the board, an added on notice detailing Aunday charges. This had been previously hidden from view by cars parked right next to the board.
I write to the council. I told them I couldn't afford the fine without going into debt and made what they call 'representations' - basically my reasons for not paying (as detailed above). They wrote back, rejecting my representations and doubled the fine.
I wrote again, sending £1 (the amount a ticket would have cost that day) and pleading our inability to pay without going into debt, which I'm not prepared to do as I feel I have been treated unfairly.
They returned my £1 and increased the fine by another 50%.
I wrote again, telling them how unfair I thought they were being.
I received a letter from them today, saying that as a 'goodwill gesture' they would decrease the fine to the previous amount (still double the original) if I paid it in full. If I'm having financial difficulties I can pay £10 pw but the amount will not be reduced if I pay this way - it would stand at 3x the original amount.
What do I do now? Do I keep fighting or give up and go into debt? Am I in the wrong? I'm perfectly prepared to accept the judgement of the MN jury on this one.