Is a local authority extorting money by false pretences when its pay-and-display machine takes your money and issues a ticket for a time when parking is actually not permitted? I was recently issued with a PCN by London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham after making the mistake of misreading a confusing trio of parking signs mounted on the same pole, which led to me think that I could park if I paid for a pay-and-display ticket. My error was reinforced by the pay-and-display machine, which issued a ticket that turned out to be invalid because I was parking outside permitted hours.

I wrote to LBHF parking services enclosing a cheque for the £60 penalty charge LESS the 40p I had paid for the pay-and-display ticket, making the point that they should programme their machines properly. I enclosed the pay-and-display ticket as evidence. They have now written back, saying they are banking my cheque but insisting that I pay a further 40p. If I don't, they threaten issuing a Notice to Owner. It would obviously be simpler to let myself be bullied into submission and pay up the 40p they are demanding. But I think there's a principle at stake here. Don't local authorities have a duty to ensure they do not mislead and extort this way?